MusicBee Academy: Kindermusik Family Time Movin' and Groovin' Week 6

Testimony

The results of Kindermusik extend beyond the weekly session. Archer has found his love for music through Kindermusik. He has become more engaged in activities that require joint attention. He would also initiate family members to join him in jumping and playing when his Kindermusik CD is played. The music and activities have stimulated Archer to be more aware of and involved with his surroundings. Kindermusik has made Archer a happier kid and me a proud mother. ~ Constance Wun, mother of three year-old Archer

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Kindermusik Family Time Movin' and Groovin' Week 6

Isn’t it fun to play with balls! Children and balls just go hand in hand. This week, take some time to explore all the paths your family can create during ball play. Does the ball move straight? Curvy? Zig-Zag? You might also enjoy creating pathways with a ball. Your little one may enjoy feeling a ball roll up and down her body while your older child will enjoy moving with the ball and maybe even on the ball! Add balls to your family’s favorite Moovin’ & Groovin’ song, moving the balls in different ways and along different pathways to the musical beat. Alternately, replicate the Travelin’ Round activity we did in class today with your Home CD or a capella (singing without accompaniment).

Playing with a ball not only provides your children with a means for social interactions with peers and adults, but also enhances the development of arm and hand muscles, eye-hand coordination, and cause-and-effect relationships. Ball play also strengthens future recreational development including bowling, baseball, basketball, football and soccer. *

We'll have a "ball" together in class next week! See you then,

*Cripe, Juliann, Kristine Slentz, and Diane Bricker. AEPS Curriculum for Birth to Three Years. Diane Bricker, Ed. Volume 2. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing Co., 1993, p. 172.
Kindermusik’s Foundations of Learning - some of the benefits your child received from today’s activities are:

Rituals
Rituals involve symbolic communication where a child understands his role in the relationship, and what this role entails. For example, when a child hears We’re a Musical Family, he knows that Kindermusik class is beginning (adapted from Fiese, Barbara H. and Frederick S. Wamboldt. 2000).

The Moving Child
A child engages multiple senses when he explores movement. Kinesthetic senses increase as he literally feels the actions of his body. Visually he is responding to the images he sees in front of him. The auditory sense is stimulated as he responds to sounds he hears and makes (adapted from Loeffler, Gisela).