This is your brain on music!

We've talked many times before about babies and language development. In utero your baby is already listening and internalizing the sounds of their native language. However, I recently read a report that shed more insight into the amazing power of a newborn's mind. After exposing 22 newborns to recordings of made up words, the researchers concluded that the human brain may be hard-wired to recognize certain repetition patterns. "It's probably no coincidence that many languages around the world have repetitious syllables in their 'child words' – baby and daddy in English, papa in Italian and tata (grandpa) in Hungarian, for example," says Gervain from UBC Dept. of Psychology's Infant Studies Centre.
Move ahead several years with this same thought, and you begin to realize how important repetition will be in all areas of learning. Take for example, your child's ability to learn math facts. What about phonics and reading?  All of these skills require repeated exposure or practice. My tool of choice when trying to engage children through repetition- music. In fact, studies show that young children who take music classes show different brain development and improved memory compared to children who do not receive musical training. With the repetitive beats, melodic patterns, and rhyming words, music is perfectly suited for stimulating the mind and learning new skills. It's why most little one's can sing their ABC's long before they can "chant" them. Do you have a great idea for using music to learn something new? I hope you'll share it in a comment.

Teaching Our Children About Love And Loss | Janet Lansbury

We recently experienced the loss of a beloved pet. I found a lot of great thoughts in the following blog post, and as I know we are not alone in this experience, I felt it was worth sharing with other parents. After all, some lessons we have to teach our children are just harder than others. :0/

Teaching Our Children About Love And Loss Janet Lansbury

Meet Laura and Ella

Welcome to this month's edition of We Are Kindermusik! Here's what Laura and Ella have to say about their Kindermusik experience.

At what age did your child begin taking Kindermusik classes? 16 months

Number of years you've attended classes? 1 and ½

What is your favorite Kindermusik song?
“I’m Just a Steamroller” I love watching Ella giggle as she bounces and rolls all around to the song – and it’s a great way to get her to burn off extra energy on a rainy day!

What is something that you’ve learned from your Kindermusik experience?
Toddlers truly are just like the little kangaroos Kindermusik uses for their Our Time mascot! I’ve learned that Ella will “bounce away” some days, and just want to cuddle in my lap on others – and that’s okay! I’ve also learned that music is a wonderful bridge for friendship – for both moms and kids.

Tell us about a favorite Kindermusik moment with your child:
My favorite in-class memory happens every week when we have what Ella calls “the rocking song”. To watch the kids explore, learn, and have fun with all of the instruments and dances, and then have her run to my lap for a cuddle during “the rocking song” is such a nice moment for us to reconnect before she’s off and running again. My favorite at-home memory stems from one of our other favorite songs “Round and Round the Racetrack Goes the Little Mare”. During what could have been a very disastrous dirty diaper change when Ella thought she should “help” me use the wipes, I remembered the Racetrack song with its hand motions and it kept Ella and her little hands occupied long enough for me to finish up – thank goodness!

Anything else you’d like to share?
We absolutely love Kindermusik (and Ms. Aimee!). We recommend the classes to everyone we know. I can’t say enough wonderful things about the programs and the staff at Delightful Sounds – they have helped me have more confidence as a mom, given me access to a wonderful network of moms, and brought new music and activities into our lives that I know we as a family will treasure for many years to come.
If you'd like to be featured as a We Are Kindermusik family, send us an email today!

Listen up!

We have always known that Moms are special, but according to a recently released study, Mom's voice plays a special role in activating her newborn's brain. In this experiment, babies who were less than 24 hours old were tested. When the newborn heard his mother's voice the area of the brain responsible for language acquisition was stimulated and awakened, as opposed to when he heard another woman's voice making the same sounds. Couple this with other studies discussing a parent's role in their child's language development and you'll get excited! Why? Because the best things you can do to enhance your child's language development are likely things that you are already enjoying with your baby. Try this checklist out:

1. Singing lullabies or nursery rhymes
2. Reading stories
3. Making eye contact while "cooing and talking" to each other
4. Labeling movements in the music while dancing together
5. Try games like "I Spy" as a listening game and then mimic the sounds that you discover

Christmas Carol Flash Mob

I recognize some faces in this local flash mob. The first singer is a former Kindermusik mom from Delightful Sounds!

Meet the Frissore family!

I hope you are enjoying the "We are Kindermusik" blog series. If you'd like to be a featured family,

just let us know!

At what age did your child begin taking Kindermusik classes?

18 months

Number of years you attended classes?

3 and counting!

What is your favorite Kindermusik song?

somebodys knocking on my door……

What is something that you’ve learned from your Kindermusik experience?

That there is no right or wrong way to "do" kindermusik, it's very much about taking what you want from it. Sometimes if your child doesn't want to participate for that session in the way that the other kids do then that's ok, they could still be getting a tremendous amount out of the class, they are just processing it in their own little way. Who are we parents to interrupt with the glorious workings of the creative child's mind?!

Tell us about a favorite Kindermusik moment with your child:

My non-verbal 2 year old who had never said a sentence, let alone sung a song, sitting in the bath and suddenly singing "sweetly sings the donkey" the evening after her 6th Kindermusik class. Cue lots of happy tears from Mom and Dad.

Anything else you’d like to share?

It's so much fun to take a time out of your busy week and spend it singing and smiling with your kids, you can't help but feel great when you leave a class after seeing pure happiness etched on your little ones face for an hour.

Hallelujah Chorus

They're at it again! For those who missed the first round of this little surprise, click here.

Teaching Through the Pain

Yesterday my children were cooing and giggling over their newly born, baby goat. She's unusually tiny but sweet nonetheless. They are immediately smitten and name her Mistie. Today, however they have to mourn her passing. She was just too tiny to survive. Sometimes life is just HARD. There are so many lessons out there to learn, and as a parent, it can feel like an overwhelming task sometimes. How am I qualified to teach them about life and death, when I still struggle with these topics myself?
Loss- whether the loss of a pet, death of a family member, or even a divorce situation- is never an easy topic. It's full of abstract concepts and emotions that are unwelcome in our happy, little world. How do you explain to a child that life is not always a fairy tale where everyone "lives happily ever after"? Here are some of the things that we have been learning today:

• Children need to know it's okay to feel sad. That's a normal and important part of grief.
• Children need simple, honest answers to their questions, even if they're hard or unpleasant to discuss.
• Children are watching and learning from our example, so practice what you preach. 

If you're in the process of working through some of these lessons during this holiday season, I pray for peace and wisdom for you.

Until next time...