Family Time Open Day

Come and try out our family Time sessions in our free Christmas celebration. On Saturday 12th December Musikate will be hosting a special Family time Christmas session. The session will take place at the Hythe Community Centre in Colchester from 10 am - 12 pm. There will be Music and craft activities all suitable for families with children aged 0 - 7 years old.

Places are limited so please let us know if you would like to come along.

Christmas Craft and Music Session

Christmas Craft and Music
for 4 – 7 year olds
22nd December 10 am- 12 pm Cost £10
Hythe Community Centre Colchester

Come and join us for a fun music and craft session.
This year we will be enjoying 2 hours of fun music-making, and Christmas crafts.

Make a decoration to jingle on your tree. Enjoy singing, dancing and story-telling activities. Drink and snack included.

This is brilliant....

Imagine That Shakers

Please remember to bring your homemade shakers to class this week.

There are lots of ideas in your home activity book so be sure to have a look.

Your shaker can be as complicated or as simple as you like. So if you haven't made one yet and are stuck for an idea simply find an empty container and fill.

Here is a nice idea for a shaker.

Christian Aid - Big Christmas Sing

Musikate and Fun With Fitness are joining together in association with the Hythe Community Centre to put together a choir to raise money for Christian Aid's Big Christmas Sing!

Rehearsals start on Friday 13th November 8.30 - 9.30 pm at the Hythe Community Centre in Colchester.

We are still looking for a venue to perform at on the 11th or 12th of December.

All ladies, girls and boys welcome to come along and join us. Don't worry about how you think your voice sounds, it's all in aid of charity and just a bit of fun!

Please let us know if you would like to come along!

Men please don't feel left out - do contact us if you really would like to join in and if there are enough of you we will include you too!

Put My Rock in my Pocket - Imagine That Activity 6

Monday's class was fabulous. We had real fun story-telling and making up new words to our tree-house song. The children also had fun acting out the story from the book can you find me. You could try doing this at home with soft toys!

This week at home you are asked to find a nature treasure. Something you might find on a walk in the woods, the park or even your back garden. Autumn is great for finding treasures. There are shiny conkers, spiky shells, seeds that fall from the trees like helicopters and a whole array of wonderfully coloured leaves. Perhaps find time to take a walk this week and collect a few. You could make a very special autumn treasure box together.

My children and I are great fans of the Nature Detectives website where you will find a wealth of activities to do. For more ideas take a look at their Autumn activities booklet there are lots of treasure suggestions on the back page.

Have a fun week!

Our Time Scrapers

It has been great fun exploring scrapers in class the last couple of weeks. There are lots of things that can be scrapped to make sounds, today we tried plastic cups. Have a look at home and see how many things you can find which can be scrapped to make a sound. Plastic rigged bottles work well.

Remember to bring in a home-made scraper to the next class. Fancy trying something a little unusual then try this ides from the Growing Sound website.

Imagine That Activity 5

This week why not become nature detectives. It's a great time of year to find things which have been tossed around by the wind. A brisk walk in the woods will find a treasure chest of finds.

The nature detectives website has loads of ideas for autumn activities.

Bring in anything exciting you find to show us next time.

Sea Sounds - Young Child

In our class today we spent some time listening to sea sounds. During our next lesson we will compose a piece of music together about the sea. Remember to bring in something which makes a sound which reminds you of the sea in some way.

For those of you are interested, we listened to an extract of sea interludes by Benjamin Britten.



There are four interludes in total a quick search on you tube will bring up the others.

Swedish Frogs Quack

We had great fun in the Our Time class today using scraping sounds to imitate the croak of the little frogs we were singing about - except Swedish frogs 'ko ack'. It is a fascinating fact that animal sounds in other languages are not always what we would expect. Check out this link for more info. Animal Sounds

Telephone problems

Just to let you know that we have been having problems with phones over the last few weeks. If you have tried to get in contact by telephone and we haven't got back to you please accept our sincere apologies. Everything seems to be sorted now, so please give us another call.

What a Fab Week

After such a long summer break I was wondering how I was going to feel about starting all my music-making up again.

Funny enough when people ask me if I work I hesitate a little. I often just don't think of what I do as a job. "It's not a proper job!" Surely I can't call having so much fun a job.

My Dad always taught me that we can't expect to enjoy our work - we do it because we have to! Well I think I've finally proved him wrong and I am sure he would be overjoyed to know that.

I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two weeks. Seeing old friends making new ones and once again realising the immense joy music brings, and not just to the children. I am sure all the participants in the Virginia Reel in Village this week would agree that it was such excellent fun, even if I did mess up the steps.

Most of you should have your packs by now I will email all Village people a copy of the home book in the next few days.

Just have a look through your resources this week, listen to the CD and come prepared to just be yourself next week in class.

Kate

Family-Celebration-Time

What a fantastic way to spend my Saturday mornings! I am lucky enough to see first hand the delight on the childrens faces as they play, dance, sing, jiggle and bounce with their family members.

I'm thankful to the parents and the carers who bring their children to my class and enjoy this special time they have with them at the weekend.

We are coming upto our third week now and on Saturday we will be enjoying some 'Kitchen' activities and dancing to Little Sacka Sugar like wooden spoons stirring the batter and plopping like eggs into the bowl... Now all we have to do as grown ups is watch the children's minds fizz with imagination and see what kind of 'mixture' we will all end up in in class!

I can't wait!

VicXX

Why Foundational Music Classes?

As a piano teacher I get a lot of enquiries from parents of children aged between 4 and 7. Most people are interested to hear that I do not give individual lessons to children under 7. Surely younger is better? Music research certainly suggests that it is key to begin music tuition before the age of 7. So what are my thoughts on all of this?

Over the years I have noticed two things. Children who come before the age of about 7 simply are not ready for one on one tuition. If anything I have seen more children put off by the formality of individual lessons. Their curiosity about music is flourishing but they are rarely have the maturity needed for regular practise and study.

On the flip side of this however I have noticed that children who do not take up music lessons until the age of 7 have often missed out on crucial foundational music skills. Tuneful singing is crucial to becoming a good musician and our singing skills need to be honed in the Early Years. Our concepts of rhythm and beat also need to be developed through dance and movement in our formative years.

At Musikate we believe that good foundations make good musicians. Children who have a rich early development in crucial skills such as singing and beat find studying an instrument so much easier.

Our Foundational classes are suitable for children between 4.5 and 7 years. Currently our classes are all full but we have an ongoing waiting list and as soon as we have enough children we start a new class.

If you would like your child to take one of our foundational classes please contact us as soon as possible so that they can be included in the next course.

Check out the Young Child pages on our website for more information.

FREE FAMILY TIME SESSIONS

Musikate are hosting two free family time sessions at the Hythe Community Centre.

Family Time is suitable for all children aged 0 - 7 years so siblings can come and make music together with Mum, Dad, Granny, Uncle or any other family member who would like to join in.

If you would like to join in our free sessions are on the 25th and 26th August 10 - 11 am. Spaces are limited so please phone to book your space. You may join us for one or both days.

Phone Kate 07905 675090

Fantastic Exam Results

Congratulations to everyone who took their piano exams this summer. Everyone worked so hard and what a great achievement.

David Purser Grade 1 90/100 distinction

Hannah Tuckwell Initial 84/100 Merit

Scarlett Inchcoombe Initial 89/100 distinction

Amber Bates grade 1 76/100 merit

Charlotte Bates Initial 68/100 Pass

Jennifer Bates Grade 1 83/100 merit

Melody Stockwell Initial 87/100 distinction

Music fo Life

This is a strange time of year. Everything seems to come to an end. For some of us it's the end of another school year, or the course we have been pursuing. Many of us are waiting expectantly for new things in the Autumn.

This is also the time of year when we begin to review our involvements and look ahead to a new term in September. When making choices for our children's pre-school or after school activities we are presented with an array of different choices all very tempting.

When choosing activities for my children I find myself considering which activities I feel will have lasting value. Skills for life!

The more I work in music education the more I see it's life-long value.

Parents who phone me for piano lessons are often puzzled at why I will not teach very young children. I tell them that I have found it to be somewhat unsuccessful. For a child to get the most out of an individual lesson I feel they need to be self-motivated and able to appreciate the need for some concentrated daily practice.

On the flip side of this I have found that children who come at 7 or older have often missed out on crucial fundamental foundational music skills. Their concept of pulse, the underlying beat which underpins most music, is often weak and much harder to grasp at a later stage. They also often struggle with pitching notes correctly i.e singing in tune.

Over the years I have really seen the importance of building these skills as early as possible. I know that the baby who bounces to the steady beat and often hears a voice singing to him will excel in music later if these things are continued. I have seen the evidence not only in my own children but also in the many children who have made their way through the various classes we offer.

I do not believe we are born with a musical gifting. There is certainly no evidence to support that. But I do believe we can birth music into our children. I am so passionate about this. It is a gift we can give our children that they will never loose or run out of time to pursue. It will prepare them not only for music but also give them confidence and skills way beyond the remit of music. Musical skills to mathematics, literacy, creativity and physical ability.

With the right start we can all excel in music. It's never too late to take up an instrument or learn to sing, but as we get older we can find it much harder to develop foundational concepts such as pitch and pulse.


I have seen first hand the real value in regular music instruction. Not only do parents testify to their children's blossoming skills but they also tell me that their own skills have improved. I can only guess the number of adults who tell me that their own singing has improved simply by attending a class with their toddler each week.

There is no doubt that involving oneself in music is one of the greatest ways we can improve our quality of life. Whether we listen, play or dance there is something about music which takes us away from the general cares of the day and allows us to find space.

I am so glad I have been able to give my own children the gift of music and hope you will see it's value for your child too.

Wednesday Classes

Our Wednesday classes are coming to an end this week.

Try to think of your favourite activities so that we can do them in class this week.

Peter and the Wolf

We had a great time in class this week listening to the story of Peter and the Wolf.

During the course we have come to appreciate the many different instruments found in the orchestra and the children can identify many of these by sound and name.

You may have noticed how quickly the children have learnt to read notes on the stave. All the children can now read, sing and play a pentatonic (five note) scale.

Today we also looked briefly at the instrument they will be studying in Semester 3; a dulcimer. This is a two stringed instrument which is played by plucking the strings.

Next week we will be preparing for our Semester Finale. We plan to showcase a few things from this semester.

I wrote a letter this morning.....

Wow we were all very industrious in our Imagine That class today! As we sang our letter writing song we sealed up our own hand drawn cards to send to our adult helpers. Posting them caused great excitement! I hope you all enjoyed receiving the letters too.

We have been visiting shops all around the town the last few weeks. During our visits to the different shops we have been tapping, rolling and snipping out rhythms.

This week at home you may want to write a letter together and post it. You could also look at some stamps and make a little stamp collection book together. Have a look in your home activity booklet for more ideas.

The Rhythm of my Day Week 6

The Rhythm of my Day Week 6
In class this week we continued our pursuit of Stop and Go games. Your Home Activity sheet this week encourages you to play more Stop and Go games at home. Inhibitory control is the beginning of understanding self control.

You may notice that we often play with sounds. Singing certain songs to la, ba or do, may feel silly but is a great way to encourage emerging language skills. Singing nonsense syllables in songs assists children with auditory discrimination of different sounds. By using nonsense sounds that incorporate vowels you are giving your child an opportunity to develop her pre-language skills because she can imitate these sounds.

Inspiration
“ The greatest gift that you can give yourself is a little bit of your own attention.”
A J D’Angelo

Peter and the Wolf

In our Young Child class over the last few weeks we have been learning about Peter and the Wolf, the musical story by Sergei Prokofiev.

Classics for Kids is an excellent website for finding out about different composers and their music. Why not have a listen to the show on Peter and the Wolf.
http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/lessonplans_prokofiev.asp

Cathy's Photos

Some lovely photos now on Cathy's website - see link at the side. Make sure you check them out. If you need reminding of the password let me know.

Cathy has been at all the classes over the last few weeks.

Our Time Week 13

Fiddle Dee Dee Week 13

As we near the end of the semester, renew your child’s excitement about Kindermusik through revisiting “old favourites”–favourite activities, favourite sounds on the CDs, favourite songs to sing, or favourite dances. Flipping through your Home Activity Book will remind you of many of these. And you might even come across some ideas you have yet to try! Also, review the Kindermusik Foundations of Learning™ statements to remind yourself of the many benefits of our classes.

This week we focused on high and low. We experience the concept of high and low with our bodies and this in turn helps us to understand the difference in musical pitch. At home this week why not try some high and low dances of your own. Put on some music and explore ways to move your body to the music. Make gliding sounds with your voices sliding from high to low and low to high. In music we call this movement a glissando.

If you have any tuned instruments at home why not see if you can find some high and low sounds on them.

Above all have fun!

Village week 5

In some of our activities this week we experienced the physical and musical sensation of stopping and going. By participating in activities that move and stop, Baby is developing the awareness of inhibitory control. Inhibitory control is one’s ability to stop his body on a given cue. “Stop” and “Go” are reinforced in class with the use of sign language.

You may have noticed that we do a lot of bouncing games in Village classes. In Allee Galloo our bouncing stimulates the vestibular system. The Vestibular system is our centre of balance situated in the inner ear. This intricate system needs constant stimulation for baby to learn to coordinate movement and balance. Bouncing also increases muscle tone as baby has to adjust his posture to stay upright while being bounced. At the end of the rhyme the surprising lift into the air or fall backwards on the whee, Provides immediate feedback to the vestibular system so that baby just has to smile or giggle.

“Baby, I lie and gaze on thee
All other things forgot –
In dreams the things of earth pass by,
But awake I heed them not.
I hear thy soft breath come and go,
Thy breath so lately given,
And watch the blue unconscious eyes
Whose light is pure from heaven.” Anon 1860

Young Child Lesson 27

As the semester nears the end, we are busy, busy, busy integrating all the information and concepts that have been presented this year: auditory discrimination (among woodwind instruments), note reading (the new note g’), musical concept (staccato/legato singing and dancing), choreographed movement (as in “Hop, Old Squirrel”), and more!

The Young Child student is just the right age to use the information she has learned to create her own music using her own ideas. Can your young child create metaphors such as “The grasshopper is a bouncy ball” and portray this sound on her glockenspiel? Encourage this type of exploration to solidify concepts and to maintain excitement about the instrument. Balance the exploration with careful study of today’s song “Go to Sleep.”

I look forward to another Kindermusik day with your child next week!

Imagine That 8th June

What a lovely class we had today. We visited the “post office” and the “cobbler’s shop.” We are moving through our pretend city visiting the many people who work there. Your new book, Down Our Street, continues this theme with a rhythmic rhyme that is lots of fun to say! Family Activity #12 invites you and your child to create another city building or shop. As you create, you might like to extend the rhythmic rhyme from Down Our Street to include your homemade building, whether it is a toy shop, a book store, or even a restaurant!

We also started to look at notated rhythm this week. Our Blue Jelly patterns may seem like a fun and silly game, but the children are all beginning to read crochet and quaver notes. If you can find some matchsticks or lolly sticks have a go at making your own blue jelly rhythms.

As we near the end of the semester, I’d be more than happy to hear from you about your child’s favourite activities, what you like the most about Kindermusik, or any concerns you might have about the class. Please feel free to drop me a line.

The Rhythm of my Day Week 4

This week we heard music from England, Scotland, The Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and many regions of the United States. By exposing your baby to a variety of music from many cultures, you’re helping her build a large library of musical tastes and appreciation from which to choose.
Not only is this important for her musical development, but it helps her to learn to listen more carefully and be more open to new experiences.
Baby is first exposed to rhythm in the womb. She hears her mother’s heartbeat and then, after birth, her own. African and Indian music traditions have brought syncopation and other rhythmic complexities to our ears, weaving these rhythms into current Western culture. Exposing Baby to this variety will help her develop her abilities to listen and produce these rhythms more easily.
“People and rubber bands have one thing in common; they must be stretched to be effective.” John Maxwell

See you next week!

Fiddle Dee Dee Week 11

Studies show that there are three major factors in early learning which benefit competency in adulthood:
Rich sensory environment
Freedom to explore with few restrictions
Available parents that act as consultants

Foster excitement about Kindermusik this week by pulling out your Home Activity Book. If you haven’t already used your Hush, Little Baby picture cards, now’s a great time to remind your child of this familiar lullaby that we enjoyed over the past five weeks while looking at the pictures (pp.18-22) and singing the song. Other playful picture activities can be found on pp.26-27 and pp.30-31. How many bumblebee games can you and your child create?

Have fun playing!

Cities Wk 11

We had great fun in class this week. The children constantly come up with new ideas and movements for the songs and activities.

This week we started to explore making big and small sounds. In music we use Italian terms to describe our playing and singing. A big or loud sound might be referred to as forte a small or quiet sound might be referred to as piano. The word crescendo refers to a sound which grows from small to big. We explored the concept of crescendo with our bodies in class.

At home this week check out activity 11 for which you will need to cut out the puzzle pieces and match them to the correct picture and drum beat. Have fun and let us know how you got on next week

Young Child Semester 2 wk 26

“Concept learning is a cyclical process. The continued use of the specific idea in varied settings will help the learning to gel and contribute to a breadth and depth of understanding.”*

The children are becoming experts at recognising the difference between staccato and legato sounds! They can move accordingly when hearing the change from staccato music to legato music; they can play both types of sounds on their glockenspiels; and they can sing both staccato and legato.

Listen to music together this week and invite your child to identify different articulation techniques—and other aspects of the music—that he hears.


*“Developing Music Concepts,” by Barbara J. Alvarez, p. 29, in Music in Prekindergarten: Planning and Teaching, Mary Palmer and Wendy L. Sims, editors.

Young Children's Festival

Young Children’s Festival

On the 13th June Musikate is taking part in the Young Children’s Festival in Castle Park. As a part of this event we would like to try to get the Young Child and Imagine That students together to showcase some of the things we have been working on this term.

All participants will receive a little present to say thank you for supporting us.
Imagine That students please bring your chime bars and meet us in the tent at the festival at 12.35pm. We will play our chime bars and then invite any children in the audience to join us for some other activities.
Young Child students please bring your glockenspiels and meet at 2.50pm be ready to play Lucy Locket, Mouse Mousie and Bell Horses.

Family Time - Coming Soon

We’re a Musical Family!
Bringing children of all ages together provides a dynamic and integrated learning experience for everyone. So we took favourite Kindermusik songs and activities like “Shake, Shake the Apple Tree” and “hammocking” and rolled them into a fun, family class where each child is welcomed and valued and family “together time” is celebrated and cherished.


Family Time Curriculum Description
Age Range: newborn through 7 years
Class Structure: Saturdays throughout school year
Class Length: 45 minutes each week
Class Size: 6-7 families with at least one caregiver per family

What Families Experience In Class:

Singing From the first “Hello” song to the last “Goodbye,” exploring a variety of musical styles and genres leads children to find their own voice. Plus singing helps with memory and recall, physical development, creativity, and socialization.
Assorted Movement Whether moving as a family, as a class, or as individuals, Family Time movement activities enhance coordination skills, create opportunities for imitation and exploration, and give everyone something to smile, rock, bounce, or dance about.

Story Time Reading aloud to children stimulates their curiosity, expands their knowledge, and broadens their understanding of language.
Family Jam. Children as well as adults will love selecting a unique instrument and joining in one big class jam instrument play along session each week.
Musical Concepts Fun engaging activities bring out the musicality in everyone, from the youngest member of the family to the oldest. Families learn more about music as they learn more about each other.

Expert advice A Kindermusik educator explains how the musically based activities enhance each child’s complete development.
Learning continues at home With the home materials, the learning and bonding continues at home with the child’s best teacher—the parent!

Enrollment includes:

* Weekly 45-minute class
* Set of Home Materials including a Family Activity Guide, Hand and Finger Puppet, Two CDs of music from class, two instruments, and two literature books

Village Week 3

The Rhythm of my Day Week 3

Much of this week’s music contains syncopation, where a strong beat shifts and is less emphasized. Syncopation is often used in jazz music, and in much of the Caribbean music you hear in The Rhythm of My Day.

When you move to this music, you may feel yourself getting a little off-balanced.
As you dance with your baby, he will also feel these patterns in the music. Moving to these different rhythms will help your baby make new neural connections and challenge his sense of balance and coordination—essential for learning to sit, crawl, and walk.

This week take some time at home to move together; it’s the perfect way to learn with love!

‘Baby needs to move his: arms, legs and all body parts in order to gain control over them and make movements deliberate. Move your baby to learn, so he can learn to move.’
How to have a Smarter Baby. Dr S Ludington-Hoe

Fiddle Dee Dee Week 11

Studies show that there are three major factors in early learning which benefit competency in adulthood:
Rich sensory environment
Freedom to explore with few restrictions
Available parents that act as consultants

Foster excitement about Kindermusik this week by pulling out your Home Activity Book. If you haven’t already used your Hush, Little Baby picture cards, now’s a great time to remind your child of this familiar lullaby that we enjoyed over the past five weeks while looking at the pictures (pp.18-22) and singing the song. Other playful picture activities can be found on pp.26-27 and pp.30-31. How many bumblebee games can you and your child create?

Have fun playing!

Young Child Week 25

Reviewing material previously learned and working with new material access different areas of the brain. With this in mind, we make it a point to review favourite songs and singing games each and every week, as well as work with novel material.

New this week were the terms staccato and legato, referring to the articulation or detached and sustained qualities of sound. Staccato refers to sounds that are separated and detached. The children found that the word staccato lends itself to this type of sound if you separate it as follows: stac-ca-to! Legato refers to sounds that are smoothly connected. Try saying legato as smoothly as possible.

Continue to sing favorite songs together this week—using your stac-ca-to and legato articulation, naturally!

Have fun at home learning to play Mouse Mousie. We all had a go at doing this in class and got on extremely well. Notice how your child approaches the task; do they rely on their aural memory, or do they follow the written music. Both approaches are valid. Be sure to stick a mouse sticker on your sheet for every day you practice.

Imagine That Week 10

“[T]he successful minds of the future will be those that have learned what it feels like to be in charge of themselves. They will be able to direct their own attention and come up with their own action plans.”*

Through activities such as Three Artists Matching Game and Moving Artists, your child is encouraged to offer her own ideas, to answer open-ended questions, to consider options; in other words, to come up with her own plan. It is through multi-layered activities such as this, always presented so as to be engaging for young children, that Kindermusik continues to spark learning in so many areas of your child’s life. I hope that you find Kindermusik is an important part of your child’s growth and life experiences.

Be sure to look in your home activity book week 10 for some ideas for how to make a bell. You can explore as many ideas as you like. You might find an object that looks like a bell which you could adapt to sound like a bell, or you might find an object which sounds like a bell.

We would love to see your bells in class if you remember.

P.S. Remember to bring your Kindermusik Resonator Bars and Mallets to the next class.

*How to Have Intelligent and Creative Conversations With Your Kids, by Jane M. Healy, Ph.D., p.13.

Fiddle Dee Dee wk 10

Fiddle Dee Dee Week 10

For the last couple of weeks we have been playing the chime bars while singing Sweetly Sings the Donkey. The repetition of this activity has allowed your child to become more and more familiar with the song, thus encouraging him to sing along. This activity also provides the opportunity for the children to develop their sense of steady beat, the most fundamental property of music. Feeling, moving to, and playing a steady beat help children develop a sense of time and the ability to organize and coordinate movements within time. A good sense of steady beat is necessary for all movement. Children who acquire a good sense of beat are coordinated and become more able learners.

You can further experience steady beat activities by playing your Fiddlesticks (or another beat-keeping instrument or homemade instrument) while listening to songs such as ‘Liza Jane, The Tailor and the Mouse or Polly Wolly Doodle. More music at home increases your child’s opportunity to develop a love for music.

Also this week at home if you haven’t already have a look at page 18 in your At Home book. You will see some different activities you can do with the lullaby pictures for Hush Little Baby. Why not have a go at making the mobile or some Lullaby cards.

Have Fun!

The Rhythm of my Day Wk 2

The Rhythm of my Day Week 2

Our first two weeks of class have focused on the interval, “sol-mi.” Also known as a descending minor third, this interval is the easiest interval to hear and imitate. As you become more aware of sol-mi, you will probably hear it in all kinds of children’s music.

This week at home, try pairing some of these singing concepts in your conversations with baby. “What shall we do with the baby-o” after a bath? “Wrap her up in a towel-o” of course! A well timed, “This is the way we eat our peas…” You may even notice your own stress levels lower when you can sing, “Lost it, lost it, where is the teddy?” while looking everywhere.
Some other things: You may have noticed that we make a big deal about labelling movements. This week we were choosing movements from the wall chart to make up new verses to our song.

“Children recognise an object and understand movement long before they can use language to tell you. We can help Baby in developing her ability to speak by labelling movement and objects. She will then begin to connect the relationship between the word and the movement or object. After months of babble Baby will begin to imitate these sounds and speak the words that previously she only knew by sight and sound.” How to talk to your baby DP Dougherty.

If you have enjoyed the drumming in class why not find some empty containers and sing while banging on your homemade drums. Use your imagination to find a variety of different sound sources and have some fun! Bang along to the home CD or simply sing a favourite song.

Young Child week 23

Finally got round to posting the homework reminder.

You have another week on this because of the bank holiday, so be sure to get your glockenspiels out and practice all the songs you have learnt so far.

This week we learned new note 'f'. F is located in the first space of the staff.

Use your notes chips and Act page 4b to review the notes 'c' 'a' and 'f'. Then use a crayon to draw the notes in the correct spaces.

Can you put the stringed instrument cards in the correct order from smallest to largest? Do you remember the names of all the instruments?

Be sure to bring your activity sheet back to class next week

So many babies

Village for babies 0 - 18 months, has become so popular that we are now over subscribed. This week I have had to turn people away. As a response to this we are putting on a new session on Monday afternoons at 2.45pm. We realise this is not a convenient time for those who have older children at school, or those who work, but hopefully it will suit some. If you are new to Kindermusik Village and would like to come and try a class for free please let us know.

A typical Village class includes singing, instrument exploration and play, baby massage, sign language, dances, rocking and lots of lovely cuddles.

Imagine That Week 8

We had a lovely class today. Thanks so much for bringing in all the lovely statues and photo albums. I didn't have my camera today, but perhaps you could take a photo of your statues and add them to the blue cities folders in your backpack. It's nice to have some momentos of the course.

I loved the expressive singing of Bonjour Mes Amis today. It's lovely to hear them singing so joyfully.

This week at home explore counting together, there are some great ideas in your home book.

Next week is a bank holiday so there will be no class. For extra homework why not get out your chime bars and play along to steeple bells on your home CD. Be sure to keep practising the chime bars as I need lots of helpers for the Young Children's Festival on 13th June.

New Village Courses

Kindermusik Village
0 – 18 months
Rhythm of My Day
(Includes Baby Massage and Sign Language)
Week commencing 4th May 09
Duration 8 weeks
Wednesdays 9.00 am or 11 am

Cost: £40 + £25 materials (£65 can be paid in 2 instalments)

This class will help you bring more rhythm and routine to your baby's day, as well as help develop lasting learning skills. We'll show you how and tell you why music can help your little one soothe into the day’s schedule and help build a strong body and mind network for learning. You can bring home those same stress-free play and relaxation techniques from class, and incorporate them into your daily routines.
Home Materials: CD of beautifully arranged songs from class, The Rhythm of My Day—a colourful picture board book with class themes, a set of Art Banners, and an instrument for music-making at home.

All courses take place at the Hythe Community Centre, Colchester

Imagine That Statues

Please remember to bring your statue to class this week. Look in your home book for helpful ideas.

Here are some of our statues from last time.

Young Children's Festival

Please keep the 13th June free in your diaries. We have been invited to take part once again in the Young Children's Festival in Castle Park.

We would very much like to showcase some of the things we have been working on this term.

Imagine That students will be invited to bring along their chime bars to play and we will also be performing "We are Fine Musicians".

Young Child students will be invited to bring their glockenspiels and show some of the things we have been working on this term.

Exact timings will be given nearer the day. Please let me know if you can come along

Young Child

We had a great class this week. It is great to see the way the children's skills are developing in singing and in the playing of the glockenspiel.

Everyone really enjoyed working together in groups to make our musical picture of the Elephant playing in the river and it was lovely to see the children's creative ideas as they used the percussion instruments in effective ways.

Please take some time to practise your melody cards over the Easter break. Can you put them in the right order to make the Bell Horses tune? Be sure to add the star sticker to your favourite card.

Look back through the rest of the Home tasks we have had to do this semester and see if you can play through the other exercises.

See you all back again after the Easter holidays.

Statue Sculptures

We have had great fun pretending to be statues in class.

You have a few weeks to complete your family activity before classes start back after Easter. Look in your book at Activity 6.

See if you can spot any statues around town. There is the great modern take on Boudicea near Asda in Colchester. What other statues can you find?

Have a go at making your own statue and be sure to bring it back to class for us all to see.

Imagine That 23rd March

What a lovely, lovely class we had today! The children are all such gems. They so actively participate in the story of Eddie and Bandit going off to look and bring him home - all the while without realising it honing their singing skills and moving their bodies to the steady drum beat.

They all seem to thoroughly enjoy the class and I always think it a shame that you parents do not get to see some of what goes on. I am always happy if you would like to sit in a lesson, so please take the opportunity to do this at some point (not all at once).


This week at home look in your Home Guide and see if you can make a game together a bit like the one we played together at the end of the lesson. Be sure to let us see what you have done for next week!

Young Child week 20

Wow what a lesson we had this week!! - Probably one of my most challenging to date. There was certainly a lot of energy in that room.

One of the best ways to prepare for next week is to try to get the glockenspiel out a few times. The melodies are progressing so that this week you have brought home the complete music for Lucy Locket.

See if you can sing the notes along to the music and then try to master the whole thing on the glockenspiel.

The clever thing about all this is that the children are building their musical knowledge without even realising it. All the preparation work we did last term learning songs moving and playing percussion has been the foundation that has enabled them to play along to the music today.

A couple of you remarked this week at how staggered you are at what your child has learnt.

Try to find a way to showcase your tune this week - perhaps you could play for your teacher or a relative.

See you all next week!

Guess what you have a musical brain!

Research concludes that we all have a musical brain! Now that's a real surprise for some of us. So many of us have had negative musical experiences and have been robbed of the pleasure to enjoy singing or playing a musical instrument.

Researchers found that non-musicians and musicians had the same brain responses and concluded that although we may not think ourselves as musical we are!

I am amazed by how many people I come into contact with who tell me about their negative musical experiences and how they have stopped them pursuing music further.

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/03.22/04-music.html

Does Music Make You Smarter?

Amazingly there is no musical centre in the brain. Musical activity stimulates the whole brain. Quite simply when you are engaged in musical activity the whole of your brain lights up like a Christmas Tree.

Overall brain development suggests global development for children. Scientific studies have shown that there are huge benefits in early music education. Children who take regular music instruction before the age of 7 are the most advantaged.

The following are just a few of the benefits of music education:

General cognitive development

Language development

Reading readiness and reading

verbal abilities

Abstract conceptional thinking and reasoning

Creativity and originality

Memory

Improvisation

Motor development and coordination

Improved social skills

Stress reduction

Increased quality of life


Tell us what you think.

Fiddle Dee wk3

Music concepts may be effectively introduced to the Our Time-aged child through fun and playful activities. The concept of tempo (or speed) is central to music. The 1½- to 3-year-old child is learning to control and coordinate his body’s movements and is naturally interested in the concepts of fast and slow. Mastering these concepts through activities such as bouncing, playing instruments, and dancing is fun and satisfying for the child.

In class we will continue to focus on tempo for two more weeks. At home, you can have fun reinforcing this concept through further repetition of fast and slow activities such as Roly Poly. Also, “at home” Kindermusik play will help familiarise your child with the routines of Kindermusik class, thus helping him become more and more at ease in the classroom environment.

Until next week…

Village Week 3

Learning something new is challenging. How did you feel as you learned the new dance, Sonata for Flute? We all react to new experiences in different ways. A challenge can be fun, frightening, or a bit uncomfortable.

Challenges are part of your baby’s life several times every day. She is presented with new people, toys, foods, and more. By providing her with secure places to explore, being by her side, and giving her love and care, she will be more confident in how she faces the world.

As she masters new skills, she will realise that she is a powerful little person. And your experience in class today is a great reminder of what it feels like to be a learner once again.

By next week you’ll both feel like Sonata for Flute is an old friend! See you then.

Imagine That week3

As the children become more and more comfortable in the Kindermusik setting, I find that they are able to contribute more and more to our class experience. One of the many benefits of Kindermusik is that in a small class, your child is able to offer ideas upon which activities may be built and developed.

We had a lovely time today telling the story of Eddie loosing his dog! The children really engaged in pretending to find the naughty dog and bring him back home. We used the drums to show our walking and running and even tiptoeing.

The children loved playing the chime bars together too, they are really getting the hang of bouncing the beaters off of the bars!

Try to get the chimes out this week to play along to some of the tracks on the CD. Also remember to make your own city music. You can use your voices and anything else you can find. If you can't record it - why not bring the live version to perform in class next week.

Young Child Weeek 18

What a fun packed lesson we had this week!

We have been working on Italian terms and dynamics. Have a look at the yellow and green cards in your child's Games' Bag and see if you can order them correctly.

PP = pianissimo (or very quiet in English)
P = piano (quiet or soft)
F = forte (loud)
FF = fortissimo (very loud); certainly the favourtie!!!

We will add some others next week.

Try to get out your child's music bag a couple of times this week. It really helps to get them in the habit of doing some music at home as this will prepare them for regular practise if they decide to go on to individual instrumental lessons later on.

This week use your note chips to copy the melody card on to your staff chart. (Please ask me next weel for more chips if you need them!) Sing the melody and play it on the glockenspiel, making sure you use both hands.

There is a new melody to look at on your card! Can you guess what it is? You will need to practise this one as we will be playing it in class next week.

Why not have a look at the Classics for Kids website this week, there are some good podcasts to download!

Walk Along Rover

Our new Our Time semester Fiddle Dee Dee, starts this week with dancing dogs amongst other things. If you can please bring along a soft toy dog to join in the fun. We will have some spare dogs so don't worry if you do not have one to bring.

email problems - SORRY!

Many apologies if you have tried to contact us in the last 48 hours there has been a problem with our email, which may mean that your email was returned to you.

I think we have solved the problem now, so please resend any emails that are important.

Kate

Come On Dads

Our Saturday morning classes have been very popular with Dads. Dads often find it difficult to attend classes during the week, but that doesn't mean they don't want to come along as our classes have proved.

If you are a Dad or know a Dad who you think might enjoy trying our fun music and movement classes for toddlers please let them know about our classes.

Other family members are of course invited too, infact why not make it a date for the whole family to enjoy together.

Our Saturday baby classes are resuming soon too. So why not send Dad for some one on one time with Baby.

Musikate and friends

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Our Time - Milk and Cookies Finale!

Please don't forget to bring some Kitchen Utensils with you (for both of you) for the last lesson of the semester. I'm thinking plastic mixing bowls, ball whisks, wooden spoons, pots and pans and cake tins and anything else you don't mind being explored and tapped/rapped/scraped/hit... with a steady beat of course :-)

It's been such an enjoyable course exploring, talking and singing about household contents and commotions.

I can assure you our next course starting after the half term break is just as much fun with fantastic music (as usual) and instrument to take home. Fiddle Dee Dee will be Fun-Diddle-Dee-Fun!

VicXX

what a perfect setting....

for our Imagine That class this week. Last week we were preparing for our imaginery walk in the snow by making some snow boots to bring to class and hey presto the snow turned up right on cue. Unfortunately this meant that some of you didn't make it to class.

We would still like to see your snow boots though so please bring them to class next week. Also this week we are making books about the weather - the home book has lots of ideas to help you.

Young Child this week as you all mostly missed the class please keep up with your glockenspiel practice and we will see you next week for our last session.

Favourtie Activities Please.....

As our semester draws to a close we would really like to celebrate all the things you have enjoyed this term. So can you post favourite songs, activities, stories on the blog so we can include them in our final class. Looking back through the home activity books or playing the home CDs can help you remember. You might also want to tell us about any special memories from classes.

I would also love some of the recipies we have shared in Our Time this term. So if you made cookies or cupcakes, please share and upload your recipies.

Thanks

Imagine That and Young Child

Sorry haven't been keeping the diary up to date this week. This is what you should have remembered to do at home this week.

Imagine That: Make some Snow Boots to wear in class; lots of ideas in your home activity book Act 13. A couple of old cereal boxes work well.

Young Child: Practising your glockenspiel at home this week. You can try the 'ding dong ding dong' in Hear the Doorbell Ringing. You can also practise the different styles of playing to accompany Dr Foster.

What is so different about Kindermusik?...

When I fell pregnant with Ellie, I knew that I would never want to return to full time school teaching. I knew what I wanted to do. I had always been passionate about music education and set about finding a programme suitable for young children. I looked at lots of programmes, most were franchises which I did not want to get involved in. Nothing inspired me, most seemed to focus on entertainment and I could find nothing which valued children as inquisitive individuals eager to learn.
I stumbled on Kindermusik quite by chance. There were only 3 people teaching it in the country back then. As soon as I saw it I loved it. I loved the way it was so securely linked to child development. I loved the way it encouraged individuality and creativity. As a musician I also loved the depth and breath of the musical repertoire. I never thought I would enjoy listening to a CD aimed at children, but here were recordings rich in acoustic live music with such diversity.
Research suggests that regular musical activity is crucial for the developing brain. I believe this wholeheartedly and I also believe in all the smiles, cuddles, inquisitive gazes, kisses, bounces and tickles we enjoy in class.
Never have I had more job satisfaction.

SATURDAY Our Time and Village classes

Thank you all for your singing voices. Your babes are benefiting SO much from this experience. Hearing you sing, speak in varying tones, feeling you rock, sway and spin around the room and seeing you embrace these moments aides their development in so, so many ways.

Everything that we do in class is supported by heavily researched evidence that music enhances the development of the whole child. Take some time to check out the poster in class.

Although it is incredibly frustrating (and I don't mind admitting, upsetting at times) that I am without a singing voice, it is a joy to hear that all of you give it a bit of welly yourselves. It's an interesting lesson for me in as much that I am silenced and I have to let others lead... a very interesting journey and certainly one I haven't travelled before.

I will be without a singing voice for a while and in the interim, I can assure you that I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge. I hope that you are too... Well, hey... we're all benefiting from this experience then?

I LOVE MUSIC!

See you on Saturday.

VickyXX

Physical Benefits of Massage and Touch

In addition to facilitating emotional bonding, massage has many physical benefits. It stimulates and regulates internal organs and promotes nerve myelination, making for a better mind-body communictaion.

Mallets - Young Child 13

This week you were sent home with a pait of Mallets. Don't worry the glockenspeil's will come soon! It is very important that you learn to hold the mallets correctly before you are let loose on the glock. So have a go at the rhyme that we learnt in class and see if you can show someone else how to hold them too.

If you missed the session this week, listen to track 21 on your Home Cd and use the rhythm sticks instead. The words are in your Songbook on page 13.

Happy bouncing.

Imagine That! Sleigh Bells

This week's home activity is to make some bells to wear when we take our sleigh ride next week in class. If you can't find any bells to use you may be able to adapt your Kindermusik ankle bells. You may also like to use milk bottle tops, or shapes sut from pie tins - these make good substitute bells.

You might like to make bracelets or ankle bells, you could even make a long belt to go around your waist.

Try out your bells at home by dancing to "Over the River" on your Home CD or another piece of music you think appropriate.

Our Time Drums

Hopefully you will all have a go at making a drum this week. Drums can be made out of any container. You can add things to the inside of your drum if you want to make it extra special or perhaps you could hang things on the outside.

If you want some extra stimulus here is a link you might find interesting. http://www.expertvillage.com/video/9856_tom-drum-balloons.htm

Also if you haven't made cupcakes yet why not have a go at some this week.

Dragonflies and Daisies

Dawn Waterhouse Homeopath is running a series of natural health courses which might interest you. Dawn is a great advocate of natural holistic therapies. To find out more you can visit Dawn's website www.homeopathcolchester.co.uk , or contact her on dawn_waterhouse@homeopathy-soh.org .

Milk and Cookies - Cupcakes

This week at home have a look at the cupcake sequencing activity on page 22 of the home book.

Then how about baking some cupcakes of your own. You probably have a recipe already but just in case here's a really good one. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/easypeasycupcakes_74799.shtml

As you know we are all willing to taste you creations.

Village - Bedtime Stories

In Our Dream Pillow sessions we have been listening to Dream Pillow Lullaby. Creating a bedtime ritual or routine helps baby settle. In a similar way teaching our children to relax and be still for a small portion of time each day will really help them develop the ability to rest, a very important thing to learn.

This week why not create your own bedtime book. You could find or draw pictures of bedtime objects or try to depict your routine in photographs. You might like to laminate the pages so that baby can hold.

http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/sleeping/a/sleepbook.htm

For those of you experiencing difficulties with bedtime and more importantly sleeping, I can highly recommend Elizabeth Pantley's book "The No Cry Sleep Solution". Some fantastic tips that really helped me back in the days when I was exhausted with a baby who refused to sleep. (Now 8 and still apparently needs less sleep than me.)

Young Child week 12

Quite an academic session yesterday. The kids did brilliantly. We constructed a Musical stave on the floor with 5 black ropes. We were able to see that there were 5 lines and 4 spaces. Big black note heads were placed in the third space: the note C.

This week at home you are reinforcing the note C by sticking and drawing C in the correct position on the sheet provided. Make sure you bring them back next week to class.

Alternatives to Shaving Foam

What a great Imagine That class we had today. It was so cold at the centre that one by one all the adults snuck back into the room and thought that I would let them all just sit and watch at the side. Surely you should know me better than that by now! After a few minutes of dancing with scarves and tapping the sandblocks everyone felt a lot warmer. The children certainly enjoyed the parents taking part along with their siblings.

Home activity this week says to explore the possibilities of shaving foam. For those of you who fancied an alternative, as promised, I have found a link to bubble painting. Be sure to show us any great works of art you produce. http://www.bigeyedowl.co.uk/painting-activities.htm

Remember too that next week we are all coming together for the whole class.

Magic Flute

Today in our Young Child class were learning about Mozart's Opera, "The Magic Flute". If you want a recap or some more information, here is a link to Classics for Kids website, where you can listen to a programme all about it. http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showdesc.asp?id=207

The sheet of characters given to you in class can be coloured, cut out and each one stuck on a lollipop stick to produce a set of puppets. Have fun using the puppets to retell the story.

Also this week, use your note heads to make some different melodies, with high and low sounds. Be sure to use the stickers to create one which you can bring back to class next week, where we will play them together.

New Term, New Year

Classes start back this week. All courses continue after Christmas for 6 more weeks.

See you all back in class x