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