Kindermusik with Serendipity Studio, Gisborne, NZ

Bubbles, Bubbles!

2011-05-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

We're LOVING Family Time here at Serendipity Studio!

We've been focussed on Bathtime for the past couple of weeks, and have been brainstorming loads of ways to make splashing in the bath even more fun than it is already is!

A few of our fantastical ideas:

Make soap pens! Using empty liquid glue pens (well washed!), mix together clear liquid soap, detergent, or shampoo, and add a few drops of food colouring. Give it a good shake, and you have a soap pen! Best just to write on the bath itself, or the glass door - just in case the colouring stains the shower walls ;)
Make bath finger paint! Mix soap/detergent/shampoo, food colouring, and a little cornflour together to make a paste. Use as above!
Blow bubbles! Get pieces of food grade hosing in different widths & lengths. Blow bubbles!
Cooking Time! An old fashioned hand beater is an awesome bathtime accessory - mix up the bubbles :)
Row your Boat - best with two! Play, sing and splash away!
Blow bubbles - take your bubble mix and wand into the bath, it doesn't matter if it gets spilled!

We'd love to hear your suggestions - if you have a fun bathtime idea, feel free to add it to the comment section.

Have a musical day!

Kath and Jarvis

Creatures in my Backyard!

2011-05-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

What will we see in term three?

Look up high in the trees! Now see what's down on the ground..Dedicated to the great outdoors, the environment, and our many animal friends, Creatures in My Backyard is full of songs, finger-plays, nursery rhymes, musical stories & dances that will inspire toddlers & their parents to explore, wonder & discover the wonders of the natural world.

As many of you will know, our classes will be taking a break later this year while I add another little person to our Kindermusik Family!

This is one of the reasons I've chosen Creatures for term three, as it's an extra special five week programme for our very special toddlers, aged 18 months - 3.

This is a very special programme indeed - as well as your usual At Home Materials, for the first time you'll have access to Kindermusik's brand new, state of the art, digital home materials! You'll find videos, activities, stories, tips and developmental information especially for our class.

Kindermusik's dedication to providing you with the best ever programme means that our curricula are now being updated constantly - meaning you get the benefit of our ongoing research and expertise :) Pretty exciting stuff!

Contact me today to secure your place for term three!

A Very Overdue Post!

2011-03-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hello!! This long overdue post from Serendipity Studio features a really interesting article about the importance of Children's music for children :) Although it doesn't always appeal to the grown ups in the house, music especially for our smallest friends really does benefit them in so many ways!

And I do find it grows on me after a while ;) It's not only Jarvis singing along to the Wiggles when we're driving down the road!

Enjoy :)
Kath

Why Children's Music is Crucial

Love and nourishment are the keystones of healthy development for every baby. But next is music; in fact sometimes it is hard to tell them apart!

Babies hear sounds and feel the rhythm of the heartbeat in the womb. When they are born, they associate their experience of our moods with the sounds around them; loving voices are soothing, while sudden loud noise is distressing.

As you nurse, the steady beat of your heart is baby’s experience of rhythm. As you sing, shake baby’s rattle or bells, baby is responding to the high frequency sounds and the drama in your voice.

Newborns have been crooned to since the dawn of time; we rock them, singing lullabies - and for good reason: it is fundamental to healthy development! Early learning begins in the senses – through touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. And learning is faster when baby can focus on simple things, one at a time, (even if only for a micro-second!) Neural pathways are rapidly developing as they taste a particular taste or hear a particular sound.

Though babies respond to all sound, there is a natural progression taking place, from simple isolated sounds and songs on a parent’s lap, through to the full orchestration of music on the radio, and sophisticated singalong songs for older kids. In any arena ‘you gotta crawl before you can walk’

We don’t expect children to behave like adults, so why is it that so many parents, in effect, force their children to ‘jump’ straight out of the nursery into the world of adult music? Our mature taste dominates our adult world, but why do we let it dominate the child’s?

Quality children’s music is a response to the genuine developmental needs of the young, rather than an adults’ world imposed upon them. While good children’s music also often communicates on an adult level, this is only to delight us into keeping involved for our children’s sake.

It is crucial for full, healthy development that we let our children progress from simple nursery songs, through dance and action songs, to a wealth of stimulating songs set in their own world as they grow. They need children’s music, because they are children!

Like us, they need music that celebrates their issues, their struggles, their victories, music that appeals to their sense of humour. And like us, they need to be able to be transported listening to it or to be moved to dance or sing to it. If they are going to watch, let it be a live performance.

Quality children’s music, in an atmosphere of love:

1) Promotes healthy parent-child bonding
2) Establishes a foundation for a child’s development in speech and reading
3) Provides a "good-feeling" base for a healthy self image
4) Helps to develop motor skills and co-ordination
5) Helps build memory skills
6) Awakens humour and creativity

The "live" music you do with your child is the most valuable. Recorded children’s music also stimulates infants and can aid parents in learning songs and games to sing directly with them. It is never too early to start.

Next time you’re thinking of a new toy for your child, consider giving them music; rather than DVDs, just music or musical toys. Children tire of many toys very quickly, but note how often they come back to their musical instruments and how often they ask for their favourite albums to be played!

Music is primal. And perhaps it is the one worldly thing that can take us through our emotional world to touch the sublime. Our children not only deserve music, it is an essential ingredient in being human.

This article had no listed author and was taken from http://www.ucamusic.com/content/childrens_music_crucial/

Family Time...and a prize!

2010-10-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Something very exciting is coming to Serendipity Studio in term one of next year...

Kindermusik Family Time!

Bringing children of all ages together provides a dynamic and integrated learning experience for everyone. So, Kindermusik took favourite songs and activities from our favourite units, like 'Shake, Shake the Apple Tree' and 'Hammocking' and rolled them into a fun, family class where each child is welcomed & valued, and family 'together time' is celebrated and cherished.

What you’ll 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 (and adults) will love selecting a unique instrument and joining in one big class jam session each week.
Musical Concepts. Fun engaging activities bring out the musicality in everyone, from the youngest member of the family to the oldest. Together you’ll learn more about music as you learn more about each other.
Expert advice. A Kindermusik educator explains how our musically based activities enhance your child’s complete development.
Learning continues at home. With the home materials, the learning continues at home with your child’s best teacher—you!

To celebrate this exciting new curricula coming to Serendipity Studio, one lucky family will win their whole semester's tuition back in full! As classes are limited to ten children, and my commitments mean I can teach a maximum of two classes a week, those are pretty fantastic odds. Find out more!

Golden Apple Lullabies

2010-10-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

Whilst on my fantastical adventure to Australia over the holidays, I had the great privilege of hearing super talented Kindermusik educator Cliona Molins performing a song from her new CD, Golden Apple Lullabies on her harp.

In our Kindermusik class we often talk about the importance of teaching our young ones to relax - it's a learned skill, and something which we adults often struggle with!

A young child's life is a whirlwind of activity - every day they are learning new skills, and millions of new connections are forming in their brains. It's so important to have some quiet time in the middle of all of the adventures - we need to give our children the chance to 'just be' at all times of the day, not solely naptime & bedtime. Sharing beautiful soft lullabies is a wonderful way of sharing some quiet time together, just having a cuddle.

Visit Cliona's website, listen to the beautiful song samples, enjoy a cuddle with your child!

You'll love it.

At this stage, Cliona's CD isn't able to be shipped outside of Australia, however, if you would love a copy please get in touch with me and I can arrange it! It's on high rotation around here, that's for sure.

Last day for early-birds!

2010-09-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick message from us today!

Remember - the early bird discount offer closes tomorrow :) Pay your deposit before then & take advantage of a $10 discount on your term's tuition!

Jarvis & I are looking forward to next term already - especially with all of the inspiration I will have gained from the Kindermusik conference in Mooloolaba in two weeks time.

Have a musical day :)
Kath & Jarvis

...and freeze!

2010-09-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

Freeze games are so much fun - the anticipation of when the music will stop, the giggling as you try to stay in one spot 'til it's time to move again, the springing back into life as the music starts up...

Not only are 'stop-start' games like this fantastically fun, they're also developing our all important inhibitory control. When our little ones are just getting used to this whole moving around business, their body takes a wee while to respond to the messages being sent by their brains. This is why you'll often experience a few crashes in the initial stages of walking and running - even though their brain is saying 'Stop!!', their legs often don't get the message 'til it's too late!

As with so many things, the more we practice, the better we get! The more opportunities our children have to practice their stopping and starting, the stronger the connections between their brain & their feet will grow and the easier stopping on demand will become :) And being able to stop in a hurry is a useful skill to have - think about crossing the road, or having another person unexpectedly cross your path when you're running!

Playing 'freeze' with some favourite music is a wonderful way to work on inhibitory control, as is taking a story for a walk (as we did in class with the story 'Little Feather' - which you can download here! If you register with play.kindermusik.com you automatically get three credits - use one to download this lovely story!).

Have a lovely weekend - try and find an opportunity to bring some stop-start action into your day ;)

:) Kath

Hickory, Dickory, Tickle and Bounce

2010-09-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

A bit of a sad morning 'round here - the last lesson of the term! It's been so wonderful having all of the wonderful families come & be a part of our Kindermusik family this past eight weeks :)

It was especially lovely to see our visitors at the 'Friends & Whanau' class on Saturday! The second time round was so enjoyable it's going to become a permanent fixture here at Serendipity Studio, I love having a class where Dads, Nanas, brothers, sisters, cousins and friends can all come along and see what we get up to on a Tuesday morning!

Jarvis and I will miss all of our friends over the holidays, but don't worry - I'm accepting enrolments for next term's class!

Here's a little about our upcoming unit - Hickory, Dickory, Tickle and Bounce!

Research shows the more you expose your baby to nursery rhymes and songs, the stronger those emerging language-learning skills will be. That's why these Mother Goose-like stories and rhymes are the main theme of this class. Plus, you'll develop research-proven communication strategies with your child through listening activities, speaking "parentese," and sign language.

Home Materials: CD of beautifully arranged nursery rhyme and songs from class, a rhyming picture board book—Hickory, Dickory, Tickle, and Bounce, a set of Art Banners, and an instrument for music-making at home.

Our class exploded in popularity this term, leading to rather a full house! Our class size is limited to ten, so if you'd like to be a part of this gorgeous unit celebrating the nursery rhymes we all grew up with, be in quick! To take advantage of our earlybird discount, your $65 deposit needs to be in by Friday, September 17th :)

Visit the website to enrol or to find out more! Everything's online - from the enrolment form through to payment facilities!

Over the holiday break, I'll keep posting wonderful ways to share music with your family...looking forward to next term already!

Take care,

Kath

An excellent listen

2010-08-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Hello all! A very busy week around here - apologies for not posting until now. I might even get two posts in tonight if I'm tricky!

I listened to a fantastic piece on National Radio today, about the profound effects of music on our young friends - it even made mention of Kindermusik Village! It was an interview with Greta Bradman, an amazing singer who has studied developmental psychology and neurophysiology, focussing on the impact of music on the brain.

I highly recommend you take a few minutes to have a listen :) It will reinforce that you really are making the best choice for your child by being a part of our wonderful Kindermusik family.

Radio New Zealand - Kathryn Ryan interviewing Greta Bradman

Birds Making Music :)

2010-08-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just a tiny post from me this week, I hope everyone's been enjoying listening to the birds singing us beautiful songs, reminding us that spring is just around the corner!

Here is a most wonderful link to explore at home, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington has a great website, and on it we discovered a page dedicated to the songs of our native birds. We've been having a fantastic time playing the sound clips, and listening to the ways Jarvis responds to them!

As always, the fantail is his favourite ;)

Remember, imitating sounds is a fantastic way for our little ones to get ready for speech, and it's lots of fun too!

http://www.sanctuary.org.nz/Site/Conservation_and_Research/Birds_sounds.aspx

Feathered Friends :)

2010-08-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic Feathers class we had yesterday!! The lovely Sal brought along her real live feathered friend to meet us :) Our Kindermusik Village class thought La La was just wonderful - especially when he came out of his house & sat on Sal's shoulder.

Birds are nature's most wonderful music makers - and La La very happily joined in when we sang our songs. It was a shame poor Jarvis wasn't feeling well and was exiled from the class (and went on an outing with his Dad!), he loves echoing La La's squeals!

Echoing interesting sounds and exploring what their voices can do is a great language acquisition tool for our small friends, by listening and experimenting they learn how to use their mouths in different ways to make different sounds, a very important precursor to using real words. So, spending some time with the birds is a very useful way to spend an afternoon!

There are lots of ways of encouraging lovely wildlife to come and sing to you - and one of these is to leave them something tasty to eat! Try this recipe out - it's from the NZ Forest & Bird website :)

Bird Pudding...
1 - 2 cups of fat
Crumbled up stale bread, biscuits or birdseed
Honey
Bacon Rinds

Place the fat, honey and bacon rinds in a bowl. Stand in another bowl filled with boiling water. When the fat begins to melt, add the crumbs or birdseed. Stir the mixture to combine, and squish into a ball shape. When it's cooled down, put your bird pudding ball into a mesh bag (like the ones you buy onions in!), and hang it in a tree. You can also put out a tasty drink for your feathered visitors - they love sweetened water! Make sure you put it all up high enough that any passing cats don't interrupt the party :)

We're inviting our native birds into our Kindermusik classroom as well as into our garden - the class created a very cool version of 'Who's Making All that Noise' this week. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can come up with next week!

Musically yours,
Kath :)

PS...Jarvis missed his friends terribly this week - hopefully he'll be back on board next Tuesday!

Become an Explorer!

2010-07-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone - and welcome to term three! We had a fantastic first class for the term this morning, and are very excited to welcome Sarah & Tiki to our Kindermusik family :)

Did you know that babies who are allowed to explore within safe limits generally become eager and flexible learners? Finding new ways of using objects is great food for young brains :) When our children are investigating objects, they're creating Action Schemes in their minds - what it looks like, feels like, tastes like, the sound it makes when you shake it, what happens when you bash it on something, all of that wonderful stuff.

Do some investigating at your house! You could use a store bought instrument, something you've made, or even something from the kitchen (Jarvis is a big fan of the potato masher!). Think outside the box - what fantastical ways can you find of using it to make music? What sounds does it make?

I'd love to hear about your explorations - your comments always make me smile :)

Have a musical week! Kath & Jarvis

Free Preview Class :)

2010-06-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

For all of you who didn't win our giveaway, here's a little something for you :) Give me a call on 8686146 and come along to a free preview class - you'll have a wonderful time and there's absolutely no obligation attached.

Congratulations!!

2010-06-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Emma Gibson, who will be joining us for Kindermusik Village next term!! It's been lovely seeing more of you become followers and leave comments, and solve my little puzzle ;) I hope you'll all keep reading, and finding out more about ways to make every day a little more musical.

I'm really looking forward to meeting our newest Kindermusik family when the term starts on July 20th!

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Ooooh - nearly there!

2010-06-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

To find out about our giveaway (which closes tonight!), click here first!

The giveaway is nearly over - and I see a couple of new followers have joined us as of this afternoon! One clever cookie has solved my puzzle already, and sent me the correct answer :)

Jarvis and I came up with S a novel musical instrument today, also known as 'Balloon with Bell in it'. It took me rather a long time to get a bell inside a deflated balloon, but once I did the fun was endless! Apologies for the rather dreadful photo and messy lounge ;) Hard to get a good shot of a young man vigorously making music!

A few days back I posted about the places music can be hiding in your backyard, today we spent the day searching for it inside. The Bell Balloon Creation came about when Jarvis started rummaging through a drawer & found a bell and a balloon, before that he made some pretty fantastic music using a stone mortar and pestle on the kitchen floor. There are endless possibilities - and none of them require you to go to a shop and buy an instrument! Our children can teach us an awful lot about how to make the most of what's around you :)

I look forward to checking my emails in the morning and seeing who else has taken the time to play my puzzling game - thank you all so much! I'll find my lucky winner then - if you haven't become a follower, make sure you do tonight - and leave me a comment too! I know there are some shy folk out there so I'm changing the rules a little - if you're a follower you get an entry, if you leave a comment you get another, and if you solve the puzzle you get yet another :) I don't want to scare off people who aren't confident blog commenters!

So...send your answers to me at serendipitystudio AT y7mail DOT com (excuse the lack of linky, I don't want those sneaky web bot things to steal my email address...), there's a link on the right hand side under the subscription box too :)

Good Luck!!

:) Kath

Kindermusik - the Single Best Choice!

2010-06-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

To find out about our giveaway, click here first!

You may think I'm being a bit outrageous with the title of this post - but I truly believe it is :)

The research about music and children's development is simply amazing! More and more, the eyes of the research community are turning to music as a vehicle to deliver a learning experience to children.

Early, positive, and age-appropriate experiences with music - like a Kindermusik programme - can have a remarkable and research-proven impact on your child's life :) Language and literacy, maths and pattern recognition skills, social and emotional development, and the ability to plan, guide and self regulate behaviour are all attributes you'll see blossoming in your Kindermusik child!

Kindermusik International have put together some fantastic resources, outlining the results of research into the ongoing benefits of Kindermusik. If you have a few D moments, they're well worth a read :)

Kindermusik - On the Path to Reading
Discovering Mathematics through Music
Music & Social-Emotional Development

Research aside, there are other amazing benefits of being a part of a Kindermusik class...the absolute joy you'll experience in a class and at home, the special bond you and your child will form in your special time together, the fun you and your family will have at home dancing and singing along with your Kindermusik CDs :)

With over thirty years developing early childhood music curricula and products, Kindermusik is the original and most trusted name in music and movement classes.

I can't wait to see which wonderful family will be joining us for next term - if you haven't become a follower yet, it's not too late!! I'll be choosing a winner on Thursday morning :)

Don't be shy - write us a comment ;) It's lovely learning about what everyone's doing to celebrate music with their families!

One more linky for today - some blogs from happy Kindermusik families around the world. If the research doesn't convince you, these surely will :)

Blogs by happy Kindermusik families!

Musically yours,
Kath

Music in the Back Yard :)

2010-06-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

To find out about our giveaway, click here first!

I've just posted these over at my other blog, but thought they were a wonderful way to show how music can be hiding in the most unexpected of places :)

This morning, Jarvis and I went hunting for music in the garden. At first we found it in the usual places - Deedee the chicken and her team (Rosso, Rouge, Rojo, Blanco and Bianco - totally original chicken names round here...) clucking gently, with the occasional noisy outburst, the fantails sitting on the clothes line, the pheasants making their honking noises when they get startled and take off!

Then, while I was hanging some washing out, Jarvis discovered a new source of music in one of his favourite things - the garden hose!!

I heard him giggling wildly, and turned around to see this! He was making Shhhhhh sounds to go with the sound of the water spraying out of the hose, and totally enjoying the experience of having water flying EN wildly around his face :) Lucky I had the camera sitting outside, it was priceless!

Water is a very musical medium indeed! As well as the 'shhhhhh' sound of the water spraying from the hose, think about the sound you can make when you blow bubbles with a straw, the splash you get when you jump into a puddle, the sound of water pouring from one container into another, the sound of the shower sprinkling water into a full bathtub, the swish swish swish sound you hear when you wiggle your hands or feet in a full bucket :)

Only three days left of the giveaway - don't be shy lovely readers, please post a comment!! I'd LOVE to hear about your backyard music adventures, or even just have you say hello and tell me a little about you & your family :)

We have ten more followers now than we did a week ago, and that's wonderful - I can't wait to give away a term of Kindermusik Village on Thursday :)

Don't forget to find the mysterious letters in this post - not many left to find now ;)

'til tomorrow!

Kath

Feathers :)

2010-06-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

To find out about our giveaway, click here first!!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your Saturday :) What looked like a murky day has turned into a lovely sunshiney afternoon here - a nice surprise.

Our Village unit for next term is called Feathers - in this unit the musical poems of Woody Guthrie, bird songs, and the naturally occurring sounds in nature help babies develop an early appreciation - and accelerated aptitude - for language, movement and music.

The At Home Materials are just gorgeous! A Kindermusik Chime Ball (a big favourite with everyone in our class!), a colourful picture book filled with birds, an art banner to strengthen baby's vision and promote early literacy, and a cd with over 25 songs from class to enjoy at home :) In addition to the cd, everyone enrolled in class is able to download a digital copy of ER the Feathers album from play.kindermusik.com . This is such a great website - and many of our families have found it invaluable when their cds have been played to death!!

We're already getting into the Feathers groove in our house - listening to the cd, reading the picture book, and getting outside and listening to the birds singing in the trees :) Jarvis's favourite real life bird right now is the fantail who hangs out in the lemon verbena tree outside. Whenever he sees the little guy sitting there chirping away, he starts imitating his sound and chirping back at him!

Nature provides so many opportunities for us to take time out and listen - the birds singing, the wind in the trees, the way leaves crunch when you walk on them...what are your family's favourite sounds in the backyard? I'd love to hear all about them :)

Feel the Beat!

2010-06-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

To find out about our giveaway, click here first!

Hello, lovely readers! I hope you're all enjoying reading my ramblings about the wonderful ways music can enrich our families :) I'm loving the comments, keep them coming!! There are still a few words to come, so keep your eyes peeled...

One of the first things we experience, even before we're born, is a steady beat. For forty weeks or so, we lived in a warm soft home, where the main soundtrack was the beating of our mother's heart :)

So, imagine how it must feel after nine months of feeling a quiet, calm steady beat all day to emerge into a very noisy world, filled with lots of randomly occurring noises!

The world is a super noisy place! Things are always beeping, the tv or radio is often on, other children are running around doing wonderfully noisy kid things, animals are making noises, lots NEV of things for a new baby to take in!

Especially in the early days, when babies are still adjusting to their new surroundings, music with a steady beat can provide some familiarity and comfort in the midst of a chaotic world :) Steady beat can be expressed through movement too - walking (or dancing!) around the room to a piece of music is a great way of experiencing the beat.

Experiencing a steady beat has many ongoing benefits too...but I'll save them for next time ;)

How do you feel the beat with your family? Can't wait to hear other people's ideas :)

Musically yours,

Kath

PS - I hope you found the mysterious word - it's not actually a whole word today, just a piece of one! Keep saving them up - and keep spreading the word :) If you don't follow loads of blogs, an easy way to keep up to date with my posts is to subscribe - just put your email address in the box on the right hand side! You'll get an email whenever I write something new :)

Relax :)

2010-06-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

To find out all about our giveaway, click here first!!

There's nothing like taking a few moments to sit down, snuggle up, and relax! Here, Jarvis is having a cuddle with his friend the (very enormous) Very Hungry Caterpillar at his Nana's place :)

Relaxing isn't something we know how to do when we're born! With so much going on in the lives of our little ones, it's super important that we teach them how to slow down and have a rest in between all of our adventures. Relaxing is a learned behaviour, and something which we need to practice (yay!).

Something we do in our Kindermusik Village class during Quiet Time, is listen to a piece of lovely relaxing music. It's a great time to have a cuddle, and rock to the music whilst taking deep breaths. Our children are amazing - when we breathe deeply, they copy us and slow down too! It's a time to share smiles and cuddles, and enjoy taking some time out of our busy lives :) Relaxation BEGINNING isn't only for before bedtime, but it's a handy skill to have when bedtime does roll around!

Try it out - take a few minutes out of your afternoon every day this week and relax with your children :) Choose a favourite piece of music - something slow, soft and gentle will help you relax more than something bouncy and fast - and give it a try :)

As always - we'd love to hear about how you and your family relax! Remember to hunt for the mystery word in this post (details of the giveaway here!), and become a follower if you aren't already :)

PS - We're on facebook as well - it would be wonderful if you could come & 'like' us , tell your friends about Serendipity Studio!!

Getting a New Perspective :)

2010-06-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

To find out all about our giveaway, click here first!!

Things can look so different when you check them out from a different perspective! As adults, we can move our bodies heads and eyes around to investigate the world around us in so many different ways. Our babies don't yet have the ability to do this by themselves, which is why an important part of Kindermusik Village is holding our babies in lots of different ways, giving them lots of views of the action!

This wonderful variety of views helps our babies develop their eyes, their understanding of space, and helps with the development of the muscles in their bodies used for movement and balance. Every time baby changes position, and sees the world from a new angle, new neural connections A GOOD are being formed in the brain!

As with everything our young friends do, repetition is what makes these connections permanent. Every new experience and new perspective forms a connection - repeating these strengthens the connection and makes it stick around longterm :)

Give it a try tomorrow - do some of your everyday activities with a twist! If you usually hold baby on your hip, try flying him or her through the air like superman! Have him or her facing you or facing outwards, down low or up high :) There are endless possibilities! I love the way Jarvis is looking up a cobweb out on the deck in the photo above, from below it looks quite different from when you're observing it front on.

Remember to find the mysterious words in this post & join them onto what you found yesterday! Spread the word - a term of Kindermusik is a wonderful prize for a lucky family to win :)

Until tomorrow!
Kath :)

1,2,3, Waltz with Me!

2010-06-22T01:22:00.000-07:00

The lovely Shanks family, showing us their wonderful waltz moves ;) We miss having Bonnie (the young lady in orange!) with us each week - she's an honorary member of our Village class who's recently started at Kindy. She's helping Mum (Jacquie) and her little brother, Jake, enjoy some quality dancing time :) They're doing a great job of showing us what Kindermusik is all about - sharing music with our families.

That's what makes Kindermusik so special - it's not just a once a week experience, the amazing At Home Materials mean you can take music wherever you go - listening (and singing along!) to the cds in the car, reading the stories before bed at night, having some quiet time together and KINDERMUSIK singing a soft lullaby :)

Lately we've been enjoying a lot of dancing in our house - the Do-Si-Do cd certainly makes you want to jump up and dance!! Whatever your child's stage (lap baby, crawler, wriggler, walker, runner!), there's a way to incorporate movement & dance into your day. Dancing with your baby in your arms, or having them dancing alongside you, is so much fun, and has so many other benefits!

Movement and sensory awareness are a big way that our littlies learn about themselves and the world - they internalise movement before making connections to the language which describes it (for example, they know what up and down feel like well before they know the words!). As they grow older, they'll do the action and say the word at the same time, then eventually the language will take over (but the movement is still there on the inside!). Pretty interesting stuff!!

Make sure you click on the follow button and keep an eye on the blog - I'll be back tomorrow with some more wonderful ways to share music with your family! And be sure to collect the mysterious words hiding in my posts for the competition ;) Today's one isn't too tricky, I think you'll find it without too much difficulty!

I'd love to hear about how you incorporate movement and dance into your day - please leave me a comment!

Have a musical day :)
Kath

Come, Follow Me! (also known as Giveaway Time!)

2010-06-22T00:57:00.000-07:00

A bit of a Kindermusik joke there - watch this video & see one of our favourite Kindermusik tunes ;)

At long last, here comes the giveaway I've been teasing you with for the last wee while!

Because we want to spread the word about how wonderful Kindermusik is, we're giving away a term of free tuition for one lucky local (Gisborne & nearby) family, valued at $165. It's for a place in our Kindermusik Village class in term three, for little ones aged 0-18 months :)

It's easy peasy to enter...

1. Become a follower of the blog! Click on the 'follow' button to the right of the page, enter your details & you're done. If you're having trouble, click on the 'send me an email' linky and I'll help!
2. Leave a comment :) I LOVE hearing everyone's ideas about wonderful ways to share music with their families!

That's it! But, if you're keen for an extra entry and like a wee puzzle, I'll be hiding a word or two in each blog post for the next week. It shouldn't be too tricky to find (although it may look at first like I've made a crazy mistake & forgotten to proof read!). Collect the words, and email them to me at the end of the month (June 30th).

At the end (on July 1st), I'll use random.org to choose a lucky winner!

My next post holds the first clue :) Good luck, and please tell all your Gisborne friends!!

A Giveaway!

2010-06-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

How exciting - in conjunction with the lovely Jacquie at Cheeky Cherubs, and the ladies organising the upcoming Gisborne Baby Expo, we have a wonderful prize up for grabs...

A term of Kindermusik Village with Serendipity Studio for you and your baby/toddler (aged 0-18months), valued at $165!!

This is a very special prize, and there'll be a bit of a treasure hunt involved in entering the giveaway ;) Keep your eyes peeled on this blog, and on Facebook (the Serendipity Studio, Cheeky Cherubs & Gisborne Baby Expo pages!) for more details in the next few days...

I can't wait!!

Cuddles!

2010-05-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful class we had this morning!! It was great to welcome Tom & Elaina back to our Kindermusik family, and have them join our singing and dancing :)

Something which really jumped out at me this morning was how our children love their Kindermusik friends - including the grown ups!

At an age when many children are dealing with separation anxiety, we had a whole room full of little ones aged from 8 to 15 months all switching mummies! They were gorgeous - climbing into another Mum's lap for a cuddle, tickling the toes of the Mum with the coolest socks on, and generally sharing their smiles and cuddles generously with the group.

Funnily enough, yesterday I was listening to a Kindermusik Webinar (online seminars which Kindermusik educators take part in, as a part of our ongoing professional development), which spoke about just that! One of the major benefits of a Kindermusik class is the social development our children get from being in a group of special friends each week :). I think our kids demonstrated that for us this morning, in the loveliest possible way.

So, that's my piece of learning for today - Kindermusik grows confident, loving children!! And who wouldn't want one of those :)

Thanks for being a part of our Kindermusik family - and if you're not yet, please give me a call & find out how you can come and join us!!

(and if you don't live in Gisborne, even if you don't live in New Zealand, visit www.kindermusik.com and click on 'find a class'. This will find one near you, no matter where in the world you live!)

Lots of love, Kath & Jarvis

The Great Explorer?

2010-05-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a little explorer on my hands right now! An important part of Kindermusik is giving our little ones opportunities to explore - it's the most wonderful way for them to learn!

I know I sometimes feel like I'm running around all day, and wish that Jarvis would just stop adventuring for a few minutes...What I do then, however, is stop, and think about how wonderful it is that he has the confidence to go off on his adventures safe in the knowledge that I'll be there when he gets back, or if he falls, or if he needs a cuddle!

As I've said many times before, our small friends learn about the world by experiencing it! Crawling, rolling, running, licking, smooshing things into their faces - all of these sensory explorations are helping our children build up their knowledge about how things work :) And whilst following Jarvis up and down staircases for hours isn't so much fun for me, the smile on his face when he reaches the top is worth every second I've stood there.

So, next time you have a runaway toddler on your hands, congratulate yourself! You have a secure little person, who has the confidence to gobble up the world (then come back for a snuggle afterwards!).

We would love to hear your experiences of your child's newfound independence - feel free to post a comment ;)

Have a musical, adventurous week!
Love Kath and Jarvis xx

One Week to Go!

2010-04-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

Yay! Only one week til Kindermusik Village Do-si-Do gets underway for the term. Jarvis & I have missed all of our wonderful friends over the past few weeks, we're very excited to see you all again next Tuesday :)

Do-si-Do is a fantastic unit - I can't wait to share it with you all. A really exciting component of the unit is the literature book. It's a little different to the previous books we've used, in that we use it in class every single week! Its title is 'This is my dance' and by the time we get to the end, that's exactly what we will all have - a joyful dance to share with our beautiful children.

A major focus of this unit is Rhythm & Movement - something which our babies are born with an understanding of! For nine or so months, whilst living in our warm bellies, the soundtrack to their lives was the steady sound of our heartbeat. As soon as our babies are born, they seek that familiar beat in the world around them. These familiar patterns help him or her to make order out of the chaos that is the outside world :) By providing lots of opportunities for rhythmic activity, we give our little ones recognisable, predictable & patterned information to latch onto.

Through the exciting movement we'll experience in Do-si-Do, our babies & toddlers will gain awareness of their bodies, and the amazing things they are capable of. They'll even learn about negotiating gravity (another rather alien concept when you've spent nine months living underwater!). Our children will learn so much from the rhythm & dance we will experience in this unit!

One brainwave I had the other day was to suggest everyone bring a sling or frontpack to our Do-si-Do classes - with most of our beautiful class members not able to walk for long, there'll be a lot of carrying to be done, and I know that I get super tired when I'm carrying Jarvis for more than a few minutes without our Mei Tai! I absolutely love wearing Jarvis, and wearing him to dance seems like a pretty wonderful idea.

Should anyone need a sling, one of our super talented class members, Jacquie, has some rather nice ones for sale through her shop, Cheeky Cherubs :)

Off I go to practice my moves for next week - have a fantastic week, everyone, and we look forward to next Tuesday!!

:) Kath & Jarvis

A Memento of Term One :)

2010-03-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

Term one is finished! We've had the most wonderful term, with an amazing group of mums and babies :)

Here are a few pictures I took over the term, many thanks to our Kindermusik families for sharing their smiling faces with everybody!

Make your own free photo slideshow

We're all really looking forward to next term, when we'll get on our dancing shoes & get grooving with Kindermusik Village - Do-si-Do! There are only a couple of spaces left in term two's class (starting Tuesday May 4th) - be in quick!

Keep checking over the break for lots of ways to bring music into every day :) A big thank you to my amazing Kindermusik families, you guys rock!

Date Fix-up!

2010-03-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

A very quick post from me today - I've put the wrong start date down for next term's classes!!

Term Two will begin on May 4th! (not May 3rd, that's a Monday and class is still going to be on Tuesdsay!!).

So sorry for causing any confusion - I must have looked at the calendar wrong!

Have a musical weekend :)

Kath

Timbre!

2010-03-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hello! Today's class was so much fun - seeing our babies having such a wonderful time exploring the instruments definitely put a smile on my face.

So many different timbres (the distinctive quality of sounds!) were floating around the room - the jingling of bells, the boom of the big drums, the pitter patter sound of the wave drum, the 'chh chh chh' of the egg shakers...all different, all providing another musical experience for our children!

We spoke about how exploring & experiencing different timbres can benefit our littlest friends, giving them the opportunity to develop a sensitivity to sound and a listening vocabulary of timbres. This helps to attune their ears to the different sounds & timbres in music and speech!

What wonderful sounds can you find around your house? Rachael & Kobe have been making music by dropping pegs into a can, Jarvis loves the sound of the chicken food dropping between his fingers onto the deck (we don't love that one quite as much!), what's your favourite? :)

We're gearing up for next term - come & join us for some dancing in Kindermusik Village :
Do-Si-Do! Classes begin May 3rd, places are limited - visit our website or email us
to find out more.

Legato...Staccato!

2010-03-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

I hope everyone's having a wonderfully musical week :) I really enjoyed our class on Tuesday, we missed a few friends who weren't able to join us, and we look forward to having everyone back on board next week!

Something we talked about on Tuesday, which is really interesting as well as really easy to incorporate into our babies' experiences, was Sensory Contrast. This is something we explored when we played 'I Roll The Ball To You', then made a few modifications to add in 'Bounce' and 'Throw'!

As our babies experience the contrast between a smoothly rolling ball, and a jumpy, bouncing ball, he or she is understanding on a sensory level the difference between smooth, sustained movement, and sharp detached movement. And as our babies learn so much through sensory experience, this is a great way to explore legato (smooth) and staccato (short & sharp)!

Staccato and Legato are important in music, but did you realise they are also an important part of spoken language?

Here are a couple of lines from one of Jarvis's favourite books - Schnitzel von Krumm's Basketwork, By Lynley Dodd...

He made a new bed
in a jumble of shirts,
pyjamas and towels
and flowery skirts...

Read it out loud - can you see which parts read smoothly and which are sharper? There are loads of reasons that there's contrast - things like which sounds make up the words (lots of hard sounding consonants like c,d,b are 'bouncier' than the vowel sounds and soft consonants as you find in towel and flower...), whether words are short or long, the way the author has used rhythm...I could go on forever. Think about the lyrics of lullabies...they use lots of long vowel sounds, and gentle words. If they were fast & bouncy they wouldn't quite have the desired effect ;)

What's more important though is that the contrasts are there, and we hear them every day when we listen to the people around us,. Understanding this is going to help our babies with decoding language!

It really is amazing that doing something as simple as singing a song and handling a ball in different ways can be connected to something as tricky as the contrasts we find in the English language - isn't it wonderful that Kindermusik activities have such an effect on our little people as they get bigger and learn more & more about the world!

Goodness, that was quite a post! I hope you can find some wonderful ways this week to incorporate sensory contrast into your day. We'd love to hear your ideas!

Have a wonderful week :)
Kath & Jarvis

A Musical Week!

2010-02-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

I wonder if you could think for a moment about what you did yesterday...and where music featured in it! Maybe you were listening to the radio in the car, maybe you sang to your baby as you put him or her to bed. Maybe you tested out one of our new songs from Tuesday's class & sang whilst chasing a ball around the lounge :)

A major philosophy behind Kindermusik is that you, the parent, is the child's first and most important teacher, and the home, not the classroom, is the best place for the child to learn! Our class only takes up 45 minutes of your week, but by using your home materials & finding the music in your home environment, the Kindermusik experience can be a part of every day :)

A favourite activity around our house this week has been 'I roll the ball to you' - after having so much fun using the big exercise ball on Tuesday, we've been chasing it around the house with great enthusiasm! Jarvis is still crazy about the Cock-a-doodle-Moo! book, which we read often. It has so many opportunities for vocal play - and he has started making 'brrrrrrrm' noises when he plays with his toy tractor which is a new development!

I really hope you're enjoying the special time you have with your child in class, life is so busy that it's nice to have 45 minutes when you don't have anything else you need to be doing except for enjoying music with your beautiful baby!

How have you been using your At Home Materials this week? Where have you found music in your day? We'd love to hear all about it!

Have a wonderful day :)

Kath & Jarvis

Ready for Reading!

2010-02-14T16:32:00.001-08:00

A very belated post this week - who knew life would be so busy with a gorgeously curious little boy to play with!

Jarvis & I really really loved our first Kindermusik session for the term - welcome back to our friends from 2009, and a big welcome to our newest friends; Fiona & Taikorekore, and Jacquie, Jake & Bonnie. It's lovely having you as a part of our Kindermusik family in Gisborne!

A highlight of lesson one for us was sharing our new Kindermusik book with the class. Cock-a-doodle-Moo! is one of Jarvis's favourite things - not only favourite books, but favourite things overall! The bright colours, the cheery animals, and the endless potential for making ridiculously cool noises, make it number one around here.

Reading with your baby is such a wonderful thing to do, for so many reasons. Storytime is a perfect time for a cuddle, and reading in a cozy & happy environment will help baby associate reading with pleasure & fun. Another positive is that by exposing babies to a variety of vocal sounds, we're helping them learn about language! Every sound which you & your baby make is a learning experience :)

We're also sharing other useful tips when reading with our children, without even realising it - things like which way up to hold a book, which way we turn the pages when reading a story (in English anyhow!), and that what's written on the page is the same as what we're saying out loud. Obviously our babies using these examples is a fair way down the track, but all of these clues about literacy will build up over the years!

What's your favourite book to read with your baby? How does your baby respond to a favourite book? We'd love to hear about your experiences here :)

Have a musical Monday - and see you tomorrow to our Kindermusik friends!

New Website!

2010-01-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

The website has been suffering from a bit of an illness lately, and after trying very hard to fix it, I've given up and created a new one instead!

Come & visit us at http://serendipitystudio.webs.com and tell me what you think! It should be all go - registration forms ready to download, paypal working perfectly. Once I'm sure it's working well & coming through search engines, I'll wind the old one down.

I also wanted to welcome the new members of our Kindermusik family - it's going to be a wonderful group this term!

Have a musical day :)

Kath & Jarvis

Cock a Doodle Moo!

2010-01-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

How many ways can you sing hello? Animals come to life in this exciting unit Cock-a-Doodle Moo when singing a “Morning Song” like a pig, horse, snake or cow…….

How many noises does a cow make? Find out how to smack, munch and snore like a cow in a fun chant “This Little Cow Eats Grass”.

In Cock-a-Doodle Moo, enjoy walking down memory lane when you share some other old favourite chants and songs, such as: “Skip to my Lou”, “Old MacDonald”, “The Farmer in the Dell” “Hey Diddle Diddle”, and “Yankee Doodle”.

Lie down and enjoy listening to a beautiful “Cantonese Lullaby” or “You are My Sunshine”, with your little one or read quietly in a corner.

This unit’s literature component “Cock-a-Doodle Moo” has beautifully presented pictures, which follows along with a chant, describing each animal by using an expressive voice – Moooo, Peep, Baaaa, Nei-eigh-eigh! Jarvis is totally crazy about this book - as you'll see when you come to class in a couple of weeks, it's been well used!

Bounce, sway, hop, dance, zoom and groove

in our next village unit, “Cock-a-Doodle Moo”

See you soon!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T15:49:00.001-08:00

Hello! A quick message to start the year - don't forget to enroll now :)

Our Village class for term one is almost full already - the class will be a little smaller than last term as the babies are getting more mobile & my lounge is only so big...be sure to get in touch & get your deposits in soon!!

If you've already handed in your enrollment form or expressed interest in the class I'll be in touch soon, if you're interested but we haven't talked yet I'd love you to give me a call on 8686146.

I hope everyone's enjoying their summer holidays - see you soon!

Keep on Jingling!

2009-12-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely email from Sally & Shawn this week! They were listening to their Dewdrops cd, and it had Shawn giggling like mad every time 'Come Follow' played :) Awesome!

Remember to add a little music to every day, even though we're between terms :) Christmas offers many wonderful opportunities for music making - Jarvis is demonstrating how much fun singing Jingle Bells can be when you have a cage bell on hand. (And a duck. Maybe the duck isn't so much a part of the song, but he's included nonetheless).

Think about the sounds you hear when you go outside at this time of year - sit quietly under a tree with your little person & listen to the birds singing, the cicadas chirping, the wind rustling through the leaves. Find a crunchy leaf & squash it, bang on the grass with your hands. All of these things make wonderful sounds! Music isn't confined to a classroom, or made solely by instruments :)

A Christmas cd I wouldn't mind getting hold of this year is Frank Sinatra's Christmas Collection - I can imagine having a wonderful time dancing around the lounge with Jarvis to a bit of Frank. For something a bit more up-beat, there's a very cool sounding album calls In the Christmas Groove, a collection of funk/soul tunes! Sounds like a bit of a laugh & good for a boogie :) I might just have to investigate! Dancing with your baby is one of the most wonderful things you can do - read this great article from Kindermusik International I posted back in October if you want to learn a little more about why!

I would really love to hear any of your Christmassy musical ideas! Post yours as a comment - if you have any trouble please email it to me using the link on the top right & I'll post it for you :)

Have a musical day!

Kath

Give the Gift of Kindermusik!

2009-12-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

Looking for the perfect present this holiday season? Know someone who would be interested in giving a gift that truly “keeps on giving”? As you know, the benefits of Kindermusik not only last a few months or a few years—they last a lifetime.

This year, Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, friends, or anyone, can give your little ones the gift of Kindermusik. I have Kindermusik gift certificates available in any denomination. Gift givers can get in touch with me by email (there's a link on the top right hand side!) or phone 06 8686146, and I will provide simple instructions for purchasing a gift certificate to be applied toward Kindermusik tuition and/or home materials! Gift certificates purchased before December 18th are sure to arrive in the mail in plenty of time to find their way under the Christmas tree, into stockings, or get hand delivered with a hug.

(And don’t worry, we won’t tell your gift givers that this isn’t just a gift for the little ones—it’s also a gift for you! After all, you’re the one who gets to sit crossed-legged on the floor each week, enjoying that special time to bond with your child.)

Are you wondering if grandparents love giving Kindermusik as a gift? Just check out this video of a Kindermusik grandma who has pledged to sponsor Kindermusik for any of her 17 grandchildren who want it!

If you have any questions about purchasing gift certificates, I’ll be happy to answer them for you.

Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons!

Can't decide whether to enroll? Watch this!

2009-12-04T17:05:00.001-08:00

Kindermusik Village in Action :)

2009-12-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

Upside Down!

2009-11-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

Being upside-down provides our babies with a quite different perspective on the world (and makes them laugh! Well, Jarvis does anyway!).

It also provides their developing brains with some important information about gravity and movement, our place in space. Deep inside our middle ear is a very complex place, with an awful lot going on.

A very basic explanation of what's happening in there is that there are three tiny canals deep inside each ear, all filled with liquid. When we move this liquid swishes around, and pushes on a structure called a cupula, which contains tiny hair cells. The tiny hair cells translate the movement into electrical signals, which our brains can then process!

In other posts I've mentioned the importance of sensory stimulation for our littlest people, (stop and smell the flowers), and the stimulation of the Vestibular System is one of the most important sensory experiences of them all.

Our vestibular system keeps us standing upright, maintaining our balance, and moving around. It helps our brains to process what our eyes can see, it helps our brains to process the millions of messages which come from the rest of our bodies about the environment around us (our fingers, hands & feet for example).

There are many wonderful ways to stimulate the vestibular system! I'll offer a couple, and I'd love to hear your ideas :)

Hammocking, like we do at Kindermusik! The gentle rocking action gets the liquid in the inner ear swishing :)
Gently rocking side to side, and back to front
Holding our babies in a variety of ways - upright, upside down (be careful to judge how much your child likes this one! I don't think it would appeal to everyone!), facing you, facing away...Every new position makes a new connection.

Remember - be gentle & be aware of your baby's response to different kinds of stimulation, everyone has a different perspective of what's enjoyable & what isn't :)

Enjoy finding new & exciting ways to get that Vestibular System going!

Sponge Play

2009-11-09T23:23:00.001-08:00

Specially for Kristina & Issac!

Take a nice clean sponge, and dampen it. Explore the sponge with your baby - brush it gently against their cheek, hands or feet, drip water from it onto their hand, let baby rub your hand with the sponge, have fun!! When baby has a wet hand/face/foot blow gently on it, it will give them all kinds of new & wonderful sensations.

Remember that everyone has a different idea of what's enjoyable & what isn't - some babies will prefer that you don't blow on their face, some (like Jarvis!) will love it and giggle like crazy! It's all about reading your lovely little friend & going from there.

The other wonderful thing we did was 'hammocking' - laying baby in a nice big blanket on the floor, one adult on each end, pick up the blanket & gently sway. So lovely! Even better if you sing a gentle song while you do it.

Long & Short

2009-11-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

We had an action packed class today! Playing with sponges, exploring egg shakers, and swinging in a hammock...busy busy busy.

Our focus today was Long & Short - in sounds, and in movements. When we sang 'Come Follow' and used long & short steps we were helping our babies to experience long & short with their entire bodies! When we sang it in a round it sounded wonderful - what a fantastic group of mums :) 'Blow Away the Morning Dew' used long & short blowing, and 'Come My Little Darling' focussed on the long slow swaying of the hammock. Be sure to try that one at home!

Your Dewdrops Journal activity for this week is centred around blowing. Our little people don't know how to blow yet, their lungs & diaphragm are still developing, but we can teach them about it by blowing gently on them, and blowing safe small items in the air for them to watch. Feathers, cellophane, tissue, cotton balls...so many things to choose from! This is great for working their little eye muscles, which will eventually help with learning to read!

Let your baby touch you to work out what you're doing when you blow - he'll feel your mouth, feel the warm air coming out, and think it's all very interesting indeed! Make sure to be careful with any little items you're blowing on, you don't want them to be eaten...

Share your blowing activities & baby's reactions - we love your input! It's so wonderful reading about what other families are doing at home, sharing ideas is so beneficial to all of us.

Have a musical day!
Kath & Jarvis

Phone Troubles

2009-11-04T17:00:00.001-08:00

My landline is having a few problems - not exactly sure when it will come back to life! If you need to get hold of me for enquiries or other musical things, please email me using the link on the right :)

Feel the Beat...

2009-11-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

Life has a rhythm & a pulse...everything we do each day has a beat & a rhythm! Babies experience this before they are even born, the contant pulse of Mum's heartbeat, the beat & rhythm of her movements. When we walk, run, dance, clap,jump,skip; all of these things have a beat.

Some things we wouldn't even think of are linked into rhythm & beat - cutting with scissors and bouncing a ball for example.

The same beat/pulse & rhythm is present in speech too! A wonderful way of sharing this with your baby is through nursery rhymes & poems. Clap the beat, tap the beat gently on your baby's body, move to the beat as you say the rhyme, bounce baby on your knee! Familiarise your baby with the rhythms of language in the way he or she will love the most - by listening to your voice.

Explore both beat & rhythm in your day - as well as moving with the beat when you say a poem, try clapping the rhythm (the syllables of the words in the poem). Play the rhythm on a drum (or a saucepan!), find different ways to bring beat & rhythm to life for your baby.

Share your beat & rhythm explorations here - we would really love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful musical week :)
Kath & Jarvis

Cock-a-doodle-Moo!

2009-10-28T12:35:00.001-07:00

Thinking ahead to term one of 2010! A little bit about our first Village unit for next year...

Hop on the hayride—it’s time to head for the farm! In this class, you will sing songs about the farm, including “Old MacDonald,” “Hayride,” and “Clever Cows.” You’ll engage in rituals and playful activities with your baby, including infant massage, lap bounces, exercise, and quiet time.

Home Materials: A picture board book with charming farm animals and the sounds they make—Cock-a-doodle-Moo, a CD of the songs heard in class, a Sunshine Jingle instrument for music-making at home, and a set of Art Banners for the nursery wall.

We'll get started the week of February 8th, with the day & time yet to be decided.

Families who are interested in finding out more about Kindermusik are welcome to make an appointment to come & check out a class (free of charge) this term - we'd love to grow our Kindermusik family in Gisborne! Call me on 8686146 to find out more.

Stop & Smell the Flowers

2009-10-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

Our babies are amazing! Everything is a new experience, and every new experience fills baby's senses with new sights, sounds, smells, feelings, movements, positions in gravity, & tastes.

The brain is constantly organising these new sensations, integrating them to create a fuller understanding of the world around us. In little people this is so important!!

Not only are they learning about their environment, but within the brain these sensory messages are converted into electrical impulses which travel to the spinal cord & brain, are combined, and produce some very important things - posture, movement skills, co-ordination, emotions, thoughts, memories & learning. The brain really is a fantastical place!

The sensory system doesn't just develop by itself, it needs to be stimulated. This happens every time a child has a sensory experience! By the age of ten, the growth of sensory connections in the brain is mostly finished with - which is why is it so very important to offer loads of sensory opportunities to our little people. In a child under 7, the brain's primary job is as a sensory processing machine - over 80% of the nervous system is totally dedicated to organising the many sensory experiences had!

Find ways to offer your baby a variety of wonderful sensory experiences!

A favourite around here is holding Jarvis above the oregano and letting him dance on the leaves...his toes feel the texture & coolness of the plant, his eyes see the green shiny leaves, his nose and mouth are filled with the aroma of the herbs, his vestibular system is being stimulated by being upright, and these are only a few of the wonderful things going on!

Check back in a few days for more interesting information about the importance of the senses in our wonderful babies, and pleeeeeease feel free to share any of your ideas, I really would love to hear them! Sensory experiences are infinite & limited only by the imagination!

Have a musical day!
Kath & Jarvis

Mirror Mirror...

2009-10-19T16:05:00.001-07:00

Babies are fascinated with mirrors! When he or she looks in the mirror, your baby is starting to develop some form of self-awareness. Responses can be many & varied - smiling & cooing, babbling, waving, patting, or eating the mirror! All of these reactions help him or her to learn more about the body.l

There are so many neat things you can do with your baby & a mirror! Put a mirror in front of your baby when they have tummy time, make silly faces, play peek-a-boo, use baby sign, make silly noises...Endless possibilities.

I'd love to hear your ideas about mirror play with your baby!

Balance the High & Low

2009-10-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

The pitch of a sound (how high or low it is) initiates different responses from babies. How you use your voice can affect the energy level of playtime with your baby! Exposure to high sounds plays an important part in maintaining the alertness & energy needed for learning, then low sounds can be calming and soothing for when it's time to relax.

This week, try to use a wide variety of voice ranges when you talk to your little one. Integrate movement too - move your body from low to high as you make a low to high sound! Say poems & tell stories using your voice in different ways, sing songs which are high and low, and see how your baby responds :)

Feel free to post their responses here, along with any wonderful ways you can think of to explore high & low!

Dance with your Baby!

2009-10-13T12:45:00.001-07:00

A great article from Kindermusik International about the wonderful things that happen when you dance with your baby :)

Next time you're out in the backyard, the park, or even an outdoor concert – dance with your baby. Do so and two amazing things happen. First, responding to music is one of the few activities – other than laughter – that engages a baby's entire mind and helps her express emotion, pay attention, and move. Add the unpredictable movement of dancing and you'll turn on another vital system, the vestibular system, which controls balance and coordination.

Babies need plenty of opportunities for unrestricted movement. So choose or create a safe environment that encourages exploring and the development of skills such as reaching, rolling, sitting up, crawling, pulling up, cruising and walking. Set up a large blanket wherever is best for you and your baby to stretch, play and dance! It will also give your baby a welcoming place to practise lifting her head or develop strong muscles during ‘tummy time', and allow her to learn to roll, creep, crawl and sit. If you place a toy just out of reach, you'll encourage your baby to make an extra effort that will help her physical development.

Playing lots of games is also rewarding. Even only slightly physical games, like pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo, can do a lot to help your baby's learning and movement skills. And taking your baby to new places will stimulate her curiosity.

And when it comes to dancing with your baby, don't worry if you don't know how to! Repetitive swaying and bouncing are age-old strategies for distracting a cranky baby, or just using rhythmic movements. Just think of a word then do it, like: glide, sway, bounce, two-step, swoop, fly, zig-zag. To really help tune up your baby's sense of rhythm, why not put on some great dancing music with a thumping beat and have a real boogie – you'll have as much fun laughing and dancing with her as she will!

Many parents swear by the therapeutic effect of salsa music's syncopated rhythms on colicky babies. Lay your baby on her stomach across your arm, putting light pressure on her tummy with your hand (sometimes known as the “football hold”). Place your other hand on her back to hold her securely, and sashay away. Or if she prefers being upright, hold her in a seated position facing forward, with one hand under her bottom and the other on her tummy. If Latin dancing isn't to your little one's taste, try something else: reggae, pop or even some good ol' country!

Kindermusik Begins!

2009-10-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

A warm & friendly welcome to all of the new families in our Kindermusik Village class! I had a wonderful time this morning and it was lovely to have such a great group of mums & babies.

We'll be using the blog to give you more information about what we've done in class, information about the Foundations of Learning, and interesting musical bits & pieces I come across. Be sure to check in often!

2009-10-12T19:51:00.000-07:00