Studio3Music Blog

Archive for the ‘Child Development’ Category

Dec
14

The Wonder Weeks – or How I discovered the magical leaps forward, that made the fussy times a little easier to bear.

This blog is a continuation of my story I started yesterday.

The special thing about this book is that it has excerpts from real moms who documented how they were feeling week by week as their baby was growing. They would also document what their babies were doing as the weeks were going by as well. Again, for me, this was reassurance to know that each baby has different temperaments and is going to grow differently.

Miles at 5 weeks.

Here’s an example: I remember when Miles hit the 5 week mark. He was very fussy and it was very hard to get him to sleep. He would put up the greatest fight to go down and sometime he never made it down. He just cried the whole time until his next feeding.

This is when I picked up The Wonder Weeks and started reading as fast as I could! Well, wouldn’t you know, 5 weeks is when babies have their first fussy time, which leads into a ‘magical leap forward’.

After we made it through the 5^th week, both my husband and I realized that Miles was actually responding to music and he was starting to notice and play with his hands! He had started showing off his new skills that he was processing through during his fussy time. What a pleasure to be able to watch and participate in his learning. We were able to enjoy this because we knew what to expect.

Another thing that has been helpful about The Wonder Weeks, is that there is a graph in the beginning of the book that charts out predicted fussy times. I’m a visual person, so this is very nice. I can quickly flip to this chart and see where Miles fits age-wise and see if he is in a sunny period (his personality is shining through) or a stormy period (more fussy than normal).

Here is one last example: Miles has been really cranky lately. I’ve stopped telling people how many weeks he is because I just can’t keep track. So, when people ask how old he is I’ll say 3 ½ months instead of weeks. But because he has been so cranky lately, I decided to count the weeks and check the chart in this book. Sure enough, Miles is in a stormy period and things are changing.

Miles has been very testy when it comes to sleeping. He has been having a really hard time going down and we can’t figure it out. He also doesn’t like my husband putting him down. He will cry and cry and cry with Casey, but then I’ll take him and he’ll quiet right down. This process has been really rough for both Casey and I because Casey feels rejected and I feel like I don’t get a break.

Miles at 17 weeks.

After counting how many weeks old Miles is, 17 weeks, he falls smack in the middle of a fussy time. I should’ve known! So, I just opened the book to refresh my memory about some of the changes that are going to be happening to Miles and about every description in the book is exactly what Miles is going through. Trouble sleeping, being cranky, shyness of strangers, entertaining him while he is awake; all of these things are written in this book and documented by the Moms who participated in journaling what their child was doing during this time. Talk about not feeling alone!

I am so grateful for this book, The Wonder Weeks. It has helped me a lot with being patient with my baby and myself. It will be a go-to book for me as Miles grows and gets older.

-posted by Miss Anna, who will be recommending this book to every Mom that she knows, and thinks that if you get the chance, you should check it out.

Tags: babies, books, brain, Miss Anna, parenting, physical development

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Dec
13

The Wonder Weeks – or How I stopped trying to do what all the parenting books told me to do.

Posted in Child Development, parenting

I’m a new mom. My hubby and I had our first baby this August and officially made our family of 2 into a family of 3 (excluding pets, of course). With that being said, we had no idea and still have no idea what in the world we are doing!

People have recommended books galore for us to read, Baby Wise, The Baby Whisperer, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Happiest Baby On The Block and the list goes on. Being the new mom that I am, I figured that I should start reading up on some of these so I can know what I’m doing, right?

Newborn Miles (before the fussies start)

Well, I remember my second day alone with Miles and my mom had said she was headed over to help and hang out. As soon as she opened the door to our apartment, I burst into tears! It had been an awful day the day before and a really tough night. I was so ready for some reinforcements by the dawn’s early light!

While being able to process out loud some of my thoughts, I realized that I was carrying a ton of weight on my shoulders about how Miles should conduct his days and nights. All of these books were telling me how to do things and I was thought that I was gleaning from all of them. I would read a book and then try to put into practice what they had ‘suggested’.

Finally, I realized that my sweet baby boy did not fit into any book! He is his own little person and he has to figure out a schedule of his own. His tummy will tell him when he is hungry and his eyes will tell him when he is tired. And as for being a mom, I had to trust my instincts and listen to my baby. So, I returned all the books to the various friends and libraries and set out on my own to figure this new thing out!

With all of this new information being thrown my way, I did retain some. One book, however, I pick up and read as Miles grows. This book is called The Wonder Weeks. I have to say, this book is such a lifesaver to me! If anything, this book gives me peace of mind that whenever I couldn’t and can’t figure out what is going on with my new little one, he is more than likely growing. And with that, comes a whole bunch of changes in behavioral patterns.

This book covers the 10 fussiest phases in a baby’s first year and a half. Through these fussy phases come wonderful leaps forward in a baby’s development. He learns new skills through these fussy times and is proud to show them when they are through the storm.

If anything, this book taught me to let go of having control. To know that if Miles is in a proven ‘fussy time’, that his normal day to day patterns might be a little off. So if he wants to eat every 2 hours and sleep for 4, it’s ok. If he is staying awake for 3 hours at a time, it’s ok. If he is crying and clinging to me, it’s ok (even if I’m totally annoyed with this!).

-posted by Miss Anna, who will tell you the rest of the story (aka “magical leaps forward”) tomorrow.

Tags: babies, books, Miss Anna, parenting, physical development

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Dec
5

Making a Mess

Posted in Child Development, Education, Things to do

I really like the dance we do this time of year called Fum, Fum, Fum! The babies in class love all the sensory input – watching the swishing scarves, moving through the dance, and hearing the music. The more your little one has opportunity to experience activities through all senses, the stronger and more permanent learning will be.

In Spring and Summer, the outside world is chock full of colors, smells, tastes, sounds, and things to touch. By this time of year, socks and shoes are back on, mittens cover little fingers, and hats muffle noises.

Did you know that together, hands and feet have over 40,000 touch receptors? Pull off those socks and mittens and take advantage of those 40,000 learning possibilities! Here are some ideas:

Note: All of these work equally well for hands or feet. A tablecloth/oilcloth on the floor or bathtub work well for the feet activities, and a highchair tray or wax paper on a table is a perfect place to contain the mess made by experimenting little hands. Be sure to talk about what your little one is “feeling” (slippery, soft, rough, smooth, scratchy, bumpy).

Squirt shaving cream or whipped cream onto feet, or in little mounds on a high chair tray for exploration.
Put dried beans or breakfast cereal in a box or plastic tub. Place packing peanuts or crumpled paper in the other box. Let your little one stomp and jump and kick away. (With your help, a non-walker can do this, too.)
Make a box of ribbon and fabric scraps of various textures (satin, grosgrain, fleece, burlap, vinyl) for exploration.
Take those ribbons and scraps of fabric, add some cotton balls, and put them on floor for your little one to crawl or walk across.
Cook noodles, oatmeal, rice or jello. Name the different textures as you play with them.
Mix cornstarch and water until you get a goop about the consistency of glue. Add food coloring if you wish. This is a non-toxic mixture, so no worries if a little bit gets eaten.

This is not the time to try and contain the mess! Frequently, the messier the experience, the more is learned. Think about it – the more touch receptors (and other senses) that are involved, the stronger and more permanent the learning will be.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, whose favourite sensory activity involves sand between her toes.

Tags: babies, brain, language development, Miss Analiisa, sensory systems, toddlers, touch

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Dec
2

Singing Scales

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Child Development, Education, Things We Love

Kate swinging Up, Up, Up, Up and Down, Down, Down, Down

Every parent does it. Every parent to some extent brags, compliments and shares in the excitement of his or her child. I do it. I do it ALL the time. I am so proud of my girls. I think they are genius children and that they really could do no wrong. I sing my child’s praises to friends, family and acquaintances.

In fact, I am about to do it now. My youngest daughter, Kate, has been in the Kindermusik program since two months of infancy. We started her in Family Time, then in Village and now she is a thriving Our Timer. I watched as her progression over the past two years finally came to a head just this last week. I had Kate flying through the air on my legs when I thought – I should do this to the Our Time vocal warmup – Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up like a rocket ship… and Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down like a shooting star. (I know you just sang this scale exercise as you read that). It’s addictive and the kids LOVE it.

I introduced this concept of using our scale warmup as a gross motor activity and by the second go-round Kate was singing it by herself. The next day she was playing play-doh when I overheard her taking the compound containers and stacking them as she sang her scales up and down. My husband whispered, ‘She really is starting to connect things’! He was right. Kate has mastered her scales and she is applying them without my guidance. How proud am I?! Extremely. I want to scream from the mountaintop that my two-year old is a Kindermusik prodigy (though I know this is still just the beginning of her Kindermusik education).

Knowing that parents bask in the little glories of their children, we, as your Studio3Music teachers, want to hear about these milestones whether big or little, whether you deem them inconsequential or bigger than the 2012 Presidential election – tell us! We encourage our Studio3Music community of families to share these tidbits with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/studio3music.

All geniuses dress this way...

We love our kids, your kids and our community of loving parents. Each child is so different and special in his and her own way, and finding the joy in one another’s growth is only part of the full Kindermusik experience.

My personal next step: getting Kate on video singing her scales. This precious little toddler voice will be gone before I know it. Plus, when she’s 18 and on her first date (yes, she’s not dating ‘til 18) we will remind her that she is every bit as precious to us now as she was when she was two singing her scales wearing only her diaper.

-posted by Miss Kim, who is proud of her children and her Studio3Music Kindermusik community.

Tags: kindermusik, language development, learning, Miss Kim, music

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Nov
29

Brain Rules for Baby: Safety = Learning

Posted in Child Development, parenting

Brain Rules for Baby (subtitled How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five) is John Medina’s follow-up to his bestselling Brain Rules. I found it to be an absolutely delightful read, full of parenting and even grand-parenting altering info!

This Seattleite and UW professor opens his book by debunking a few of the parenting myths we have come to believe. Taking on these preconceptions and misconceptions, Dr. Medina uses the latest in research (only peer-reviewed and successfully replicated) to fill the next nearly 300 pages with specific strategies towards raising a smart and happy child.

One thought-provoking and foundational insight having particular application to our Kindermusik classes is Medina’s proposition that the fundamental job of the baby’s brain is not to learn, but to survive! “We do not survive so that we can learn. We learn so that we can survive.”

Hence, our fundamental job as parents and teachers is not so much to provide a steady stream of baby educational dvds, flashcards or early childhood French lessons, as it is to provide an environment of safety where learning can happen. When the brain feels safe its busy neurons are free to complete the thousands of connections needed to fully wire the brain….but not until!

So what are some of the things that affect the safety level of our children?

*Attachment – From the birth canal babies are looking for attachments, their brains acutely attentive to the care being received. If essential needs are being met and healthy bonding (lots of touch and “face” time!) is occurring there is a positive outcome, if not, there is another outcome.

*Stress levels – A stressful environment (angry or emotionally violent, exhibiting relational/marital conflict) signals to baby a lack of safety. Dr Medina does a fantastic job of pinpointing and addressing particularly prenatal stress and marital conflict. He provides solid insights to bring about change to both areas.

In our Kindermusik classes our first and primary goal is to signal “this is a safe environment” to all children. From the welcome song where one discovers he or she not only “belongs” to this community, but is recognized as a valued individual, to the snuggle time where we turn back to receive the gentle care of a loved one, we sing and dance and snuggle our way to a place where learning can thrive and happy neurons connect at an alarming rate!

Take a moment for this online parenting quiz and discover what parenting myths you may be holding dear!

-posted by Miss Colleen, who suddenly realizes how grateful she is to have been born into a nearly television free world….Ah, the benefits of age!