When your mom is a Kindermusik teacher, you get to play with ALL the scarves!
The following is taken from an email one of our Kindermusik moms (and newest teacher!) sent to our Studio3Music teacher loop. It’s an amazing inside perspective, and we thought you’d find it interesting as well.
Right about the time that Samantha turned a year old, her behavior shifted dramatically in class (at least to her mom). She went from sitting in my lap quite contentedly and grinning at me to being more and more independent.
The last couple of months, she’s gotten so mobile that I often spend most of the class (again, at least it feels like it to me) chasing her around the room and keeping her out of mischief. It was SO frustrating when she first started doing it (which was also about the time her “selective hearing” got crazy, too, and she stopped listening to me call her back), and I admit, I was really embarrassed.
I had no idea why my kid couldn’t keep still in class for more than 10 seconds (when I’m lucky), and why she seemed intent on taking everyone else’s instruments, knocking down their towers, and attempting to pillage the toys behind the sheets. It really felt like my kid was the only one behaving this way, and I started to wonder if I was doing something “wrong” or if Samantha just wasn’t getting anything out of Kindermusik anymore.
There were days that I came home feeling totally exhausted and confused. However, since y’all had already hired me, I decided to attempt to stick it out. ; )
Let me first say that I place none of the feelings I felt at the feet of the amazing teachers we’ve had. I know had I come to any of you, you would have helped me feel better. But I was embarrassed and felt that the “failings” were mine alone (can you tell she’s my first kid?).
As I’ve been going through the Kindermusik Educator training, this issue is one that is specifically addressed. I sat in my living room one morning and listened to part of a presentation about it. As the traits for the developing walker were discussed, I got misty-eyed. It meant SO MUCH to be told that my kid was not only “normal,” she was doing everything exactly right for her age. I realized that it was my expectation of her behavior that had to change, and that while she may not seem to be paying attention during much of class, she was still very much alert and aware of what was going on (which I can attest to – she LOVES her Kindermusik materials).
I’ve also realized this summer after attending some fairly wide age range groups that while it’s tiring to chase after her in Village, it’s a thousand times more so in an older class. The little ones don’t generally care too much about her rambunctious nature, and the parents laugh when she sits in the middle of the room during an activity and covers herself in scarves or hoards shakers. This is SO good for her self-esteem to be the center of attention and to feel like a “big girl.”
With older toddlers, however, I have to keep her in arms’ reach because they get MAD (understandably!) when she exhibits the same behavior. The parents are always kind because they remember, but that doesn’t keep a 3-year-old from throwing a fit when Samantha takes the cards from his hands for the eighth time that day. She throws more fits during these classes and comes home frustrated sometimes. Again, NOT the teachers’ faults. It’s just that she’s not able to express herself during class and, well, it pisses her off. ; )
-submitted on behalf of Miss Chris, who declares “I’ve become a poster child for the ‘no Our Time before 17 months’ rule. I am so grateful for a safe, fun environment in Village class where Samantha can be silly and we can both truly enjoy the hilariousness that is her right now.”
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