Spatial awareness can be defined as: an awareness of the body in space, and the child’s relationship to the objects in the space. This can include spatial orientation, which is the skill that allows them to understand and comply with simple requests such as: “line up at the door” or “sit in a circle.”

Doing the Hokey Pokey in Kenya!

Spatial awareness is also linguistic. The understanding of the positional words people use to define themselves in space is essential to spatial awareness. “I am underneath the bridge….I am behind the tree.” You get the picture.

Next time you are in your Kindermusik class, check out the movement chart on the wall and notice how many of the words are directional or relational. Hoop play is one of the many activities in Kindermusik designed to promote spatial awareness…I am in the hoop, outside the hoop, beside the hoop, in front of the hoop. Another well-loved favorite is the “Hokey-Pokey” …“you put your right arm in, you take your right arm out, you put your right arm in, and you shake it all about…”

Our Time’s “Zoom-E-Oh” which demonstrates up/down, high/low, in/out, away/together, etc. Songs like these and activities like hoop play are allowing your child to learn to organize the available space in relation to themselves and in relationship to objects and other individuals.

In addition to spatial awareness, they are learning things like body parts, rhythm patterns, and a sense of direction. Spatial concepts learned through movement and exploration simultaneously develop muscle strength, coordination, self-confidence, and thinking skills. Spatial awareness helps you distinguish between words on this page and see the letters in correct relation to each other.

Which brings us to the initial question: what is the link between your child’s Kindermusik experience and his ability to read a map? Studies show that the development of spatial orientation leads to increased understanding of location and direction and even eventually the ability to understand and read a map – the point being that spatial awareness or a lack thereof has a direct impact on everyday skills that make a practical difference in our ability to navigate through life.

This same ability applies to reading and writing music on the staff, swinging a golf club, lobbing a tennis ball over the net, heading a soccer ball into the goal, or sending a baseball over the fence.

So…what if the Hokey-Pokey is what it’s all about? Well….in some respects, it is!

­-posted by Studio3Music, with thanks to contributor Theresa Case, our friend and Kindermusik Educator from Greenville, SC.

En Roulant Ma Boule in Our Time is a French/Canadian song that the voyageurs and coureurs-de-bois sang to the rhythm as they paddled through the Canadian river system trading furs. Many of the songs they sung were old ballads brought with them from Europe. En Roulant Ma Boule was one such popular tune and was used a dance tune in trading posts throughout Canada.

When it is Carnival time in Panama, we like to sing, dance and play our drums to Al Tambor in Imagine That.  It is a wonderful song about playing the drum of happiness and with all the children singing and dancing along, who wouldn’t want join in?

In Village, Jasmine Flower takes us off to China where a girl enjoys the beauty of a jasmine flower.  It was even chosen as the Beijing Olympic medal ceremony theme.

Here is a version played on ancient metal bells and modern jade chimes:

And in our older classes we are off to Argentina where we learn all about little barnyard animals in My Farm, which with the help of visual aids, we sing in Spanish!  It is a fun song that also teaches about friendship!

So come join us this spring and summer to explore some of these areas and more in our World Travelers Club where we will pack our bags  and get ready to travel! We’ll sharpen reading, memory, counting, and listening skills on an imaginative musical journey to locations both in the United States and around the world.  Every song and activity reflects the culture of the places we’ll visit and expands your child’s musical mind.

-posted by Miss Beth who loves to travel inside and outside the classroom!

It is the sensations from these kinds of bodily touch that are interpreted by the brain and helps him form his first emotional attachment.  

Touch is a baby’s source of comfort and security. Bodily touch leads to bonding, and gives your baby her first knowledge of her physical body. If this first emotional attachment is incomplete, it will be harder for your baby to form emotional attachments later in life.

If you’ve been in both Village and Our Time, you’ll realize that these classes give a very different experience. And our Kindermusik moms and dads and grandmas and nannies all treasure the Village experience. They might not be able to put it into words, but it is all the touching we do that makes this time so special.  

So, hold your baby close. Dance a little more often. Snuggle a little bit longer. Far too soon they will wiggle out of your arms and begin their journey towards independence.

It is what you do now that has a tremendous impact on your baby’s ability to have happy, healthy, well-adjusted and secure relationships as a grownup.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is a wee bit sad that she no longer has babies to snuggle in her arms, but is glad her youngest still is small enough to cuddle in her lap.

There really should be a support system for parents of colicky babies.

We were those parents this past July and August.  We bounced, wrenched our backs, and parched ourselves trying to provide solace for our baby Kate when her colic spell would start. It wasn’t until the end of the summer, that I decided to try some of the baby exercises I had learned in my Kindermusik Village classes. After the first round of exercises, I noticed immediate relief. Also, every time, roughly five minutes after our baby exercise activity, Kate would get further relief through a bowel movement. Whether it was distraction, GI tract assistance, or lessening her stimuli, we found a way to cope with colic through a Kindermusik technique.

Right before the spell of colic kicks in, try some baby exercises. Lay your baby down on a soft blanket and think of your favorite nursery rhymes such as, Hickory Dickory Dock, Hey Diddle Diddle, Deedle Deedle Dumpling, and/or Wee Willie Winkie. Chant or sing the rhymes while moving  your baby’s arms up and down separately and then at the same time. Then, move his legs in the same pattern as well as in a circular bicycling motion.  Finish by touching one hand to his opposite foot (for example, right hand to left foot).  Be sure to repeat on the other side.  In Village class, Miss Allison calls this movement “crissy crossy.”  These cross-lateral movements require communication between the two sides of the brain and therefore also exercise baby’s brain.

Here’s another one: Your baby is again lying on her back. Place her heel up next to her bottom by bending her knee sharply. Move the leg, still sharply bent, until the top of the thigh rests against the tummy. Get both legs in this position. Your baby may be a tad confused at first, but later she will actually assist you-babies love this so! Grab her baby’s ankles and gently shake her legs in an up-and-down motion, unbending the knees gradually, until her heels rest on the blanket and her legs are straight. Repeat multiple times.

Pediatricians do not have a definitive conclusion regarding the cause of colic. There are ideas such as: diet, temperament, acid reflux, indigestion, allergies or a natural developmental stage.  However, the consensus on how to manage colic is fundamentally similar:  provide comfort measures like soothing through movement, a warm bath, rocking, or playing music.

Whether it is mere distraction from the pain or assistance to the digestion system, these exercises may aid in a less intense crying episode. The activity will definitely provide YOU with meaningful interaction with your baby during what is often a frustrating time.  Additionally, songs and rhymes reduce stress and promote language development.

There really is something behind all those facts and tips our teachers provide us in class! Thanks Miss Allison, you were right.  We didn’t have to just wait out the spells of colic.  It’s all about taking what you learn in class and applying it at home.

-posted by Miss Kim, the biggest fan of Village baby exercises!

These questions, lay the foundation of self-identity as well teaching your child what an eye is and where it is located and how conversations work.  There is just one word of text per page, but let that one word be a gateway to the art and the experience you and your child can have with the illustrations.  

I love the book from Do Si Do!  It is one of my favorite Village books. This Is My Dance is filled with rhyming, rhythmic language. It is filled with movement patterns to re-create with your child as you chant the book.  It is all about words and connecting meaning to a particular word.  Your child will learn what “swoopy” means as you read the book and she sees the swooping baby bear, and then she’ll feel the swooping as you chant the page, and swoop her through the room. 

The refrain adds an element of repetition that all children love. The combination of new information on each page and the repeated refrain is the ideal learning combination for your young children, a balance of old and new.

The art banners are the easiest things you get.  Simply hang them somewhere where your child can see them:  above the changing table, behind the bars on the crib, at child’s eye level in the room where they play, on the lower cabinet doors or drawer fronts in your kitchen, anywhere in the house that you think the child would delight in seeing them.  Laminating them preserves them, and allows you use them longer, and move them more often.  You can cut them into sections and mix and match them.  This works especially well if you want to put them in the kitchen.  Blue painters tape will hold them up and not ruin the surface you are adhering them to.  By the way, your child will enjoy the art banners more if you read the books often!

-posted by Miss Allison, who was going to write about the manipulatives:  your chime ball, scarf, and egg shaker.  But, somehow she thinks you know what to do with those.   After all, you do come to class!

I’ve heard from parents that their child is completely engaged in the Feathers CD.  It is an instant source of comfort when their baby is fussy or has been stuck in the car seat for too long. I’ve heard that the child actually listens to the current class CD in a different way than they do when they hear other music, even other Kindermusik CDs (such as an older sibling’s CD.) 

Babies don’t just listen when they hear the CD from their own class.  I think they are actually “doing” the activities inside their head while they hear the music.  They remember how wonderful it feels to be massaged when they hear “Wild Geese Are Flying.”  They recall fun of dancing down the line with their partners when they hear “Sing A Song Of Sixpence.”  I think their little mathematical heads are tracking the steady beat as the “Maple Leaf Rag” comes on, and waiting for the animal sounds as “Little Feather” tiptoes through the forest.  

A CD with associated activities is very different from a CD of background music.  No matter how lovely it is, it will never be as interesting as the CD that engages the mind with the memory of activities. 

For this reason, your baby will probably prefer the Feathers CD for a few more weeks.  I know you might be tired of it and would really like to move on to Do Si Do.  But it will take us a couple of weeks to build up a large enough repertoire of activities to compete with the 8 weeks of memories your baby has of Feathers.  So be patient, it will happen!

So, that’s one thing you can do with your CDs, play them often.  Another thing to do with it is to DO it often.  You can use the music at home the same way we do in class:  get out some baby bells, or your new egg shaker and play along with the music we use for steady beat in class. 

Then, coerce Daddy into dancing with you.  (He’ll love it once he gets used to the idea.) Older siblings will also love dancing with you and Daddy and their new sibling.  You and Daddy can trade children halfway through the dance, that makes it even more fun!

You can play hide and seek with your new scarf, bounce, play ball games with your chime ball, do intentional touch and infant exercise with the songs that are your CD as well.  The more you play with the music, the more your child will connect with it.

-posted by Miss Allison, who would like you to go get that baby and do some activities with your Feathers & Do-Si-Do CDs.  Then, come back tomorrow to find out about the rest of the items in your home materials!

It is an old saying that children grow too quickly, and it is so true.  As parents we are often so excited to introduce our kids to the wonders of the world.  We want them to see and learn and be amazed at all there is to experience.  I think we sometimes move too fast.  This is not to say the a little push in the right direction to overcome a fear or try a new challenge is bad.  Rather, I believe it is important to allow a child the opportunity to learn all they can before they move on to next level. 

Jacob and Matthew

My littlest man has just turned 3, and for the past two years he has been a Kindermusik Junkie.  As an infant he lounged in my lap, sat up to gum all the toys handed him, and even took his very first independent step in class.  How quickly my little snuggle bug grew older and started squirming away during intentional touch! Eventually snuggling had to be with Mom standing, so he could not get away. Jacob went in his first year from one of the youngest in the Village class, to the oldest or BMC (Big Man on Campus). This was so fun because he now got to hand toys to the babies and bounce with Miss Allison.

Fall came last year and we graduated to Our Time. And do you know what? My BMC was once again the little guy.  He had a new routine to learn for singing and dancing. Big kids answered questions and sat right up front during story. Being the little brother, Jacob was used to watching big kids, and so he followed the lead of others and loved it.

We are now newly three and now we are once again BMC. This semester he is ready to bounce and sing, he know the words and actions, he gives song ideas, gently puts instruments away and he is sitting right up front for story of Pete and PJ.  The fact that he has come full circle in an environment set up for him to succeed is wonderful.  We are teaching him tools for his life. This, as a parent, is the goal, some time they will fly away and do well.  But for now he is mine to kiss and tickle and find frogs on his belly.

-posted by Angie – the mother of boys who are busy from Son up to Son down.

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

Ah, my favorite things….Why is it that fall often launches us straight into extended episodes of nostalgia?? The crisper days, the scent of smoke in the air (well, not so much here in California!!), the shorter days and longer evenings, backpacks full of notepaper and freshly sharpened pencils, pumpkins guarding the grocery store entrance. They all send me backwards in time, back to simpler things, favorite things.  

From her alpine meadow, Maria rehearses her eclectic list and reminds us that remembering favorite things somehow has the capacity to lift our spirits; and by some inexplicable bit of magic we no longer “feel so bad”. I remember the year Julie Andrews brought the conflicted Maria to the big screen. I was the too-young accompanist of the Jr High choir. I can still see the old piano in the school gym (who can forget that smell!) and hear the slightly awkward but earnest singers attempting to set all those now famous words into three part harmonies. Just hearing the words “raindrops on roses” sends me immediately back to those somehow safer, less complicated days.

We’ve been enjoying “Wild Geese Are Flying” in Village Class this fall. The melancholy lullaby in a minor key soothes the babies and gives us the opportunity to create a warm, quiet space in our class. The song reminds us that change is just around the corner.  “Winter is coming, winter is coming!” and it’s bringing all those treasured memories of winters past. If only for the moment, the grim possibilities of one too many snowfalls and cabin fever “don’t feel so bad.” (Again, this doesn’t necessarily apply to those of us in SoCal, but we do our darndest to happily welcome something that looks marginally different than summer!) 

One of the most pleasurable tasks of parenting is the intentional facilitating of memories that will live in our children’s hearts and minds for the rest of their lives. By the time we send them out the door to put their own stamp on the world, hopefully they will have accumulated a backpack full of never to be forgotten memories.

Every week Kindermusik provides opportunities to create wonderful memories with our little ones.  Whether in class with our friends, or creating special “at home” moments with the rest of the family, Kindermusik is a great memory facilitator! While we can’t ensure our children will reach adulthood with only pleasurable memories, we can give them enough sweet ones to make the “bee stings” of life seem not quite so bad.

-posted by Miss Colleen, who leaves you with a favorite quote, “Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”  From the television show The Wonder Years

I honestly don’t think it’s the candy (though that’s what may first come to children’s minds!)   I think the pleasure of Halloween is linked to the emotional developmental milestones that young children are working through in the first 5 years of life.  It is emotional maturation (specifically, the development of self-identity) that drives a child’s growth in all other areas.

The process that children go through to build self-identity is often difficult for the grownups to understand.  Most of us don’t remember this part of our own development, which happened between 18 months and 5 years. We may remember events and people ( I remember a snowstorm when I was barely two and my great grandmother who died when I was four). But I don’t recall a lot about the process of becoming who I am.  So when our children begin this journey, it may be a mysterious process for us.

We all love the endearing part of the process that happens at about 18 months. There is lots of peek-a-boo and hide and seek games. Your child comes when you call their name; usually at a run and straight into your open arms.  They call you “mommy” and they are fully aware now that it is your name. By this point, you can play the “where’s your nose, where’s mommy’s nose” game, and they know the difference between you and them. 

Then there’s the irritating side. They fall on the floor in the middle of the grocery store and wail like a banshee because you won’t let them climb up the cereal display.  They smack the child who lives next door and snatch away a toy, and then lay on the floor and wail like a banshee when you take it away and give it back to the other child. Who, by the way, won’t play with it anyway because she’s also lying on the floor wailing like a banshee. And they wail like a banshee when you leave them with grandma to go to a movie with your spouse. And this is the grandma who lives 3 doors down and sees the child everyday of their life, not the one who lives far away and came for a visit once when they were a newborn.

Both the irritating and the endearing parts of this process are normal.  As a child begins to separate their identity from their mother (somewhere between 16 and 18 months) they bound away from her like a joey escaping the pouch (that’s the screaming like a banshee part) only to bound right back in again and make your heart swell in your chest with emotions that are truly beyond words. (That’s the endearing part.)

A child beginning to discover WHO they are is only the first half of the journey to individualism.  This part of the process takes a little less than two years to be completed.  During this period a child acquires language and learns to express himself.  Wailing like a banshee still occurs every now and again, but it is less often.  Children move from parallel play to cooperative play, and begin to make real friends. They potty train and become more and more independent. They are growing up.

By assisting them out of the pouch and helping them back in, we provide a safe and nurturing environment for this process to happen.

But this is only one half of the journey. The second half of the journey is about the world of imagination; the world where costumes are a part of everyday life, where invisible friends come to dinner, and fears stalk the bedroom after dark. 

Our concert theme in October is all about self identity, and how children go about becoming individuals. We will address the first half of this adventure through peek-a-boo play and hide and seek.  By identifying a child by his or her name we can help them to separate from us, and grow into strong individuals. (And if we do it in a song, it’s just more fun!)

We will also explore the importance of costumes, and the nature of fear, and some of the things that help children cope with those fears.  Unfortunately for us grownups, these fears are neither rational or reasonable, and certainly not logical! But having the tools to help our children deal with these upsets makes parenting much easier.

There is a musical focus as well, of course.  A perfect choice (if I do say so myself) for the spookiest night of the year: music in major and minor tonalities.  There will be some new instruments to meet – and a couple of familiar ones as well.

So, come back next week and I’ll talk about the second stage of the developmental process of building identity, and give you some more teasers about the show.

Tickets are available now here – so get them while you can!

-posted by Miss Allison, who is looking forward to seeing you at the symphony on October 31st!

Places in the Moon
Remind your child that although many of the moon’s features are called “seas,” there’s no water on the moon (at least we haven’t found it yet!)

* The Sea of Cold-the top of his head
* The Sea of Rains-the eye we see to the left
* The Sea of Serenity-the eye we see to the right
* The Sea of Tranquility-the bag under the eye we see to the right (The Sea of Tranquility is where the very first moon landing took place on July 20, 1969.)
* The Craters Copernicus and Brother Maura-his nose
* The Sea of Clouds-his mouth
* The Sea of Storms-the big bruise next to the eye on the left

Back inside your warm house, listen to the song Aiken Drum, which is from your Kindermusik Village Dream Pillow CD, and have fun with the following activities. If you don’t know the song, you can play it right here:

Aiken Drum

There was a man lived in the moon lived in the moon, lived in the moon.
There was a man lived in the moon and his name was Aiken Drum.

And he played upon a ladle, a ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle and his name was Aiken Drum.

For Infants: (Contributed by Miss Analiisa, who misses having babies in her house.)

What baby doesn’t like exploring the kitchen as soon as he can manage to get his little body there? I hope you have an “exploring” drawer, full of safe kitchen utensils and plastic bowls, lids and cups. It will provide (at least!) minutes of entertainment while you are making dinner.

Pull out your metal serving spoons and sing Aiken Drum together. Show your baby how to drum on the floor, bang the spoons together or with yours, and make a racket on pans, lids or upturned bowls.  Listen to all the different sounds you can make!

Substitute body parts for the word “ladle”. Can she play upon her toes? Her knee? Her head? Substitute his name for “Aiken Drum.” Children love to hear their own name in songs.

For Toddlers: (Contributed by Miss Anita, who loves to think this stuff up!)

Toddlers love activities about themselves!  So let your child live in the moon.  “There was a girl (or boy) lived in the moon…and her name was Natalie.”  Then, in the second phrase, substitute your child’s current favorite motor skill or one they are working to master.

For example: “And she skipped upon a ladle…and her name was Natalie.”  They may want to run, jump, hop, skip, roll, or gallop on the ladle.  In the car, try smaller motions such as:  clap, roll (hands), wiggle (fingers), tap (toes or thumbs).  Amidst all the fun, your child has practiced coordination & explored the parts of speech!

For Preschoolers: (Contributed by Miss Allison, who used to play this game when she was a preschool teacher. Come to think of it, I don’t think she’s ever stopped being one!)

There are many other verses for Aiken Drum. Many of them involve food:
And his head was made of cream cheese…
And his coat was made of good roast beef….
And his breeches were made of haggis bags….

Ask your child which piece of clothing they want to sing about and what type of food it was made out of.  You’ll end up with socks made of bologna, swimsuits made of peaches, and before you know it, your language learner will move on from food and clothes and suggest other nouns. Now the questions are, “What did the Man in the Moon own? What was it made of?” His car was made of pots and pans, his blankie out of window shades…

Extend the activity with rhyming variations.  “His mittens were made of kittens,” “his hat was made from a cat,” “his house was made from a mouse,” “his shoe was made of glue.”  You’ll have to be creative to make the timing work, so that it is still singable.  And of course, you have to sing it!  Maybe your man doesn’t live in the moon but in Redmond or another favorite location.  Eventually it will be completely your own special song, starting with “There was a man…” and ending with a wonderful memory and whole lot of language learning.

-posted by Miss Anita, Miss Allison and Miss Analiisa, who leave you with a quote from W. Clement Stone, “Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.”