If there had been Sign & Sing classes back then, we could have learned so much more.  I know we would have done more signs since they are paired with songs & strategies in class.  We’d have had a group of friends to help us practice, and an educator to guide us.  We missed out on some other things, too.

In Sign & Sing, parents and children learn a lot of signs and there is a strong language focus.  But Sign & Sing is also a Kindermusik class, and that means every aspect of a child’s development is included.  Here are a few of the ways:

Physical:  Fine motor skills are developed as children use their fingers to form the signs.  Eye-hand coordination is strengthened by reaching for bubbles & rolling balls. Bouncing, rocking, and going for “car” rides develops the vestibular system.

Social:  Class community is created through circle dances.  Children learn turn taking as they wait to get a bear in a sleeping bag.  Everyone works together to clean up the gathering time toys. 

Cognitive:  Through peek-a-boo play & hiding games, children learn object permanence.  Rubber ducks show early number concepts. Opposites are explored as “fruit” goes in an& out of bags and cars stop & go.

Emotional:  Snuggle time creates a bond between child and caregiver.  Hello and Goodbye rituals reassure children and recognize each child as an important member of the group.

Musical:  Every class includes playing instruments such as drums, bells, or shakers to a steady beat.  Lots of singing develops vocal skills.  Class and home CDs feature a variety of styles and musical instruments.

-posted by Miss Anita, who hopes you’ll join us for Sign & Sing in Redmond, Bellevue, or Renton during the Spring Mini Session: We’ll have the rubber duckies and the bears in sleeping bags ready!

Music and play are by far the best way to teach children. In fact, research shows us that music is the only activity that stimulates every area of the brain simultaneously. This stimulation allows children to learn, develop, and grow optimally in so many skills. Just think, the foundation of our language, the alphabet, is even taught through a song because it is an effective memorization tool.

A speech therapist once told me that they teach vocabulary to toddlers and preschoolers using a singsong approach. Young children respond, engage, and memorize the best with this musically interactive technique. When my son was three, I asked him if he wanted milk by singing the question. Immediately, he would respond by imitating the song using the correct words for the correct objects.

Pretend play took this singsong approach to learning to a whole new level. During his sessions the therapist would show me fun pretend play activities that would also encourage him to use the vocabulary he was learning. Rather than talk about feeding, the therapist would give my son (who was age two during this exercise) a spoon, a bowl, a cup and encourage him to feed his favorite stuffed animal. He would use the words “more”, “food”, “drink”, “done” while feeding his stuffed animal.

Kindermusik, understanding that children learn best through music and play, has incorporated these language development concepts into all of their curriculums. The “Sign & Sing” classes use a speech therapy model to learn, practice and memorize vocabulary not only in the spoken format but also through signs, which actually encourage children to speak and articulate more confidently. During class, parents and children learn the signs through songs and singsong rhymes and then use pretend play as the practice tool. Infants, toddlers, and early preschool age children receive so many benefits from this class.

So, I found a wonderful “musical playgroup.” It’s called Kindermusik. My son is now 6. And, thanks to all the developmental challenges presented in his Kindermusik classes, he has a great vocabulary! In fact, one of his favorite activities is to tell people stories.

- posted by Miss Jesikah who loves to teach “Sign & Sing,” a class she truly believes is an excellent way for parents to learn ASL (American Sign Language) as well as many other great language development tools.

The only problem was that my husband did not have a “thing”, an activity to do with Hallie. He struggled to find a way to connect with her. A few months later, I heard that Studio3Music had an opening in the Saturday Sign & Sing class. I’ll never forget my husband’s response after the first class, “I really liked it. It’s a product class, and I’m all about results.”

He was able to connect with Hallie in the Sign & Sing (S&S) program because it was results geared. Each Saturday, he came home with a set of new signs he had learned. The S&S classes allowed him to communicate with his daughter in a fun, musical, informative, and educational manner.

We once heard that children are nurtured by their mothers and learn about the world from their fathers. This motto held true in our case. Dave was able to strengthen his communication bond, his emotional bond, and his creative bond while letting go and just having fun. To this day, he still recalls singing “Apples & Bananas,” and pulling Hallie in her pretend car. What he remembers most though, are those moments in class when he saw the smile on her face as she would giggle and sign “more.”

-posted by Miss Kim, who can’t wait to recreate those S&S moments with Baby #2, both the “results” and the bonding.