Musical Pretend Play with a Big Payoff

Before I’d ever heard of Kindermusik, I attended speech and occupational therapy with my son. By age 2, he had highly developed language and used specific words for items. The problem was that his language, also known as jargon, bore no resemblance to English. He used the same “words” for the same items consistently, but they weren’t recognizable. Both therapists recommended I find a playgroup of some sort that incorporated a strong music component as well as included pretend play as part of their curriculum. Here’s why:

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.