Blog Archives

Kids & Classical Music

3/31/2020

Kids & Classical Music

Early exposure to classical music and the magic of the symphony orchestras has so many benefits for children. Appreciation for music, and specifically a variety of different music styles, is something you want to instill early in a child’s life.
Many symphony orchestras have wonderful kid-focused websites. Here are a few to check out while you're staying home. Some have musical composition games and activities that teach about different orchestral instruments:

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Kids at www.sfskids.org
Dallas Symphony Orchestra Kids: www.dsokids.com
New York Philharmonic Kids Zone: www.nyphilkids.org

Listen to Classical Music: Vivaldi's Four Seasons

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Music Apps for Kids

3/30/2020

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Music Apps for Kids

Technology is a way to extend learning and there are many avenues to find great supplements of creative play and music exploration. One way to extend learning is through the use of music apps for kids! It can be overwhelming to try and figure out which ones are reliable and educational. Don’t worry – Kindermusik has compiled a short list of some of their favorites. Remember – screen time can be beneficial when monitored. Spend some time together and talk through each step with them as you explore some new musical tools in your toolbox!

Graphic Notation

3/29/2020

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Graphic Notation

Pianist Stephen Malinowski plays Beethoven

Drawing to Music

Graphic notation is a term that refers to any written or visual music system that uses symbols other than traditional music notes and rests to represent sounds and silence. In Kindermusik, graphic and traditional notation, and symbolic awareness that happens with storytelling and pretend play reinforces overall symbolic recognition and awareness adding to pre-literacy skills and language acquisition skills. Check out the button above for an example: Pianist Stephen Malinowski plays Beethoven while showing conventional musical scores alongside graphic notation.

While we are not meeting in person, you can encourage symbolic recognition and awareness by creating art to represent the music that your child hears. The second button above includes a link to an activity idea: Put your favorite music on and draw pictures together to represent what you hear. Ask your child to talk about each creation, including color choices. Have fun! We miss you all!

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Handprint Flowers Craft

3/28/2020

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Handprint Flowers Craft

A fun Spring craft to brighten this rainy day! Ms. Liv and her kids made handprint flowers this week and hung them in a front window. For people passing by, we hope it brings joy to their day! Grow a little joy for your home and neighbors/community with this fun craft! Make it your own - no need to be traditional with colors or follow the directions exactly - just use what you have at home and share your artwork in the comments below!

Basic Materials Needed:
Paper (either various colors or color/paint white paper before tracing hands)
Pencil
Scissors
Popsicle Sticks
Paint or Markers (to cover the Popsicle sticks)
Glue stick or bottle

Craft Source: Gluedtomycraftsblog.com

Craft Tutorial

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Making Music Indoors

3/27/2020

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Making Music Indoors

Making music together brings joy to families and movement to little ones! The weather looks a bit unsettled over the next few days, so we're sharing some ideas from Kindermusik on how to make music indoors. Check out the link below for more details on a band in a basket, fabric dancing, musical chairs, laundry basket hayrides, and building forts. Not only will this provide for musical moments, but truly musical memories together as a family.

5 Simple Ways to Make Musical Fun Indoors

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Inspiration for Backyard Adventures: A Musical Summer Day

3/26/2020

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Inspiration for Backyard Adventures: A Musical Summer Day

Right now is the perfect time to have some musical adventures in your backyard. Children are drawn to creative outdoor play and whether they're observing birds flying around or flowers sprouting from the ground, there are things to see, feel, and hear. In Kindermusik class we often replicate the outdoors while we're indoors. Now is your chance to really dive into some of the concepts that we've introduced in our classes such as call and response style songs, active listening activities, building routines and so forth. Try these easy family activities to add a lovely tune to your day. Kindermusik has provided inspired activities and musical tracks to play directly from the link below.

A Musical Summer Day

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Literacy & Music: Book Review Kate the Great and the Middle C Music Shop

3/25/2020

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Literacy & Music: Book Review Kate the Great and the Middle C Music Shop

Literacy is a big part of the Kindermusik philosophy. During this time you can be expanding your child's exposure to literacy at home with many wonderful books and resources you already have! You can use your home materials from class or even re-read your child's favorite book over and over again since children truly do learn best through repetition. Today we are sharing a book review from Kindermusik to build the bridge between literacy and music even more. Kate the Great and the Middle C Music Shop is the first book in the Kate the Great picture book series, written by Wayne Bartholomew and Jaime Garcia and is a kind of interactive comic book style picture book. With the gentle guidance of an adult, an open-ended interpretation of the illustrations, and listening to the instruments at www.katethegreatcomics.com while you read the book, the book promises to provide a delightful and innovative experience with the instruments – and will likely cause you and your child to listen to music in a whole new way! You may already own this book, but if not, there are sample pages included on the Kate the Great website as well as a link to online retailers where it is available for purchase, OR you can even just use the website to listen to music and the instruments in the book to explore the sounds with your little one at home! Explore the links below to learn more.

Kate the Great and the Middle C Book Shop Review

Kate the Great Website

Instrument Sounds

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How to Make Pipe Cleaner Finger Puppets

3/24/2020

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How to Make Pipe Cleaner Finger Puppets

Craft Tutorial

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How Musial Routines Boost Family Productivity

3/23/2020

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How Musical Routines Boost Family Productivity

Routines bring motivation, productivity, comfort, and even relaxation. Musical routines can help secure healthy morning and evenings to jump start your family’s daily success. Kindermusik has compiled some musical tracks that are included in the article to give you options as predictable cues. They can get everyone on the right track as you begin, work together during, and close the day (morning songs, clean-up songs, bedtime songs, etc.) Have a great start to the week!

Read the Article Here

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7 Ways to Make Musical Moments at Home - FREE Kindermusik Moves Me Playlist Download!

3/22/2020

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7 Ways to Make Musical Moments at Home - Free Kindermusik Moves Me Playlist Download!

Today we are sharing 7 ways to make musical moments at home! Try one today or use this as a planner for the week ahead using one per day! We've also included a FREE Kindermusik Moves Me Playlist Download. It includes some Kindermusik songs that you can sing and move to together as a family! Here's a preview of the ideas. Click the links below for more detailed descriptions of each idea, as well as the music download. Enjoy being together and singing and moving at home!

7 Ways to Make Musical Moments at Home
1. Turn on Some Gentle Music and Blow Bubbles
2. Color to Music with Sidewalk Chalk
3. Use Painter’s Tape to Create Roads and Movement Pathways
4. Make a Homemade Instrument… or Two!
5. Start your Own Marching Band
6. Play a Musical Alphabet Chairs Game.
7. Dance Like Nobody’s Watching!

7 Ways to Make Musical Moments at Home