Even though September brings the end of Summertime, that doesn't mean that Summertime fun has to end! Meal time, especially snack time for kids, is a very important time for nutrition, fine motor development, vocabulary building, and family together time/bonding! Since children are growing so fast, you might feel like you spend your entire day eating together! Here's a Try It Tip: You can use this time to talk and sing with your child, nurturing their cognitive, social and emotional development at the same time that you're actually giving them the nutrition their little bodies need! You can keep the smiles of Summertime going and make snack time fun this September with these how-to videos for colorful, nutritious snacks that kids love! If your child is old enough, they can even help prepare them with you!

It's Summer break and Sing N Move is celebrating the 2015-2016 season with a year in review! Each unit, class, and special event provided so many opportunities for learning, growth, and laughter! We would like to thank each one of our families for spending these special years and moments with your little ones...with us! We are so lucky to be part of your children's lives and educations. We look forward to even more memories when regular class offerings start up again for the 2016-2017 season the week of September 12, 2016. Keep singin' those songs and movin' those bodies...we'll see you in September! Enjoy a compilation slideshow of some special moments from the year, as well as a 2nd generation of Kindermusik Kids collage!

A compilation slideshow that celebrates some of the special memories we've shared during Kindermusik classes with all of our students & families during the 2015-2016 season!

One of the best tools every parent can utilize when navigating everyday life with little ones is music! Whether it’s singing songs to prepare children that it’s time to leave or dancing to music to burn off some extra energy, music can be invaluable in both teaching young children new concepts, as well as making those special moments that bond parent and child forever! One instance when music comes in particular hand is when trying to instill the importance of calmness and relaxation in the daily routine.
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Society today keeps quite the pace not only for adults, but for children as well. Adjusting to the fast pace of life can be tough for kids, especially when they’re growing cognitively, physically, and especially emotionally, so quickly and in such a short span of time! Setting time aside for quiet relaxation is extremely important in Kindermusik classes, but even more important at home. From babies to older children, quiet relaxation time is vital in learning how to quiet one’s mind, calm one’s body, and truly relax…a lifelong skill that will carry them through their adolescent, teen, young adult and even adult years.

​There are many different ways to give children cues that it is time to rest and relax. Playing soothing music, dimming the lights, humming lullabies, giving a light massage, or even merely rocking together are all techniques that can signal to children that it’s time to slow down and relax their minds and bodies. Verbal and physical/visual cues can be paired together to reinforce the concept even more. You know your child best and probably have a good sense of their personality, so always adjust your expectations and techniques to meet his/her personality. For a Take Home Tip, here are some “always available” strategies for babies and older children.

For babies:

1. Your voice – it’s free and you have it with you all the time! Keys to remember, low tone and steady pace.
2. Touch – soothing touch or massage is always something that is readily available! Keys to remember, eye contact can even be considered a sort of touch that really connects with your child.

For older children:
In addition to taking deep breaths, getting exercise, visualizations (such as visualizing their favorite color), laughing, stretching, listening to music, and cuddling, one particular strategy that can be effective is called progressive muscle relaxation – meaning to tense and then relax different muscles in the body. These techniques can help children identify what it feels like to relax in an intentional manner, as well as how good it can feel too! Almost like a form of muscle memory, they can then apply that same concept to other muscles or their entire body when the situation calls for it:

1. For the face - Ask your child to “smell something stinky,” scrunching their nose up. Then have them smile and relax their face. Repeat several times.

2. For the hands and arms - Ask your child to imagine squeezing a ball in one hand and then dropping the ball on the floor, allowing their arm to fully extend and go limp. Do several times alternating between both arms.

3. For the legs and feet – While standing, ask your child to “dig their toes into the sand at the beach” and then release them back up trying to identify if they felt the muscles up through their legs. Repeat a few times.For a video of what this can look like when on the go, click the link below.

​As the end of the “school year” approaches, often times school-readiness is a big focus point for a lot of parents, thinking ahead to the next year/transition for their child, whether that be entering a new grade or even entering school for the first time in the Fall! There are many different skills that most children need in order to feel “school-ready”, for example skills such as fine motor skills like being able to hold a crayon, as well as more specific social-emotional types that can be particularly key for lots of different school successes, such as self-regulation skills or more simply learning how to stop and go. Click on the picture or button below to watch a video that outlines the basics of school-readiness.

​There are many reasons why music classes can be one of the most vital tools in preparing children to be school ready including practice with early literacy and math skills, as well as self-regulation and listening/community building which will be highlighted in more detail below. All of those different areas combine to nurture the development of the whole child and why environments like Kindermusik class that focus on “the process not the performance” help to build the self-confidence necessary for such a huge transition like the transition to school for your little one.

​Self-regulation, also known as inhibitory control, is a skill that takes lots of practice! Simply learning to stop one’s body and then go again is harder than it sounds! Try playing stop and go games at home with your child. For example, a simple freeze dance game that involves moving when the music is playing and being still when the music stops can be a powerful tool in teaching children that they have control over their own bodies. It’s this mixture of self-awareness and patience that helps create self-control which will be imperative for achieving success in school.
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Listening/Social skills help prepare children to be school ready by showing them what types of expectations there will be of them in a school environment. Being part of a community is something that children should have practice with and thus why music class is one of the safest places for children to experience being part of a community from an early age. Learning how to be part of a community, and more simply how to be a friend, is a process that requires patience, taking turns, listening to others, and feeling empathy. Even the simplest routines during music class have these goals in mind, for instance when instruments are passed out the children are put in the position to wait patiently and share with not only the other children in their class but their grown-ups as well. Also, the simple routine of singing hello songs and listening to/greeting those in the “community” helps children to develop social awareness of other people and understand that they too have their own thoughts, ideas, and feelings; what is at the core of feeling empathy and expressing it. All of these social skills like listening and empathy require the use of working memory, so by giving children the time and place to practice using it they will be able to succeed in school situations that require the use of their working memory such as remembering people’s names and understanding what is helpful to the teacher.

Transitioning to school is one of the biggest transitions in your little one’s life. Parenting can, at times, feel like a constant state of evolution and change, always prepping for the next phase and forgetting to enjoy the here and now! That’s why music classes are two-pronged and can be beneficial not only for children, in providing them the opportunity to practice the social-emotional skills that will be required of them in school, but also for parents, because the classes afford them the chance to take a step back from the hectic pace of the day, week, month or even year and really tune in to how their child is growing, learning first-hand about their child’s preferences when it comes to personal choices, creativity, and expression. Here’s a special “Try It Tip” this month: Making children feel seen, heard and supported is one of the most important jobs a parent has and can be one of the biggest factors in whether or not a child will be and feel “school-ready.” Reassure your child that even when they experience setbacks that bouncing back is the most important aspect. There are many different types of calming techniques that can support your child during setbacks. Try modeling physical, self-calming techniques with your child the next time you need to reassure them during a setback, for example “breathe-in calmness” by teaching your child to take a big deep breath in and then pretend to blow out the birthday candles or blow a bubble across the yard.