Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thank You!On Thanksgiving day, my house is quiet. Cory is sick with a fever and a general yucky feeling, so he and I are here at home. After a big breakfast and watching the Rockettes, Laurie Berkner and Dora in the parade with my kids, Margo and her dad are off to eat turkey in Rolla with his folks. Cory is asleep, and I am thinking about all I am thankful for.

Along with my familiy, home, health, etc…. Thank You!!

I’m thankful for the time I get to spend with families, for the children whose smiles and songs fill my classroom with happiness and for the dedicated parents and grandparents and nannies who come to my program and help me spread the word. Kindermusik has been the greatest opportunity in my life and I couldn’t do it without you!

Friday, November 17, 2006

Why is it so important to keep your child consistently enrolled in Kindermusik?

Because it’s been proven that repeated, not sporadic, enrollment makes all the difference!

In early 2005, Beth Frook of Little Hands Kindermusik (http://www.littlehands.com/) in Clifton, Virginia, shared a granddaddy of a Foundations of Learning (FOLs) in her Kindermusik class. A local university had recently conducted a study on 3-and-5-year old children in her program titled “The Effects of Kindermusik on Behavioral Self-Regulation in Early Childhood.” *See editor’s note at the bottom of this column.

It proved what Beth—and many other Kindermusik Educators—already knew:

The longer you stay in Kindermusik, the better.
Specifically, the study showed:

“Children currently enrolled in Kindermusik showed higher levels of self-control than those never enrolled and those previously enrolled. This suggests that in order for children to reap the benefit of increased self-control as a result of Kindermusik participation, it is important to have repeated and recent Kindermusik experiences and remain enrolled in the program.”

“Four-year-old children who had been exposed to Kindermusik for longer periods of time are better off in terms of self-control—namely a child’s ability to plan, guide, and control their own behavior—than similar children with less Kindermusik history.”

“These experiences, stop-go, high-low, fast-slow, short-long, and loud-soft, whereby children’s motor behavior is guided by the music, appear to be good exercise for young children’s emerging self-regulatory skills.”

Below, Beth shares her reaction to the study and the role that research plays in her Kindermusik classes.

Why do you think this research was important for your parents?
I think it adds impetus to a parent’s decision-making because it’s more than just saying, “Okay, we’ve done Kindermusik, let’s try something else.” It encourages a parent to go beyond the smorgasbord approach to children’s activities. A lot of times parents will say, “We’ll do art, then soccer, then swimming.” A study like this encourages families to look at the value of re-enrolling. Repetition is vital for a child’s learning, and currently in our culture, it’s not viewed that way.

Editor’s note:
Study results were made available to Kindermusik in May, 2005. The study was conducted by Adam Winsler Ph.D and graduate student Lesley Ducenne in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University.

The 15-month study included 91 children between the ages of 3 and 5 who were split into three groups: 23 students currently enrolled in Kindermusik, 19 students previously enrolled in Kindermusik, and 49 students of similar family backgrounds from local preschools who had never had Kindermusik.

The children were observed doing a variety of tasks that required self-control such as slowing down their motor behavior, delaying their gratification, refraining from touching attractive but forbidden toys, quietly whispering, and compliance with instructions to initiate or stop certain behaviors. Parents also completed surveys.

The study, supervised by Adam Winsler, Ph.D, Applied Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University, will likely be presented at national conferences and published later this year.

Many thanks go to Lori Burkhardt of St. Louis for sharing this with us.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Follow me to Kindermusik

We're having a lot of fun and learning a lot in Kindermusik this semester! Take a look at the video to see just what goes on. If you've been in Kindermusik with us before, you'll recognize many of these special moments. And if you're signing up for Winter/Spring, take a look at what's in store...

Friday, November 10, 2006




















If you haven't yet created an account on the new website, please do so here!! With over 200 people on my contact list, it would take me days to enter everyone in the new system! Creating an account now will ensure you continue to receive important information and updates from me as well as enable you to register easily when you are ready!!

Thanks and hope to see you soon in Kindermusik class!!

Thursday, November 09, 2006

3 Generations in a Classroom
















I love when families bring other adults who love their children to class. The grandparent or other adult gets to see a different side of the child....gets to see them socializing, singing, dancing and more. The child gets to share something special with the grown-up. These connections that are made with families are meaningful and create life-long memories!

Schedule a date to bring a loved one to class!