Posted by: friendswoodmusic on: June 17, 2009
We are having several upcoming Fabulous Friday events :
Friday June 19th : Join Lisa Hommel for a great Eco-Art: Trash to Treasures class from 11:00 am – noon. Children ages 5 and up will enjoy making seed-sprouting paper from junk mail.
Friday June 26th- Lisa will have another FREE Eco- Art class from 11:00 am – noon
Friday June 26th 10:00 am: Come to a FREE Kindermusik demo class for infant-age 4!
Posted by: friendswoodmusic on: June 7, 2009
The kids in the Discovery Tree Art & Story class enjoyed a great week of fun activities and art projects. Here’s one quick and easy art idea you can do at home.
Ocean Wave Bottle: Toddlers, preschoolers, and even older kids will love making this wave bottle. They will enjoy making the blue waves rock gently back and forth.
You need: an empty plastic water bottle with lid, oil, water, liquid blue food coloring, and superglue (optional, to keep child from opening the bottle).
Fill the bottle about half full of water, then add oil to the top. We used vegetable oil, you could also use baby oil. Let your child drop in some blue food coloring- at least 5 or 6 drops. Be sure to watch as the blue drops slowly drift through the oil. Put a small amount of superglue around the rim, and tightly fasten the cap. Let your child shake the bottle gently to disperse the coloring.
The clear oil will create a layer on top of the blue water and will create waves when gently rocked. If the bottle is shaken vigorously the oil and water will temporarily combine, but will separate again.
Posted by: friendswoodmusic on: February 22, 2009
A recent study found that repeated enrollment in Kindermusik improves a child’s ability to plan, guide, and control their own behavior.
The study, “The Effects of Kindermusik on Behavioral Self-Regulation in Early Childhood,” was conducted in 2005 in the psychology department at George Mason University in Virginia.
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 was supervised by Adam Winsler, Ph.D, Applied Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University.
Posted by: friendswoodmusic on: February 22, 2009
In our art programs for toddlers and preschoolers, we focus on process- based art activities. This means that the child is free to explore and make observations about the art activity without direction towards a final finished product. As parents, we frequently want to “help”our child make the project “correctly.” Especially during holidays, we want to have cute crafty projects created by our children to pull out in later years. However, this can inhibit the child’s creativity. Prominent art educator and writer MaryAnn Kohl says the following:
“Art is a creative process, not a pre-planned product. Picture the difference. A child is given cotton balls, glue, scraps of paper, and a paper plate. These materials will become part of a creative experiment for a child, as they manipulate and explore the possibilities. There is no planned design or product. However, if someone were to require the child to make a bunny on the paper plate from a pre-designed bunny that is shown to the child as the example to follow, all creativity is lost and the project becomes a craft.”
Posted by: friendswoodmusic on: February 22, 2009
We’re on our third week of Fiddle Dee Dee and enjoying our animal themes!
Your home is likely to be filled with more active dog play -“Roll over, Rover!” Children love to move–and there’s a reason for this. According to creative dance expert Anne Green Gilbert, “Movement is key to learning! Our brains fully develop through movement activities such as crawling, rolling, turning, walking, skipping, reaching, swinging and much more! The brain has a plan for development that involves specific and intensive motor activities to make full use of our complicated nervous system.”* And when movement is paired with rhythmic and musical concepts, the learning is even stronger.
Music concepts may be effectively introduced to the Our Time-aged child through fun and playful activities. The concept of tempo (or speed) is central to music. The 1½- to 3-year-old child is learning to control and coordinate his body’s movements and is naturally interested in the concepts of fast and slow. Mastering these concepts through activities such as bouncing, playing instruments, and dancing is fun and satisfying for the child.
In class we will continue to focus on tempo for two more weeks. At home, you can have fun reinforcing this concept through further repetition of fast and slow activities such as Roly Poly. Also, “at home” Kindermusik play will help familiarize your child with the routines of Kindermusik class, thus helping him become more and more at ease in the classroom environment.
Sarah
*“Movement and Music: The Keys to Learning,” by Anne Green Gilbert
