I can't believe it but it's been 15 weeks since I started taking my daughter to Kindermusik classes at a private home studio. I first heard about Kindermusik through my cousin in laws who took their children to these music classes when their children were young. As a part time stay at home mom, I'm always looking for different and new experiences for my daughter.
I believe that the more she experiences as a young child, the more development there is. Brain development for children is an amazing thing and although I don't know all the specifics about it, I learned that different, repeated experiences will strengthen the connections in a child's brain creating a pathway for the way the child learns. I did a quick google search and came upon this article, Understanding Brain Development in Children by Sean Brothersome. The following lines from the article really stood out to me,
"The interactions that parents assist with in a child's environment are what spur the growth and pattern of these connections in the brain.
As the synapses in a child's brain are strengthened through repeated experiences, connections and pathways are formed that structure the way a child learns. If a pathway is not used, it's eliminated based on the "use it or lose it" principle. Things you do a single time, either good or bad, are somewhat less likely to have an effect on brain development."
When I took my daughter to Kindermusik class, I had the intention of getting her to socialize for more kids her age. What ended up happening was she was the only student in the class (until recently, in the last 4 weeks of class, 2 more kids joined the class). Despite this, it was really amazing to see how fast she caught on to the words and movements of the songs. Over the weeks, I've seen great development. She's more open at expressing herself through song and today, she stepped out of her shy little shell and said a lot of things out loud in front of the other kids (she gets really shy when there's other kids or adults around). She's also learning to share and take turns with the others during the last few weeks.
Kindermusik classes are normally structured with a theme. My daughter started her class with a Milk and Cookies theme where there were songs related to food, kitchen, and groceries. There are home materials provided such as a small instrument, a CD with songs learned in class, and a few books some full of ideas of what to do with your little one. I found the CD was so nice to have to include some music time during a regular day with my daughter. During class, the songs are sang with opportunities to use different instruments to tap, clap, shake along with the music as well as scarves, parachutes, and much more. There is a lot of imaginary play as children pretend to pour tea, buy groceries, wait for toast to pop. It's a lot of fun and I always feel refreshed and happy after the class. I guess music has a way of uplifting everyone's spirits.
I would definitely recommend Kindermusik classes for its variety of music, imaginary play, uses of different instruments, and children socializing opportunity but any classes are great for a different experience. And of course, experiences are not restricted to classes...interactions with your child, different things you do at home are all wonderful experiences that may shape who your child becomes.
