Month: March 2012

Spotlight on Parenting: Village & Our Time (Cock-a-Doodle-Moo!/Away We Go)

Big Idea: Socialization

Becoming a parent turns your world (and your social calendar) upside down and inside out. You move from lengthy conversations over dinner to brief chats scheduled around naptimes. Eventually, you progress to speaking in short sentences interrupted by wardrobe and diaper changes, boo-boo kissing, rocking, sharing interventions, and a few paparazzi moments. (Your child does do the cutest things after all!).
When enrolling in Kindermusik, many parents list “socialization” as one of the reasons. We do help your child develop social and emotional skills, but we also connect you with other parents and caregivers who understand the unique joys and challenges of parenting a child the same age. So, next week in class take advantage of Gathering Time and look around. Your newest BFF just might be sitting next to you or changing a diaper or kissing a boo-boo or experiencing a paparazzi moment, too.

Everyday connection: Come all you playmates! Connect with other parents from class on Facebook and invite them to join you and your child for a play date. Through this unstructured playtime, your child will expand his intellectual, emotional, and social skills and you will get some social play of your own.

Another Spotlight on Learning in Our Time Away We Go!

Big idea: Early Literacy

At Kindermusik, we love the quote by Emilie Buchwald: “children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” Reading picture books together with adults helps children internalize some skills that are crucial in the development of true literacy.

Reading together:

  • Fosters reading enjoyment
  • Provides predictability through repetition
  • Introduces new vocabulary
  • Expands understanding of story structures
  • Promotes critical t hinking
  • Encourages language play and creative expression
  • Each week in class when we read Shiny Dinah or another favorite story, your child receives all these key early literacy benefits. Plus, children develop music literacy through the rhythm and movement elements of Kindermusik stories.

Everyday connection: Act on it! Read your child’s favorite book together and then pretend to be the characters in the book. Is it Shiny Dinah? Be the train or a passenger. Where are you going today and what will you see and hear along the way?