Monday, February 22, 2010

Get Up and Go

Our Time Families: When we move around the room to "Riding the Rails" we are hoping that the children will analyze the tone of the music and adjust accordingly; fast and excited, then slow and smooth.  Additionally, our young movers are developing in other ways:"Bodily movements often carry strong psychological meanings. With young children in particular, motion conveys emotion more powerfully than words. In the second year of life, motion is centered on the achievement of balance, and the risk of losing this balance becomes a central concern. Physical balance stands as a symbol for emotional balance, in child play as well as in adult imagery." The Emotional Life of the Toddler, by Alicia F. Lieberman

Monday, February 15, 2010

Let's do a contest...

This snow is a bummer - Let's do a contest to cheer us up!  I have a set of fiddlesticks for the winner. 

FIDDLESTICKS have beads in them that produce a nice sound when they are shaken.
Leave a comment with your child's first name and last initial as a comment below this post. Every child whose name appears below will be entered into the drawing. Sign in before noon next Monday, Feb. 22. 

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snow Snow Kindermusik is a No-Go

Well, if you are reading this you've taken a break from shoveling. 

Mt Carmel Area School District is closed tomorrow - so the Studio is also closed, we use the MCA District as our guideline.  This class will be made up April 1 (no fooling).

Monday, February 8, 2010

PIGEON AND POTATO DINNERS

PIGEON AND POTATO DINNERS
                      $6.
Benefits MCCYO Cheerleading and Basketball Teams --- Grades K - 6

Includes:
2 pigeons (stuffed cabbage)
mashed potatoes
applesauce

delivered March 10
ready to reheat.

Payment required when you place your order
To order contact Ann or any MCCYO family.
Or call Ann at 339-5075 to order and pay with a credit card.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Monday, February 1, 2010

cancelled classes and burned fingers

This is Yummy my mom burned her fingers today.
There will be no classes Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Call if you have any questions 339-5075

Group music classes proven beneficial

A recent study called “Effects of Parent/Child Group Music Activities on Toddler Development: A Pilot Study” turned up in the journal Music Therapy Perspectives.


Conducted out of Florida State by Standley, Walworth, and Nguyen, its goal was to assess whether structured group music activities have an effect, either positive or negative, on toddlers between 12 and 24 months old. As well, the study group combined children at typical developmental stages with those who were considered at risk of developmental delays.

Did the study get results? Well, let’s just post a quote:

“Results showed that participation in four to seven music sessions significantly increased higher level developmental skills. Significantly more children in the music group demonstrated higher level music and cognitive skills than did those in the control group.”

The study goes on to recommend that...
"Future research should pursue these findings with larger sample sizes and consider long term implications."

We certainly hope they pursue a longer term study. We at Kindermusik believe the results will be just as encouraging! It’s no secret that music is important to children’s development. But what this study adds to the mix is that structured group music activities appear to have measurable benefits.

Music is food for children’s brains. We want their brains to grow big and fat, right? So make sure you’re stuffing them full of music—and for some extra vitamins, try doing it in a structured group setting.

Many thanks to Kindermusik educator Michelle Jacques for finding this research and bringing it to my attention.