Great Book--Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey

"We all need help. We need new skills, not quick fixes. We need a way to resolve our internal conflicts and be the person we want children to become. We need to be compassionate without being permissive. We need to be firm without being disrespectful. We need changes that start from within us--changes that heal our souls, strengthen our character and improve our willpower--so we are strong enough to do the same for the children who walk through our doors and in our halls."

Dr. Becky Bailey

This book is also entitled 7 basic Skills for Brain Smart Classroom Management. However, I am finding many many helpful ideas for everyone who is in a relationship with anyone. Assertiveness, what you focus on you get more of, effective praise relies on describing, not judging and so much more.

Best activities for children under age 7?

We all want the best, varied experiences for our children. I have learned so much during the past six years as a Kindermusik educator regarding appropriate activities for children ages under 7 vs. children age 8 and above.

In the past 20 years, a trend of wanting more varied activities for our young children has developed. We took all those great activities that were for ages 8 and up, and started to make them accessible to younger children, such as sports and dance, etc. at 3 years old and even younger. Experts observed this phenomenon and said “YIKES, wait a minute; this isn’t what’s best for how most young brains learn.” “They learn best inside the home” with parents as their most important teachers.

Since they didn’t have the physical and emotional ability, along with the motor skills, to do these activities to their fullest when under age 7, many children were no longer involved when reaching age 11 because they were tired, bored and burned out. We created a generation of potential couch potatoes, with an attitude of ‘been-there-done-that’. Unfortunately the perspective of 11 year olds isn’t developed enough to realize they lacked the necessary skills when younger, but now that they are capable, they no longer desire to participate.

Some parents have stated they wish they could go back to the early years and not have their child involved with so many activities, and spend more quality time at home to solidify the parent-child relationship. This will maximize learning in all domains because the parent is the child’s most important teacher.

George Mason University did a study looking at a child’s emotional and social development and chose Kindermusik because we are the best. They studied to see how these skills developed with kids continually in Kindermusik, those who left for a while and came back, and kids with no Kindermusik experience. It overwhelmingly supports self-control in all learning domains with continuous enrollment in Kindermusik.
That’s why I get excited as a Kindermusik educator – because it’s about teaching children and parents everything they need to maximize learning in all domains – physical, cognitive, social, emotional and language. Kindermusik makes your great parenting even better by using the home activities and developmental information you receive to experience the power of Kindermusik right in your home. The class time allows you to bond with your child and other families and create a community of loving and caring people.

The key aspect of Kindermusik is one-on-one parent/child involvement, as opposed to other activities where the parent may be on the sidelines, an observer, or not even present.

There are always exceptions to the rule; each child is unique in their development and their parents would be wise to explore the best options to maximize their child’s potential.

Thoughts also contributed by Betsy Flanagan, Kindermusik Educator

Life in a Bubble

I recently read the excerpt below on the Kindermusik blog. It caught my attention, because we are living in a time where ideals are being re-thought and pillars, once thought unbreakable, are cracking and crumbling. Yet, each week, I meet with the most wonderful families. They check they're cares and stress at the door and for an hour they are free to just enjoy- enjoy time well spent, laughter, making music and joining in the silliness of children. Need a little bubble therapy? Come and experience a free preview Kindermusik class.

"We have learned the hard way in this recession that things are not always as they seem. Banks are not as solvent, General Motors is not as mighty, real estate is not as valuable. In fact, it seems as though we are in an epidemic of inauthenticity: character, genuineness, good faith, and sincerity are under siege. It’s no fun to read the paper anymore.

But from within the Kindermusik bubble, the world looks like it always has. The Kindermusik classroom bursts with authenticity: tender teachers, proven curricula, friendship, music, smiles. Perhaps what Kindermusik can teach all of us at times like these is that some things are truly timeless. Just as a playground swing still brings delight to a child as it did before iPhones, Twitter, and debit cards, Kindermusik wraps parent and child in bona fide warmth. Provides a true, joyful, and nurturing place where we can come together, share our children, and sing.

Nothing fancy, mighty, solvent, or newfangled.

But valuable? Authentic? Genuine? Sincere?

In a room full of children? Always."



contributed by Michael G. Dougherty (CEO, Kindermusik International)

Kindermusik brings auditory system to the forefront

These are transcribed excerpts from a discussion by Dr. Melissa Johnson, a pediatric psychologist and clinical associate of pediatrics.

Integration of listening skills, attention and language development is so important. One concern for kindergarten and pre-school teachers is that many children these days just don’t listen. Considering what young children are exposed to, there may be good reason for this. Music, or the arts in general, comes from electronic media which has a lot of visual stimulation, whether video, DVD’s or computer. There is a lot to look at and the auditory stimulation is generally more in the background. To be able to fully develop their musical skills and talents, as well as language skills, children need to focus on what’s coming into their ears, front and center. It needs to come in through their ears, rather than being an accompaniment to visual input or background. The Kindermusik curriculum focuses on auditory stimulation being the primary input. Visual support is used when appropriate and interesting without overwhelming or overshadowing the auditory stimulus. This may be a real asset to children in supporting the development of that area of their brains, along with their listening skills, that they might not get enough of through everyday activities at home.

The essence of language learning is stimulation; in order to initiate you have to hear, not only hear the big picture, but the fine points and details. When you think about it, so much meaning in English is conveyed by subtle differences from one word to another and if children are missing those subtle differences, they’re going to miss out on a lot of potential language development. So that’s partly why in a medical setting we are careful to check a child’s hearing if they have language delays but we find that many children hear just fine. However, for some reason they’re not adding the words and hearing the complexity of language or the clarity of articulation that we want to see. It may be that they’re not listening in to those fine distinctions. So giving children exposure to the fine distinctions in music, (solo or group singing, ethnic variety), instrument sounds and the world-life sounds that the Kindermusik curricula provides. This may really help children to tune into the kinds of subtle differences in the language world around them that could help them develop their speaking skills.

One absolutely key skill for children as they enter kindergarten is the ability to pay attention for extended periods. It’s the same with playful preschoolers which we tend not to worry about very much. But if you think about it, in the Kindergarten or preschool classroom, they really need to attend to what they’re hearing for fairly extended periods. And that’s something that a lot of children given a chance to practice or develop.

Consequently, the opportunity in the Kindermusik curricula for children to listen to input that, in itself, is very interesting and stimulating. This is likely to extend that skill, so when they’re in a classroom situation, they may be better listeners than children who haven’t had the opportunity to experience listening to the buoys and the ocean sounds and all those wonderful inputs that they might not get anywhere else.