Music this week-Movin' and Groovin'

We sure "moved & grooved" in class this week!  Thank you all for your creative ideas and enthusiasm in class.  Have you noticed all the moving words in our songs?  "Hop Up My Baby", "Jing Jang" and "My Pony Joe" to name just a few. 

Words are simply sounds until they are associated with an object, action, experience or feeling.  Combining sounds, movement, and language, such as fast and slow, high and low, and smooth and bumpy, gives children an opportunity to make connections between the action and sounds.  When similar events and sounds are repeated together, words begin to have meaning ("The Meaning of Words." presented by Bruce Perry at the National Early Childhood Advisory Board Meeting on May 19, 2000).  

For more Family Time fun at home, enjoy fast and slow “family jams” (play-alongs) to your favorite songs using container drums.  Find ways of playing your drums fast and slow, high and low and moving to the 1-2 beat and the 1-2-3 beat. Putting beans, rice, or even cheerios inside gives a range of sound opportunities as you shake and tap.  There are a wealth of possibilities that will reveal themselves as you explore together.  

Enjoy your new home materials. I strongly suggest that you copy the CDs to your computer or make a back-up copy, as I have not yet been able to get the download from the Kindermusik cafe to work. It can be very frustrating to have a favorite CD go missing or be unplayable when your child wants it! Enjoy the books and the balls, too. The more you use the home materials, especially by listening to the recordings at home, the more your child will be able to participate in and enjoy class, and it's helpful to parents, too! 

The home activity book and game are great "rainy day activities". Don't feel that you have to do the activities in order, or do them each day or even each week as "homework". But when you need something extra to do, something fun, or when everyone is a bit out of sorts, pulling that book out and finding a good activity to share can be a life saver, especially with a cranky toddler! I've also found that the activities in home materials can be great idea starters for babysitters, visiting relatives, or when you have an extra child or two over for one reason or another.

Have a fun time taping, shaking and playing together. I look forward to seeing you next week!

Ms. Donna