Keep them movin'

As parents, we can read the signs all too well. Antsy, cranky, seemingly disobedient, lack of attention... These are all indicators that our children may need to get up and move. I see it often in our Kindermusik classes, but how we read and address these distress signals can make all the difference in the world to our children and their development.

Our oldest son (who turns 11 in September) just started in Middle School. He was diagnosed with ADD about two years ago. The signs were there prior to that but as parents we wanted to try all non-medicinal routes before attempting medication. In the end, putting him on medication is what has made the difference. As I have learned more about ADD over the last two years, I have found significant information that supports the need for additional movement to aid children with this diagnosis. My husband and I have made a more concentrated effort to get him involved in some type of physical activity, and not all of it is in organized sports.

What I love about Kindermusik is that we do address and ENCOURAGE the children to be movers. Children have many different learning styles, evident very, very early on. We see the quiet observer, we see the the child anxious to get in on the action after a simple demonstration, we see the child who moves all the time, rarely making eye contact, and on and on... Are any of these learning styles better than the other? No! Does the child that moves learn less than the child that is stationary? No! What does affect their ability to learn is how we parent through the process. Do you recognize how your child assimilates new information? Do you support them in their learning style? How do you know what to look for and offer to them in terms of bettering their developmental growth?

Kindermusik takes into consideration the WHOLE CHILD! We talk about cognitive, language, emotional, social, musical and physical development. When you sing the hello song each week, we address the emotional need to recognized, we are engaged in a social activity, when the children choose the action to do for hello, we encourage the physical development. But when we leave out a component, all other areas of development can be left behind and suffer too. Each activity in Kindermusik is going to address at least one if not many more of these 6 Foundations of Learning.

Your home materials are your tools at home and away. When you dance around the house, the movement is creating a pattern of musical memory. Recall is stronger. Down the road this impacts their ability to pattern in math. It affects their movements during gym class by developing the large motor skills. It supports the release of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin allows us to feel happy, happiness makes us feel connected, so our emotional state is healthy! The books that we use in class and at home encourage a love of early reading, which is known to impact not only our understanding of language, but cognitive development as well. Do you see how all of this fits together?

So when you have the child that is the mover in class, don't get discouraged, be encouraged! Your child is demonstrating their learning style and in Kindermusik you have the prime opportunity to encourage and support it! Get up and move with them... Don't expect that they are going to be sitters. And if you have the child that wants the comfort of your lap more often than the socialization during class, make sure that you offer them that emotional safety to do so.

The true test of what they are getting from Kindermusik is what they show you at home.... If they want to be "Miss Shawna" or if they demonstrate a new skill seen but not tested in the classroom environment, you know that no matter what their learning style - it's getting through.
I found the following article online today quite interesting, and I truly feel that Kindermusik offers the movement so necessary to children, especially early on. Click here to read it. Post your comments to this article, other parents will be interested in what you have to say too.