"How do you do?"

In our little baby class (Kindermusik Village) we've been doing a little greeting ritual. The grown ups are holding the babies while we meet, greet and shake hands with one another. The babies are taking their job seriously: they study all the adult faces. You can almost hear them think as they look from mommy to mommy's friend or from mommy to a stranger. "So this is what it looks like when mommy greets her good friend." "And this is what she looks like when she is greeting someone new!" Some classes are lucky enough to have daddies to study.

We aren't born knowing how to make these facial expressions nor are we born knowing how to read them!

Did you know the FBI actually has to train their agents in face reading? It's really important. How good are you at reading your spouse's facial expressions?

In our culture today babies are generally too far away from the adults faces to do their studying. They are in the stroller, or the car seat, or the little seat on the grocery cart staring up at the lights. Sling babies have an advantage. They are right there soaking it all in.

I'd love to share more child development tidbits with families:
Free Kindermusik Village demo class for babies
Tuesday 9:30 9/29.
singandtwirl@gmail.com

Reserve your spot.

Ring Around the Rosie

From Wikipedia

Kate Greenaway's Mother Goose (1881)

It's the circle song for Kindermusik Our Time right now. Children love it.

It's a very important game-song for growing children. I've tried to give you some information during the classes this week but, as always, children have only a certain amount of patience for adult talk. (Who can blame them?) Here on my blog I can finish my sentences and even carry on in infinitio.......

1. Deep pressure: This is what they crave the most and why the song delights them to no end. They anticipate falling down...then "boom" with glee! The deep pressure of falling down helps children to understand the dimensions of their body, especially if they've just had a growth spurt ...what child isn't going through a growth spurt?

2. Practicing balance: Falling allows them to go just past the point of balance in a controlled way. Taking the risk of falling over and practicing this improves your range of balance.

3. Social skills; understanding community. You can't play this game by yourself. It can be a challenging lesson to the timid ones who don't yet feel comfortable holding hands with other adults or children who they don't know. Sometimes they learn that they have 2 hands, one for mom and one for .....oh, a stranger? hmmmmm.
4. Flexibility: Occasionally there's a child who isn't happy if the circle's not perfect. We have to be flexible if there's a child who won't hold hands and make ours a perfect circle!

5. Being an individual with in the context of a community. This applies those visual children who choose to watch the game instead of holding hands and going around. There's a lesson for everyone!

6. Visual spacial skills and time: A child's place in the room changes as measured my time (musical phases). (Musicians make good mathmaticians, good engineers...etc!) I see the children predicting by anticipating the phrase end but stopping a few beats early and beginning their "fall" but waiting till the right time!

7. Vestibular Stimulation: Any time a child's head changes position in relation to the earth their vestibular system is stimulated. The vestibular system is deep inside the inner ear and is important for balance, emotional well being, memory, attention and focus etc. It's very important that children get lots and lots of vestibular stimulation. (Or they will demand it when they are in the second grade trying to sit still in school.)

8. Repetition: Children are creating new neural connections all the time but they depend on repetition to solidify these connections. We adults don't always have the patience for this repetition but it is so important!

9. Love: oh, delight. This is what I see when the children are playing their favorite songs with their favorite adults. "Again! Again!" they say full of glee. And we will. But have no fear. In a few weeks we'll add more circle songs to your repertoire.

Game

The words of Ring a Ring o' Roses differ by region, although the tune remains consistent. The playground game that accompanies these verses also changes by region, but the most common form consists of participants standing in a circle and holding hands, followed by skipping in one direction as they sing the tune that accompanies these verses. At the end of the line We all fall down, the group usually falls down into a heap. Lyrics to other versions show that the final action was sometimes sitting, stooping, squatting, or even a curtsy, rather than falling.^[2] In some versions of the game the last down would choose a favourite or take the place of another in the middle of the ring.^[3] Ring games which end in flopping to the ground or similar are common throughout Europe.^[4]

In this game description from Wikipedia I see that there are variations in the "falling down". You can stoop, sqatt or even curtsy! Well I'm going to guess those variations were invented by adults who just would fall all the way down!!!

Which....it should be said, you shouldn't do if you know it would do more harm than good for you as an adult to be falling on the floor. Even if it is the nice soft floor we have in our Kindermusik room!

Have fun holding hands with your little ones .
Peace,
Yvette

The Child's lesson plan!

During this first week of the new semester I watch carefully to see how children react to what's new. New things can be joyous but when EVERYTHING in the world is so new (it is for the very young!) then NEW can be pretty scary! It's written all over their faces: "Where's my routine????" New Kindermusik room, new teacher, new routines, new songs and activities......for some a completely new adventure.

I hear the grown-ups implore: "You're OK! You're OK! Don't be so shy!"

We have insight! We have experience that tells us everything is OK. I look into their worried eyes and say "This is new, isn't it. I don't look like Miss Patty Lee, do I?" They seem reassured when they know I have an idea what is upsetting. Then they watch. Then we sing. Then....they begin dancing!

Here is an article that I found through my Kindermusik educator friend in Michigan, Miss Melinda! It's a little story of a first Kindermusik experience through a mom's eyes. We all need some reassurance, don't we! Find the article here.