1, 2, Ready, Play!

Hickory, dickory, dock! (clap)
The mouse ran up the clock. (clap)
The clock struck one, the mouse ran down, hickory, dickory, dock. (clap)

Here's the pattern: short, short, long.....
We are noticing patterns with our ears.
We are measuring time.

We are using the clapping movement to accentuate the math.
And this example of Hickory Dickory Dock is another way of experiencing 1+1=2 and 1+1+2=4 or a + a + 2(a)= b.


Even though we aren't using numbers or symbols in our class this IS all about math.
See the new information at the Kindermusik Website about the connections of music and math for the toddler's brain.

Here's another example: In Kindermusik Village we are singing a major scale from the top down. We sing it on LA (but think: Do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do, Do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do, ti, la, so, fa, mi, re, do.) Our ears and our babies ears hear the intervals and even at the tiniest baby age they are measuring the distance between the intervals. In music a close interval would be a 1/2 step and the next size would be a whole step. Between the top "do" and the "ti" it's a small interval. Between "ti" and "la" it's a whole steps. This is a pattern of measurements that is used in music around the world.

I believe we are preparing the spaces in the baby's brain to be ready for inserting the numbers when they study math later on. Playing with these patterns without numbers may make it easier to do all those crazy calculations those engineering majors do with x's, y's, z's and all those greek letters!!! Well that's maybe a hypothesis I might use for my next thesis paper....in my next life!

Listen to this if you want to hear more about what's so great about Kindermusik

Here's a radio report from Buffalo NY about Kindermusik educator Wendy Jones. Do listen! Click on the blue words.

Spinning around

Here's a chance to spin around without much vestibular stimulation at all! Enjoy the panoramic view of the million people who watched the inauguration in Washington DC.

Stimulating the Vestibular System

Vestibular stimulation

Thanks to Wikipedia: As our movements consist of rotations and translations, the vestibular system comprises two components: the semicircular canal system, which indicate rotational movements; and the otoliths, which indicate linear accelerations. The vestibular system sends signals primarily to the neural structures that control our eye movements, and to the muscles that keep us upright. The projections to the former provide the anatomical basis of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, which is required for clear vision; and the projections to the muscles that control our posture are necessary to keep us upright.

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is a reflex eye movement that stabilizes images on the retina during head movement by producing an eye movement in the direction opposite to head movement, thus preserving the image on the center of the visual field. For example, when the head moves to the right, the eyes move to the left, and vice versa. Since slight head movements are present all the time, the VOR is very important for stabilizing vision: patients whose VOR is impaired find it difficult to read, because they cannot stabilize the eyes during small head tremors. The VOR reflex does not depend on visual input and works even in total darkness or when the eyes are closed.

This reflex, combined with the push-pull principle described above, forms the physiological basis of the Rapid head impulse test or Halmagyi-Curthoys-test, in which the head is rapidly and forcefully moved to the side, while controlling if the eyes keep looking in the same direction.

Any time the head moves the vestibular system is stimulated. (Rocking, spinning, swinging, jumping, rolling, running circles…) The tired, unfocused or stressed out child will stimulate their own vestibular system as a way to ready their brain for learning, to turn it on. Very young children need a gazillion opportunities to stimulate their vestibular system so that all the systems that process information from the vestibular system will mature with efficiency. Practice, practice, practice! Not just the piano and violin! Ever seen a child "practice" swinging?!!! They crave this work! "Again! Again! Let's do it again!"

We've got work to do.
See you in class!
Yvette

Precious Moments

Lena has been quiet as a mouse...not even peeping!
But this week she shared her voice with us. How precious this moment is.

If the eyes are the window to the soul then the voice is the sound of the soul coming out!

(quote by Arthur Joseph whose voice we hear on the Kindermusik Village "Dream Pillow" Home CD.)

Listen With Your Whole Body

I hope you enjoy listening to this artist: Evelyn Glennie. She talks about listening with open ears and an open mind. Indeed, listening with your whole body!

I also really enjoyed that she shows an exploration of the drum like we do in our Village class this week....exploring freely, no wrong answers. That's how children explore. And the feeling of absolutely no wrong answers, freedom to take risks, freedom to make hypothesis and to prove and disprove them...This is what opens the doors to a child's creativity--the freedom!

I have learned so many new ways to play music from children's exploration of instruments and music making in our classes.

So click on Evelyn Glennie and open yourself to listening as a whole body experience.
Enjoy,
Yvette

Food Court Musical

Life is a musical! Here these adults are doing what children do all the time!