We had Fun today skipping, creeping, running, and of course greeting one another! I enjoyed watching the babies’ faces as they had fun singing and moving at different speeds…. or to use the musical word for speeds—tempi.
While your baby is developing an understanding of music and language, it is important that he be given many opportunities and experiences to hear and feel a wide range of speeds; from slow to moderately steady, to quick.
Enjoy sprinkling a few “fast and slow games” into your week. Sing a favorite song very slowly while dancing slowly with your baby; then sing the same song quickly and dance quickly. Alternate between the two extremes and notice the joyful realization when your baby anticipates what is next. This is a great game to play with your baby anytime and anywhere … and all you need is your voice!
Our Time: Away We Go!We had fun with fast and slow in our toddler class also. We practiced that concept with rhythm sticks, dancing, finger plays, and other movement games. Over the next few lessons, we’re going to repeat many of these activities. You may find yourself wondering why we’re singing the same songs, but your toddler loves the comfort of familiarity. With each repeated activity, the neural connections in your child’s mind grow stronger, helping him to think, reason, create, and express.
This week at home have some fun with the Train and Tunnel Cut-Out on pages 7-8 of your home activity book.
Imagine That!: Toys I Make, Trips I TakeDid you know that having a strong sense of steady beat helps develop so much more than musical skill? In musical play, your child is practicing and developing a sense of rhythm in the legs and feet. This lower body beat practice is good for playing sports, especially dribbling and shooting basketballs, as well as for dancing, skipping, and running. Today in class, we did a variety of activities to help us with this very important concept.
So as you listen to the sounds of your child exploring the Kindermusik drum, keep reminding yourself of all the great learning that is taking place!
Ball Play: 
More than one way to play a drum! 
Young Child 2Today’s class was full of fun and games—literally—with lots of learning mixed in! The children loved the Musical Baseball game. When each child came up to “bat,” he or she listened to me play a simple c”-a’ melody on the glockenspiel and then had three chances to repeat it. Little did they know that they were honing their auditory discrimination skills while playing the game!
An important concept explored today was the concept of dynamics—the term which refers to how loud or quiet music is. Several activities dealt with identifying loud (forte) and quiet (piano) sounds. Music at Home 17 offers some creative ways to explore dynamics with the glockenspiel and objects you can find at home.
Different ways to practice forte and piano: 
Forte outside the circle: 
Piano inside the circle: 
Just for kicks! 
Lucy Locket: 
Young Child 4We learned the note a’ on our recorders! And not only did they learn to play the a’, it was incorporated into a special story they are learning to tell with music accompaniment. This story, Momotarosan, is a Japanese folk tale about a brave and generous little boy. (Ask your child to tell you about it!) Through the telling of the story with instruments, your child learns to watch a conductor (me), listen for a cue, play in an ensemble, and focus her attention on one activity for several minutes.
Music at Home 47 serves as a practice card for playing a’ on the recorder and also the Momotarosan recorder melody. Be sure to use this helpful tool at home this week!
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