Kindermusik With Friends eNewsletter
"In summer, the song sings itself"- William Carlos Williams June 2009
In This Issue
Why Music?
Fall 2009
Summer Adventures
Musical Glossary
Cultivating Empathy
Why Music?  
Music facilitates Math & Cognitive Skills!
 
There have been studies that show that children who receive music instruction have improved math and reasoning skills.  When you consider that music consists of counting, beats, and measurements it is really no surprise.
 
Playing music enhances spatial-temporal reasoning skills and that leads to improved math skills. Research suggests that math gains increase according to the number of years that a young child is engaged in musical learning.  We know that "mental stretching" can occur when music and math links are recognized and deliberately acknowledged.
 
Cognitive skills enhanced through music include pattern awareness, spatial awareness, sequencing, abstract reasoning, and memory.  These skills are essential to understanding math concepts and solving problems.  It's no surprise that so many brilliant mathematicians and scientists play a musical instrument!
 
 
(Adapted from ABC Music & Me School Edition informational materials),
 
Next month I will include information on how music facilitates social and emotional skills.
 
 
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Hello Friends!
 
It's June, but I know many of you are thinking ahead to September.  The Fall 2009 schedule is now online, enrollment is open, and the schedule is included in this email. 
 
Have a wonderful summer!
Fall 2009 Kindermusik Schedule   - Classes start fallSeptember 10th! Call 978-741-7683,email, or register online anytime!
Village (Newborn to 18 months) The semester is 14 weeks. The first 7 weeks we spend on Feather and at the mid-point our focus shifts from to Do-Si-Do. Tuition: $238.
Feathers/Do-Si-Do
The musical poems of Woody Guthrie, bird songs, and the naturally occurring sounds in nature help babies develop an early appreciation-and accelerated aptitude-for language, movement, and music in this class. Dance the Charleston, the Tango, and the Cha-Cha and learn why dancing with your baby helps develop vital learning skills-from head-to-toe. In this class, play a variety of baby appropriate instruments, a dance with fun propsˇ   
 
Monday at 9:15am (Sept 14-Dec 21, no class 10/12)
Tuesday at 11:15am (Sept 15-Dec 15)
Friday at 10:15am (Sept 11-Dec 18)
   
Our Time (18 months to 3) 14 weeks. Tuition is $238.
Wiggles & Giggles
The more than 30 songs, 15 dances, and eight different instruments create these unique music activities, designed to reflect the importance of movement in the life of a toddler.   
 
Monday at 10:15 (Sept 14 - Dec 21, no class 10/12)
Tuesday at 9:15 & 10:15 (Sept 15-Dec 15)
Thursday at 9:15 & 10:15 (Sept 10- Dec 17, no class 11/26)
Friday at 9:15 (Sept 11 - Dec 18, no class 11/27)
Saturday at 9:15 (Sept 12 - Dec 19, no class 11/28)
       
Imagine That (3 to 5 years) 14 weeks/Tuition is $248
See What I Saw
In this class, preschoolers use their real experience of playing in the park to create imaginative, storytelling scenarios with music-go on an imaginary trip to Grasshopper Park where they sail down the park slide and then recreate the sound of that experience with a loooong vocal glissando.  Each week provides preschoolers one uninterrupted session of imaginative play that's guided in a very specific, sequential way-with a special sharing time with parents/siblings in the last 15 minutes of class 
 
Tuesdays at 12:30pm (Sept 15-Dec 15)
Thursdays at 1:30pm (Sept 10-Dec 17, no class 11/26) 
 
Family Time (newborn to 7, mixed-age class).  A mixed-age, one room school house approach. Tuition is $248 for 1 child.  $145.60 for a second child (this price is calculated to include the sibling discount). Chidlren may enroll without siblings.

Our Kind of Day-Music time isn't just at music class, it's all day long! What better way to build family bonds than to sprinkle music and movement throughout playtime, mealtime, clean-up time, bathtime, and nighttime? At each lesson, parents are given ideas for creativity and insights into their child's development. With catchy songs such as "Wishy, Washy, Wee" for bathtime, "Go Into the Kitchen" for mealtime, and "Love Somebody" at bedtime-parenting becomes easier and a lot more fun! Over the course of 10 weeks, each lesson is packed with singing, listening, storytime, puppet play, creative movement, instrument play, family jams, and sharing. 
 
Mondays at 11:15 (Sept 14-Dec 21, no class 10/12)
Thursdays at 3:30pm (Sept 10-Dec 17, no class 11/26)
Fridays at 11:15 (Sept 11-Dec 18, no class 11/27)
Saturdays at 10:15 (Sept 12-Dec 19, no class 11/28)

Sign & Sing (6 months to 3 years) Tuition: $248. If you wish to repeat Sign & Sing the price of the tuition is $182. As the children grow they experience this class in new ways and the signs they learn are reinforced. Playtime and everyday items around the house-such as a ball, bubbles, and family members-are learning themes in this introduction to American Sign Language for a child and caregiver. We learn signs for many animals, greetings, etiquette, and common daily activities and household items. 
 
Thursdays at 11:15am (Sept 10- Dec 17, no class 11/26)
 
Kindermusik Summer Adventures - Our Summer Camps, cost less than a day-long stay at a theme park. Here is what Kindermusik International says about the Summer Adventures mini-sessions:

A Kindermusik summer camp uses the same stuff that many parents already own: an old sock, a voice recorder, even the backyard lawn. That's a big relief for families looking for a good children's program, to save money and stay in the community this summer. The cost for a Kindermusik camp-including tuition and materials-is less than the average day-long stay at a local amusement park. "In class, children develop social and learning skills," says Carol Penney, Kindermusik International's Director of Education. "And families learn more about things they can do with their child, together, when class is over." 
 
Click here to see the full scheduleKindermusik With Friends website to enroll! Or, call 978-741-7683 or respond to this email!
 
Kindermusik Summer Adventures - Our Summer Camps, cost less than a day-long stay at a theme park. Here is what Kindermusik International says about the Summer Adventures mini-sessions:

A Kindermusik summer camp uses the same stuff that many parents already own: an old sock, a voice recorder, even the backyard lawn. That's a big relief for families looking for a good children's program, to save money and stay in the community this summer. The cost for a Kindermusik camp-including tuition and materials-is less than the average day-long stay at a local amusement park. "In class, children develop social and learning skills," says Carol Penney, Kindermusik International's Director of Education. "And families learn more about things they can do with their child, together, when class is over." 
 
Click here to see the full scheduleKindermusik With Friends website to enroll! Or, call 978-741-7683 or respond to this email!
A Musical Glossary
 
Duple Meter
Meter in which the number of beats per measure is divisble by two.
 
Meter
The number of pulses between regularly recurring accents.
 
Legato
Smooth, connected playing or singing of musical lines.
 
Staccato
Shortened, detached articulation of notes played or sung. The opposite of legato.
 
Timbre
The distinctive quality of a sound (pronounced "tam-ber").
 
Triple Meter
Meter in which the number of beats per measure is divisble by three.
 
 
 
Foundations of Learning: Cultivating Empathy
Empathy between children and the world is a main developmental objective for pre-school children.  They don't differentiate between themselves and others. Cultivating relationships with animals, both real and imagined, is one of the best ways to foster empathy during early childhood.  Children wants to run like deer, to slither along the ground like snakes, to be clever as foxes, and quick like bunnies (adapted from Sobel, David. 1999).
Thank you!
 
Sincerely,
 
Lisa Cheney
Kindermusik With Friends
978-741-7683 
 
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$10.00
New Referral Rewards!
A $10 gift certificate for you is our way of saying "Thanks!" for every new-to-Kindermusik friend you refer who enrolls with us.  There is no limit to how many $10 gift certificates you can earn!  A $10 gift certificate for your friend sends our warm "Welcome!" when they sign up for a Kindermusik class. New Referral Rewards plan is effective now. Send me an email if you refer a friend and be sure to have them tell us when they enroll!