Wiggles & Giggles
Tempo
Week 6
The tempo is the speed of the beat. Children learn best about tempo by experiencing the contrast of opposites, such as slow and fast. The awareness of tempo occurs while singing and moving to Down in the Meadow, playing egg shakers, hammocking to Shalom Haverim and hand hopping to The Frog in the Bog.
TEMPO - A Tool For Learning Life Skills!
This week we layered tempo on top of almost every activity: tempo is a musical term meaning the speed of the beat. Children learn best about tempo by experiencing the contrast of opposites such as slow and fast. Because opposites are always intriguing for your little one, soooooooo many life skills can be learned while playing with tempo. Below are just a couple of our activities from class this week that list some of the skill-sets we are developing while playing with tempo.
A Ram Sam Sam: Patterns & Memory, Cued Movement, Inhibitory Control, Social Invitation
We were able to extend our play with our ABA patterned song today because of the changes in tempo.
“Short-term memory has the ability to hold about seven bits of information. But when patterns and related groupings of information are bound together as a unit, (as in “A Ram Sam Sam”) the volume of material stored increases. Patterns then become an important avenue for recall and memory.”
- Rhythms of Learning by Chris Brewer and Don G. Campbell
Down In The Meadow: Language Phonemes (What is that?), Steady Beat, Inhibitory Control (Stopping on Cue)
Segmenting words into the smallest sound units of speech, which are called phonemes, fosters a child’s awareness of the sounds of words and the uses of language. A child develops phoneme awareness by experiencing activities that include:
- rhythmically spoken words, rhymes and verses;
- songs like this that include syllable division;
- words and letter sounds that are repeated.
Besides all of the wonderful life skills that can be learned through tempo activities, we also are preparing your child for a lifelong love of academic and music success. Tempo is one of the basic music elements that your child can learn and internalize now. Count on Kindermusik through Age 7 next in Level 3 and then Young Child, and step back and enjoy the skills your child will learn for life!
HALLOWEEN DRESS-UP
It’s dress-up for Halloween time! Monday, October 27-Friday, October 31.
Feel free to bring Halloween snacks for post-class fun in Fellowship Hall.
We do have some kiddos with food allergies. Please check with your class before bringing a treat in.
HOME ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
1) Our Home Play Theme : TEMPO FUN
- Clapping Land (Clap Fast, Stomp Slowly, Jump Fast, etc)
- Peep Squirrel (Fast & Slow Peeping and climbing and hopping and twirling)
- A Ram Sam Sam (Fast & Slow clapping your Zig-zag blocks)
- Enjoy these Elephant Sounds and Pictures
- Want more FUN? Here are some suggestions from past weeks:
- Home Activity Guide, p.9: "Where Has My Little Dog Gone" Have fun playing hide and seek with your little ones favorite stuffed animal.
- Home Activity Guide, pp. 7-9: More Hide & Seek Activities
- To view this fun "Big Fish, Little Fish" Activity, click here for specific instructions.
- Let's Move: Clapping Land, Munich Olympic Theme and Peep Squirrel/Whisky Frisky
- Continue to Sing Sing Sing along with your Class Music together in the car - a great way to get comfortable singing in a group!
2) NEW? Have FUN with your child while they choose their Special Hello PRIOR TO CLASS ENTRY – this is important to do before class.
- Reminder: We want to avoid saying, "What would you like to do honey?" in front of the class, as this puts PERFORMANCE pressure on your child which we want to avoid through Age 7.
- We will sing, "How can we say a special hello to you." If your child hesitates we will look at you, or the grown-up attending, and say "So what did Johnny choose for his special hello today?"
3) New to Kindermusik? Here are your First Class Documents
- Click here to download your Biography Form to complete and bring to class next week.
- Click here for your copy of Level 2 Helpful Guidelines
- Click here for your copy of You See/We See
4) Mark Your Calendars - 2025-2026:
- October 27-31: Halloween Dress-up week
- November 24-28: Thanksgiving Break
- December 5: Caroling and Cocoa 6:00-7:00 at FPC
- December 22-January 9: Holiday Break (3 weeks)
- January 26-30: Spring 2025 curriculum starts
- March 23-27: Spring Break
- May 11-15: last week of the school year
- May 19: Kindermusik Graduation
- TBA - 2026 Summer Camps
Where Music and Learning Play!
(608) 576-6688 MusicalPathways.net