Week 1
How About a BEAR HUG and a DANCE!
Welcome to "Do-Si-Do" Kindermusik Foundations - a time to experience music & movement with your child, to learn more about your child's growth and development, to enjoy the company of others, and to bond with your special little one. Most of the activities were new this week, but the good news is that they were new for EVERYONE!
In the simple interaction of daily care ROUTINES such as bathing and diapering, Baby is learning about many things in many ways - through language, touch, pacing and more. The song "Tell Me Why" and "Hello-la" and others can be used in daily routines at home to turn a simple routine into an emotional LOVE RITUAL, or LOVE CONNECTION. WHY RITUALS? Research shows that you can CEMENT your connection and child’s respect for you and fill your child’s love tank with Rituals, before they are required to “ask for love” by exhibiting undesirable behavior.
Rituals and routines are the basis for every Kindermusik class because children need both the predictability of routines and the connection created from rituals to feel secure and learn. In each of our Kindermusik units, we create Hello and Good-bye rituals to help children feel comfortable, acknowledged, and ready for learning. Notice how our Hello and Goodbye remain the same throughout our entire semester. The routine of beginning and ending class the same way each week creates a sense of emotional security for your child (and their grown-ups too), provides order to your child's world, and can ease feelings of vulnerability. In addition to routines, we create rituals that build emotional connections between parents and children that will last a lifetime. This week one of our new rituals, Oh, My Little Boy, created opportunities for you and your child to dance and sing together with giggles and smiles while also creating a social ritual Meet and Greet time with classmates.
Learning is a PROCESS, and routines and rituals are the best first step in that process. The benefits from class can transfer to the home too! We have found that many of our parents sing "Toys away Toys away Time to put our Toys away" in order to signal to their child that it's time to stop playing and put their toys away. If you've been in Kindermusik for even a few classes, you know exactly what I'm talking about!
HOME ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
1) Home Journal Week 1- "Rhythm All Around You”
- Engage your child in Steady Beat play while connecting emotionally and sharing a LOVE RITUAL moment.
- Challenge: Incorporate 4 "LOVE RITUALS" every day. Each takes between 10 seconds - 1 minute. That's top - 4 minutes of LOVE which reaps LIFETIME benefits for emotional development and behavioral bliss!
- Buy “I Love You Rituals” by Becky Bailey - one of the most important books a parent can read and have in their library.
2) New to Kindermusik? Here are your First Class Documents
- Click here to download your Do-Si-Do PDF Journal
Click here for your copy of You See/We See
- Click here to download your Biography Form to complete and bring to class next week.
- Click here for your copy of Foundations Helpful Guidelines
Here is a Sign Language Website for your reference throughout the semester.
3) Mark Your Calendars - 2025-2026:
- 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
4) Listen - listen - listen to your NEW music. Familiarize your baby (and yourself) with some of the songs we will be singing over the next few weeks by listening to your class music in the car, at Grandma’s, the sitter, everywhere!
Where Music and Learning Play!
(608) 576-6688 MusicalPathways.net