Did you know that babies can’t focus on or imitate sounds in a low pitch? It’s OK to sing your favorite low-pitched song to your little one, but mixing in high-pitched kid songs in a head voice is critical to boosting young children’s natural development.
Head Voice vs Chest Voice…what’s the difference?
Most Top 40 songs (and even most kid songs!) are sung in a chestvoice. It’s the lower register that grownups typically use when they speak or sing, and the vibrations are coming from the chest cavity.
When you use a head voice, the register is higher, the sound is lighter, and it feels like the tone is resonating in your head.
It’s the same way with singing. Here are the two main reasons why it’s important to sing to little ones in a head voice.
Babies focus better on a head voice.
Babies can hear sounds in any pitch, but hearing is a physical sense. Listening and focusing on sounds is a learned cognitive skill. Higher pitched sounds, specifically sung in a head voice, are associated with positive emotions. So, naturally, babies are drawn to those “happy” moments.
The ability for baby to attend to what you’re singing plays a role in how the sound is processed, the movements your mouth makes, and the beginning stages of learning vocabulary.
Babies can imitate a head voice.
Babies begin to imitate sounds as early as one month, and because their vocal cords or shorter, that imitation is in a higher pitch. Imagine the cognitive reward of their pitch matching yours!
There’s nothing wrong with the hits, R&B, oldies…exposure to different music is key!
However, a few research-backed kid songs (poke around the free Kindermusik app to see what we mean), have intentional pitch, vocabulary, repetition, and pacing that help nurture rhythm, social-emotional skills, language and speech development (hello, head voice!), and so much more.
So, the next time you’re in the car, the classroom, the kitchen, prepping for nap—wherever you find 1:1 time with baby—try singing in a head voice. You don’t need perfect pitch, just higher pitch to encourage active listening and imitation, all while fueling your special bond.
We hope you enjoyed our not so scary Boo Bash this past week. It is one of our favorite weeks of the year, seeing you and your children dressed up in costumes and sharing in some musical play. Hopefully you saw our Instagram these past few days; it was filled with pictures of your adorable little ones enjoying class. Did you see your child there?
Hopefully you enjoyed the interruption to our usually scheduled stellar curriculum for a little seasonal fun. If you’d like to keep some seasonal musical experiences going there are so many resources for you! On the Kindermusik App (found in your App or Play store) you can log in and have access to the entire music library for your child’s level! Search by the theme “weather” and you’ll find songs such as Autumn Leaves and Leaves in the Wind. These songs easily lend themselves to delightful movement activities you can do at home. Just grab a couple of colored scraps of fabric or scarves as “leaves” and blow around your family room.
Check out this delightful video from Kindermusik International, which shows a simple and fun activity you can do at home with your little one. All you need is some contact paper, tissue paper, and a pair of scissors. Unleash your inner child, channel your former elementary school self, and make fall leaf sun catchers with your little one. Cover your window with color!
Lastly, go for a Listening Walk. Autumn is a great time for this activity. Put on a scarf and jacket, and head out into your neighborhood. Prompt your child to listen for sounds of fall. Can they hear wind rustling in the leaves? Can they hear the crunch of leaves beneath their feet? What else can they hear? Active listening like this benefits your child’s brain and boosts the neural pathways associated with attention and comprehension. Plus it’s fun!
We have a goal for our families and every child that walks into our studio: to feel safe and to feel loved. Brain and behavior scientists have demonstrated that until a person feels safe and loved they cannot learn. Learning and growth require us to be in the executive functioning level of our brain. And we can’t get there unless are regulated and secure. So the first order of business in any class should be making people feel safe and loved.
There are a variety of routines and rituals in our studio that seeks to accomplish this. The routines of putting your shoes in the lobby and coming into gathering time help develop a predictability and security. The hello song names each child individually and bonds the class together as a group. This helps develop a sense of community and appreciation in your child. And that’s just at the beginning of class! There are so many more moments that follow that build that sense of safety and love.
We all have a basic human need for connection. It is connection to our loved ones that makes us feel secure and gives us a sense of home. It is connection to our friends that adds depth and joy to our lives. It is connection to our community that can give us a sense of belonging and a place to give of our talents.
Our Kindermusik community is one space where you can come for connection. We hope that YOU feel welcome and safe in our studio as well as your child. If you attend class with your child we invite you to reach out and get to know the other caretakers in the room. We ask that you sing along with your educator, as making music together can help the class feel bonded together. Your educator brings joy, preparedness, music, dance, instruments, and props to class. But you bring something too: YOU. Your talents, abilities, attitude, and participation can add so much to the feeling in the classroom, and we invite you to help us make it a special place.
When we all feel connection we lift each other up and can make each class a truly joyful, magical experience. Thank you for being a part of it!
By now you should have completed an entire unit of your Kindermusik curriculum. You and your little one are settling into class and becoming familiar with our studio routines and your teacher’s classroom rituals.
Hopefully your child is also becoming confident and comfortable enough in class to let their personality shine. It’s so rewarding for the educators when your child feels safe enough in class to look them in the eye or start to sing along. We hope you get to witness those magical moments as well!
Our educators are masters at noticing. It’s a tool they use pedagogically as they gauge how a class is flowing and if any modifications are needed. Your educator meets your child where they are, pays attention to their nonverbal cues, and respects those boundaries. She may adjust the way she approaches your child or sets up an activity or encourages participation, all because her skill of noticing informs her teaching. It’s a form of continuous and live assessment and adjustment. It’s a crucial skill that all educators of all levels employ, regardless of the age of those they are teaching.
Noticing is also a crucial skill in parenting and caregiving. It’s a requirement for building connection with your child. How can you connect with your child if you don’t notice who they are and how they feel? Noticing allows the caregiver to understand the child’s behavior and needs. It can inform the way you interact with your child throughout the day and adjust to meet their needs as those needs change in different circumstances and stages of development.
Noticing can also be an active way of communicating with your child. Your child is seeking connection and validation from you every day. Some of the ways you can let your child know that you are noticing them is through your language. When they accomplish something be specific in your response, beyond saying “good job”.
“Good job” implies a judgment on their behavior and indicates that their goal should be to please you. Instead try some of these “noticing” phrases:
“You did it!” (One of our favorites.)
“That was hard, wasn’t it?”
“I see you playing!”
“Tell me about that.”
“Thank you.”
“You are really trying hard!”
“You helped!”
Notice your child. Let them know you notice them. It will build love and connection between the two of you and lay a foundation for a positive relationship. As they grow and develop and age you will draw on that deposit you’ve invested in their heart and memory. Knowing you are there and witness their efforts will give them the confidence and courage to keep growing and trying.
Welcome to our new families! Welcome back to our established families! We are so thrilled to have such a great start to the new season here at Song of the Heart Studios. Our hallway has been bustling with children and caretakers. Our studios are brimming with song, movement, and joy. We see connections being forged and deepened. We see learning taking place and little eyes shining!
After our brief hiatus some children may have a hard time transitioning back into the routine of Kindermusik. And for our first-time families, your children may take awhile to acclimate to our studios and our routines. So here are some tips for a successful classroom experience with your child.
Partnership: Remember that you are your child’s partner in class. If you come for the entire class, as with our Little Learners levels, or you come in for sharing time for the last few minutes in our Little Music Makers classes, you are your child’s partner. This is a time for you to put other thoughts away and focus on your child. Throw your inhibition out the door and play with them on their level. Sing . . . move . . . play . . . WITH your child. Don’t just watch them. Engage with them.
No judgment:
Keep in mind that your child is an individual, so don’t expect them to behave in class like all the other children. Each child experiences class in a way that is right for them and where they are developmentally. If your child needs to sit back and watch, that’s okay! Don’t push them to actively participate as observing is learning.
If your child is a mover, then let them move! Sure, it can be distracting in class if your kid is running around when everyone else is sitting on the rug listening to the teacher, but don’t sweat it. All the other parents get it. We’ve all been there. Some kids just gotta move their bodies. That’s okay!
Patience:
It can take some children only a matter of a few seconds to feel comfortable in a new space and with new people. Other children may need weeks to feel confident in their place in class. If your child is resistant to going into the classroom and expresses some undesirable behaviors in the beginning, don’t worry. Just be consistent, kind, and patient. They’ll find their place and confidence soon.
We hear ALL THE TIME from caregivers who say though their child doesn’t sing in class or participate in Brain Gym, as soon as they get in the car their child is singing the hello song and doing their crossies and double doodles. They are learning and benefiting just from being in the room, even if they aren’t showing external signs of participation.
Reach out: So many caregivers, especially those enrolled in our Foundations and Level 1 and 2 classes, often feel isolated. If you are a first-time parent you are eager to see your child grow and develop. But you also can benefit from class! Get to know the other grownups in your class. Trade numbers. Have playdates at the park outside of class. Making that effort will not only deepen and enhance the Kindermusik classroom experience, but it will enrich your child’s life as they develop friendship. And it can give you the support you might not even know you need as you develop friendships yourself. It takes a village! Kindermusik is is a great place to meet other caregivers that share your values and can become part of your village.
Hopefully these ideas can help you get the most out of your investment in Kindermusik. Remember that you take away more and your child benefits more when you are an active participant in the process. Sing with you soon!
Here at Song of the Heart Studios we are rested, prepped, and ready to begin our 26th season of bringing music into the lives and families of our community. During our summer hiatus we spend time resetting the studio and refreshing our props and instruments. Our educators rest their minds, bodies, and voices, and return ready to love your little ones. We spend time in professional development to make sure we are always bringing you the best in early childhood education.
Did you know that every member of our JOY team is fully accredited by Kindermusik International? Song of the Heart Studios is ranked in the top 3 studios in the country and the top 5 in the world! What does that mean for you? It means that you are getting the most educated professional team to benefit the development of your child. It means that you are picking a studio that has a deep understanding of early childhood development, pedagogical best practices, and a passion for the benefits of early music education. It means that in this day and age of endless choices of where to take your child you can be confident that you have chosen a place that will give your child the best start in life.
Research shows again and again the myriad benefits of shared musical experiences, music immersion, and formal musical education. It is wonderful to know that neurologists and neuromusicologists are giving us the data to support what we’ve known for decades: music is THE BEST developmental start to your child’s growth and life. It builds brains. It builds bodies. It builds language and makes social connections. It brings joy and decreases stress. It increases cooperation and curbs power struggles. It provides a foundation for future learning, preparing them for school, dance, sports, performing arts, academics, and so much more.
A child with a foundation of Kindermusik is more prepared for success in any other endeavors they take on once they are developmentally ready.
Are you ready for a new season filled with joy, connection, growth, and family? We are thrilled to welcome you back with open arms and a song in our hearts. Sing with you soon!
We’ve had such a wonderful summer with all your beautiful families! We’re on hiatus to give us all a breather and some time to refresh ourselves before the Fall, as it will be back-to-school for so many of you with older kids.
We hope this time will be restful and joyful for you. If you are looking for a way to keep the musical experiences going in between Kindermusik sessions, don’t forget all the tools your educator has given you this year!
Did you even realize that your educator has given you tools to help you in your caretaking role? Music class is a joyful and enriching musical experience for your child, it is true. But our Little Learner classes are also chock-full of child development education for the adults too!
Our educators are child development experts. They not only have years of experience and training, but our JOY Team also engages in ongoing professional development to make sure we keep our skills sharp and learn the newest evidence-based best practices for teaching and raising children. We implement those practices in our classes, and in so doing model them for you.
From substituting “Good job!” for “You did it!”, to S.T.A.R. breathing, there are so many moments of a Kindermusik class that you can integrate into your routines at home. Try engaging your child’s mirror neurons with deep breathing and some musical cuddle time before tucking them into bed. Use an I Love You Ritual before a diaper change to set the connection and calm your child. Sing “toys away!” between activities to remind them to clean up at home as well and prepare them for transitions in their day.
And of course if you need a little extra fun during an unscheduled day, you can always tap into your Kindermusik @home activities for inspiration. There are fun craft activities, video field trips, dance-along music, and more. There are a lot of often untapped resources available to you with your Kindermusik enrollment.
As always, together or (briefly) apart, you are always in our heart. We wish you well and will sing with you soon!
We are in full Summermusik swing, and it is pure magic!
We are proud of how our wonderful educators create magic each week in class. They work hard every week to perfect their lessons and to bring the most joyful learning activities to your children. They are so fun and filled with delight your children don’t even realize they are learning and building skills!
And while our educators bring the magic, it wouldn’t be complete without YOU. It is your commitment to bringing your children to their music class that makes our studio tick. As you invest in this experience for them, it will pay dividents for well beyond the time you spend in class. We are in the business of building better brains, and your child will benefit from that for their entire lifespan.
Experts have found that the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to the benefits of music and its affects on the brain occurs between the ages of 0-7. Yes, that’s right. From birth until 7 years old is the time the brain can get the most benefit from musical study. And that benefit can be measured later in life as they can excel in school, learn to solve increasingly complex problems, work collaboratively in their adult life, and even as their risk of dementia decreases in later life. Isn’t that incredible?
While musical study gives the most brain benefits when experienced early in life, those benefits are available at any time, to any person, at any age. It is never too late to study music or learn an instrument. So if you are concerned about your own brain, pick up your old school instrument. If you are worried about your aging parents, encourage them to join a community choir and stave off the effects of cognitive decline.
Caretakers of young children are pulled in a million directions. There are so many demands on your time that you have to really understand the value of music classes in order to invest the time and money into them. Our objective is to communicate those benefits and that value to you during our classes, through this blog, and in our weekly newsletter. There are so many resources available there to support you in your parenting journey.
So keep on coming back so we can keep giving you more! More music, more laughter, more joy, more learning, more development, and more benefits. Isn’t music just like magic?
It may seem counterintuitive, but neurodivergent learners thrive with the right multi-sensory activities. Music—a multi-sensory activity that stimulates all parts of the brain at once—promotes everything from self-regulation to emotional expression.
And that turns tricky transitions and long days into beautiful learning moments (for children and their special grownups).
3 Daily Music Activities for Neurodivergent Learners
Listen to instrumental songs.
Why?
They help focus the brain, especially if they involve instrument solos.
They can spark active listening (listening with the intention of discovery).
Musical listening is always a good idea, but try it out on the way to school, a doctor’s appointment, or an activity that can trigger stress.
How?
Try an instrumental song with a medium tempo. “Simple Gifts” on the free Kindermusik app is a great place to start. It’s just right for any time of day.
Children are asked to sit still in so many scenarios—school, waiting rooms, at the table, etc. Making dance part of a daily routine gives them a safe space to get the wiggles out, express emotion on their terms, and feel proud of their creative choices.
When?
Dance breaks are perfect for transition times, like between childcare pickup and snack/a meal, but they can re-set the brain at any time. Just finished a long errand? Dance party. Trouble following directions? Dance party.
How?
For toddlers and preschoolers, try alternating freeze dance (stopping and starting with the music, which boosts self-regulation) and free dance to balance following directions and creative freedom.
Try these easy activities at home, in a learning space, or wherever you find yourself needing a redirection tool. For children with unique learning styles, music can open the door to stronger communication, trust, and self-confidence.
Here at Song of the Heart we are firm believers in the power of rituals. Rituals bind communities and cultures together, gives meaning to our days, gives people a sense of security, and helps us identify other members of our culture. Rituals can also give children a sense of predictability, comfort, and social safety.
We have cultivated a special Song of the Heart goodbye ritual to cap off every class. Each teacher may put their own spin on it, but the essentials are there. We’ve already covered the goodbye song and wishing well, but there is still a little more. Let’s dance out the door!
Your educator picks a song to play while your children line up at the door. Lining up is a learned skill that will help them with school readiness, and then they have to wait their turn. Inhibitory control in action! We’ve been practicing it all class long, and we get another dose of practice at the end.
Some classes utilize hand stamps as a final gift from the educator to the children. It always matches the theme of the class, and the children always look forward to it! This is a precious moment when the educator has the opportunity to help your child develop the pro-social behavior of making eye contact. This can be hard for lots of people, and learning to do it as a child, in a loving environment, with a beloved teacher is a gentle way to help teach it.
Eye contact, a hand stamp, and then the cherry on top . . . a personalized sung goodbye. Your teacher will use your child’s name, giving them a sense of importance and validation. This is also modeling good vocal technique. The teacher encourages your child to sing goodbye back, using their teacher’s name. This sweet exchange lets your child know they are cared for and are important as an individual. It gives them an opportunity to practice singing on pitch, in an appropriate range, in a call-and-response structure. They’re getting one-on-one attention and a mini music lesson all in one brief moment.
This out the door ritual prepares your child for the transition away from class, into the lobby, and back to the car. Transitions can be very difficult for some children, so predictability and routine are essential for making it doable for them.
This brief moment is one of our favorites in class. We love each and every child enrolled at Song of the Heart and want them, and you, to know it!
