Hopefully you’ve enjoyed our Rainbow Connection Week here at Song of the Heart Studios. Did you jump into your at home Parent Guides for the first time this past week? Or did you joyfully implement them for the nth time?
A lot of parents aren’t aware that Kindermusik can and should continue at home! Your in-class experience is only part of the fun. Sure, it’s the main feature. Our educators are positive and engaging and deliver the curriculum with joy and expertise. But all that brain growth and physical development and connection that is fostered within each of our Kindermusik classes is a launchpad for fun throughout your week.
We get it: parenting is exhausting. The last thing you want is another thing on your to-do list. Intentions to download your unit’s playlist on the app get forgotten in the daily business of parenting. That’s why we developed Rainbow Connection Week as a special invitation to engage with your home materials and we hope that it has brought you and your child an added measure of joy this week.
Not just for fun, when you utilize the home materials and engage with your child during the week you reinforce all the learning that takes place in the classroom. Remember, repetition is the GLUE for the brain. Children instinctively understand this, which is why they sing their favorite Kindermusik song or request their favorite bedtime book over and over and over again! Their need for repetition and reinforcement vastly outstrips our own.
Beyond the learning reinforcement, one of the most important features of the home materials is that it provides an opportunity for yet more CONNECTION between you and your child. You’ll have noticed that most of the activities are quite brief. It doesn’t take much time to remind your child through an engaging and playful activity that you are their safe place. Research has proven that connection promotes cooperation and decreases power struggles. Who doesn’t want that?
How are you? Are you going stir-crazy? Are you feeling anxious? Are you having trouble managing the physical, social, and emotional needs of yourself and your family?
We get it. We’re feeling the same way! All our normal routines are interrupted and we are mostly stuck at home, unable to socialize and go to our regularly scheduled events. This is challenging for everyone, but as adults we at least have the executive functioning skills to help us cope. Our children don’t have the same advantage! They look to us for calm and a sense of normalcy.
At Song of the Heart Studios we want to stay in contact with you and your children to help aide in providing a sense of routine during these uncertain days ahead. The JOY Team has been working behind the scenes, preparing some special musical treats for your children to enjoy at home, so they can remain connected to their educator and to the routines that going to Kindermusik class brings them.
Here are some resources you can use and look forward to:
KINDERMUSIK ONLINE PARENT GUIDES
These activities, videos, and stories have always been available to you. They are included with your class. Every time we start a new unit in class, we push out new online materials to your Kindermusik account. Many of you have utilized these already, but many of our Heart-y families have not! Now is the perfect time to start.
Log in to my.kindermusik.com and find your current or past units. There are delightful activities you can do at home with your little one, to keep the Kindermusik experience going. Crafts, printables, short videos, dance-alongs, and other activities professionally developed to supplement the music and lessons you receive in class. Most families who look at them for the first time are pleasantly surprised at their quality and how much they enjoy them. Give them a try!
NEW “POP UP AND PLAY” VIDEOS BY THE SONG OF THE HEART JOY TEAM
We have spent this last week preparing mini-classes and filming them to post on our Youtube channel. You and your child will be able to see YOUR educator teaching your current curriculum. You can pull the video up on your phone or tablet or laptop, get down on the floor with your little, and have class right at home.
You child will LOVE these videos. Each member of our JOY Team has brought their personal magic to the screen to keep your child connected to them and to the music. Complete with Hello Song and goodbye ritual, we’ll keep class going the best we can.
Besides watching your educator’s mini-class, you can watch the other educator’s videos and see what they have to offer. Each educator is unique and brings a special feeling to the Kindermusik experience. You can get a taste of what the next level is like, so you can know what your child will experience as you move up through the Little Learners and Little Music Makers levels.
In addition to mini-class videos, we have special Story Time videos for your family. These eleven (yep, eleven!) delightful videos will add just another option and layer of connection for you and your little one.
Please note that these videos are for currently enrolled families and you can find the links in the Weekly Reader.
PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP and LIVE EVENTS
This one is still in the construction mode, but please follow our Facebook Page and join our new, private Facebook Group so that we can host live events with your educator. Your child could see their member of the JOY Team live online. Wouldn’t that be fun? Moving forward we plan on adding more videos with instrument demonstrations and maybe even Conscious Discipline training for you parents! We know you’re stressed and your personal resources are thin. We want to impart the wisdom of Conscious Discipline to you to help you augment the personal skills you need to cope during this trying time.
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Please use these resources to stay connected to Song of the Heart and our Heart-y Tribe. We hope you and your family are doing well during this challenging time. We hope that you are finding moments of joy and connection each day. May your hearts and bodies be safe. May your homes be a haven. May your minds be calm. May you find presence and peace. And as always, we wish you well.
