Away We Go!

There’s a little drum a beating…it’s my heart!

Our entire lives, our heartbeat provides a constant sense of rhythm. It’s no wonder that we are all drawn to drums. Research shows that the act of drumming actually changes the chemicals in our brains, relieving stress and creating a sense of well being. (Although, it can sometimes be stressful for the mom and dad that are having to do the listening!)

An activity that both you and your child would enjoy is to make a drum at home. You can use a coffee can, a leftover container, even a plastic cup. If you decide to make one, please bring it to our last class (the make-up week).

See you next week.

SuzAnne

Isn’t it fun watching the children grow and development? If you think back to when your child first started Our Time, you can probably see a big change in their abilities. For some of you this is your child’s 4^th semester of Our Time!

Remember when waiting for an instrument was so hard? Or when sharing an instrument was even harder? Do you remember when maybe only two children would actually sit through at least some of story time? Many of the children could barely talk when they first enrolled in Our Time. Now they are telling whole stories! There’s quite a difference isn’t there? It’s been fun to watch each child grow. It’s also fun watching them interact with each other like old pals. They are all so precious.

Zoo Train Kindermusik Summer Adventures Camp for the Our Time age is in my opinion one of the best camps we offer. We will dive like seals in the sea, have some fun wearing white socks on our “polar bear paws,” listen to kookaburras, take weekly trips on the ‘Alley Alley Oh’ and much more. We will also have special Zoo crafts and snacks. Because of the many requests we have had for this camp, we are offering it on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. We are keeping the registration limited to our current and former students until April 27. Sign up today to save a spot for your child.

I hope everyone is enjoying this great weather!!!

SuzAnne

Our new lesson focus, smooth and bumpy, introduces your toddler to two more important musical concepts.

A bumpy sound is called staccato. It sounds “choppy” like popcorn popping. A smooth sound is called legato, and it may sound more “flowing.” These different musical styles give music emotion, excitement, and expression.

By listening for and moving to these sounds, your toddler is improving his listening skills and developing a strong sense of music appreciation.

I hope everyone who has been sick is feeling better.

Hope your week goes more legato than staccato,

SuzAnne

The wheel hunt game on page 23 of your home activity book should have you both on a roll for a while.

This week, take the game off the page. Look for wheels wherever you go. Finding these wheel shapes is an important step in your toddler’s development, symbolizing his ability to form categories in his mind—an important skill for school someday.

You’ll find them in obvious places like cars and buses, but your toddler may notice wheels in places you’ve never seen before. Make sure you talk about that broken wheel in our Giddy-Up! storybook!!! (Isn’t is funny how fixated they are on that?)

See you next week!

So many different instruments, and they’re all mine!

Sharing and taking turns doesn’t always come so easily. One of the best ways your child can learn to share is in a supportive place like our classroom. As you explore the different instruments together, your toddler sees that when something is given up, he/she will get to try another.

Learning to share is difficult, especially on a day when everything is “mine!” Yet you will see improvement. And if you feel like your toddler has more trouble than anyone else, look around you…we’ve all been there, and we all understand! The children have all been doing great. The sharing seems to get better every week.

We’ll share more together next time.

The children in our room go ha, ha, ha…all through the class.

By moving our bodies, arms, and fingers up and down, listening to music with up and down melodies, and exploring our voices as they glide up and down, we not only hear the words, we can feel what these words mean, both in music and motion.

Doing this, we’re learning in a multi-sensory way. People learn best in so many different ways. Experiencing and experimenting with our senses and how we learn best by using them means your child can discover the way he/she learns best.

We will be learning the Easter signs in the next few weeks. Please help out by dropping me an e-mail of any Easter signs (religious or secular) you would like to know. If anyone would like Passover signs, please let me know those as well.

I will be adding some Family Fun ideas for Easter on the blog soon. And again if someone has some Passover fun they’d like to share, I’d be glad to post it.

Have a great week!

SuzAnne

I loved the activity and excitement the children had during this week’s class. I loved their ideas during Walk and Stop! (Yes, even slithering like a snake.) It’s fun to enter their world for a bit.

We had fun this week twisting, turning, rolling, swishing, and ‘crying’ during The Wheels on the Bus. Here’s what Anne Lief Barlin and Nurit Kalev, authors of Hello Toes, had to say about the Away We Go! Curriculum. With its focus on transportation, Away We Go! Includes many opportunities for going around and around like a wheel turning. In addition to being enjoyable, all the turning and twirling in Away We Go! Is helping children develop:

• Balance
• Coordination
• Directional awareness (especially if you emphasize turning one way, stopping, then turning the other way)
• Spatial awareness

I will be posting a video of a boy on a horse. I thought the children would enjoy seeing it after all the “giddy-upping” we’ve been doing in class.

See you next week.

Walk! Run! Jump! Gallop!

Your toddler spends a lot of time working the big muscles he/she needs for walking and running. Equally important are the smaller muscles in those little fingers, the fine motor skills.

We use these muscles when we’re “walking” fingers, shaking eggs, rolling hands, wiggling thumbs, playing the sandblocks, even giving tickles! These activities help your toddler learn to use hands and fingers, which will lead to skills like stringing beads, turning the pages of a book, cutting with scissors, and gripping pencils.

See you next week!

Giddy-up Mommy…..Whoa!

Toddlers love to go, but toddlers also need to learn how to stop, which is good for quiet time, taking turns, sharing, and being safe. Learning to stop in the middle of a fun activity gives your busy toddler a chance to learn what we call inhibitory control, or the ability to control his/her actions.

The sudden “stop” in the middle of bouncing, walking, or running teaches self-control through fun, active play. It’s fun and full of giggles, but you know the real secret: your child is getting ready to follow directions in school, wait for his/her turn, and more.

I hope that those of you who have been sick are feeling better!

Dear Our Time Parent:

It’s a train, it’s a car…it’s your amazing toddler! It’s a wonder to watch your child discover the joy of pretend play. Many children begin pretend play simply by imitating what they see their parents doing. In moving from imitation to pretend play, your toddler will improve his thinking skills, helping him to learn more words and move in creative ways.

Watch closely. How does your toddler make the movement his own? Does he honk the horn in a new way, turn the keys while jingling them, or add a steering wheel motion?

In moving from imitation to pretend play, your toddler will improve his thinking skills, helping him to learn more words and move in creative ways. The fun sounds that we use as we play are also an important part of language development. Though they are not complete words, they are the sounds your child will combine in the future to make those words. So see how many sounds you can make for trains, trucks, cars, and tractors this week as you play. Some day they will transform into the sweet little words you love to hear.

See you next week!