April 2014:
What we’re doing and why we do it!
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.
As you saw in class, there is no limit to the ways a drum can be made. This week play with your homemade drum together, and see what else you have that can be a drum.
MUSIC VOCABULARY
Introducing musical concepts and labeling them helps young children develop a music vocabulary. If not today, some day soon toddlers will be able to use their vocabulary to talk about what they hear in music and to create music of their own.
Away We Go! At Home:
Hey, Tswana is one of the songs that is simple for adults to play on your Kindermusik harmonicas. Instructions are on pg. 17 of the Home Activity Book. Your child will enjoy hearing this familiar song with a new timbre, or sound quality.
THE MOVEMENT-VISION READING CONNECTION
Our visual sense functions most effectively when out eyes are actively moving, taking in sensory information from the environment… When the body and head move, the vestibular system is activated, and the eye muscles strengthen as they move in response. The more the eyes move, the more the muscles of both eyes work together. Later on, this “eye teaming” will enable these now-toddlers to focus, as well as to track and to concentrate as they learn to read in school.
TIME TO DO SIMPLY NOTHING
At the same time that your child needs stimulation and engagement in age-appropriate learning activities, he also needs leisure time… unstructured time… time to do simply nothing. This down time is physically necessary for your child’s brain to process the learning that occurs during structured activities and interaction. There are other benefits as well. “When children amuse themselves, they’re actually exercising a different part of their brain than when they’re engaged in an organized activity.” This unstructured time helps them to “grow emotionally and intellectually: kids who have ample opportunity to make up their own rules and fantasies are cognitively way ahead of those whose time is always structured.” Dan Rees, PhD at Western Maryland College
Home Activity Suggestions:
Shiny Hide and Seek, p. 31
Let’s Listen and Move!, p. 3
Good Morning!!, p. 32
Up, Up, and Away, p. 33
Plane Puzzle, p. 34
Let’s Read a Book!, p. 34
Cloud Watching, p. 34