Imagine That! for Preschoolers - new class begins February 2010

Toys I Make, Trips I Take
Music and Movement classes designed for children 3 to 5 years old with parent/family participation the final 15 minutes of class.
 -- Think of it like taking a course inside a child’s imagination. We’ll use the theme of a toy shop to make our pretend-creations, using rhythm and songs with every imaginary saw, hammer, and nail. The result is building the preschooler’s sense of a sequence of events, which is good for storytelling, as well as making his ideas a reality.

Home Materials: Two books—If I Had a Big Blue Boat and Tippity Tippity Too, Toys I Make, Trips I Take Play Set, Two Home CDs, Family Activity Book, and a drum.

15 week spring semester begins February 8.
Classes meet Mondays from 10:15-11am beginning February 8 at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music.  Call 250-754-4611 to register.

Happy New Year!

I've enjoyed a lovely relaxing holiday right here on beautiful Vancouver Island.  It's only the 2nd day of 2010 and I've got 2 days of holidays left - a great time to reflect on the blessings of last year and to look to a full and exciting year ahead.  Going back to work Monday morning means using an alarm clock once again, but I have to say I am truly looking forward to my first Imagine That and Village classes of 2010. 

Check this blog for updates on new Village, Our Time, and Imagine That classes beginning in February.  And be sure to check out Kindermusik's official blog, with a link to join their facebook page here: Minds on Music - Kindermusik.  It's full of videos, links, articles and more.

See you in the new year!!!

New Village class starts November in Nanaimo!

Do-Si-Do -- Pick up your baby and dance. Dance the Charleston, the Tango, and the Cha-Cha and learn why dancing with your baby helps develop vital learning skills—from head-to-toe. In this class, play a variety of baby appropriate instruments, a dance with fun props.


Home Materials: CD with songs from class, an instrument—Kindermusik eggshaker and scarf, a picture board book—Do-Si-Do—with lilting move-to-it rhyming text, and a set of Art Banners for the nursery wall that strengthens vision and promotes early literacy.

Mondays from 11:15am to 12pm, beginning November 23, 2009 or
Thursdays from 11:15am to 12pm beginning November 19, 2009.

Call the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music at 250-754-4611 today to register!

Kindermusik Village for Babies

Kindermusik Village

• newborn to 18 months
• 8 45 minute classes, with 4 different units each year
• tuition $80, materials $40, annual registration fee applies
• Call 250-754-4611 or visit the Nanaimo Conservatory at 375 Selby St. to register.

Kindermusik Village incorporates the most current research on early childhood development and provides families a special place for learning and connecting with other parents and babies through music and movement.

In each of these professionally created classes, you will learn about your baby’s development, and how to engage your baby using all of their senses. We will dance, sing, and play with a wide variety of age-appropriate instruments and props. There is so much to explore, and with your home materials you have the tools to continue the fun and learning at home and even in the car!

Fall 2009 Unit: Feathers
Offered Mondays or Thursdays at 11:15am beginning September 21 or 24.
In Feathers
we explore the musical poems of Woody Guthrie, bird songs, and the naturally occurring sounds in nature that help babies develop an early appreciation—and accelerated aptitude—for language, movement, and music.
At Home Materials include 1 cd, colourful board book, art banners, and chime ball.

Kindermusik Our Time for Toddlers

Kindermusik Our Time

• 18 months to 3 years
• 15 45 minute classes
• parent or caregiver attends with child
• tuition $150, materials $60, annual registration fee applies
• Call 250-754-4611 or visit the Nanaimo Conservatory at 375 Selby St. to register.

Our Time encourages toddlers to uncover an engaging musical world while building confidence, self-control, and communications skills. Singing, imitating sounds, rhyming, and object identification foster language skills, while creative movement to various musical “moods” develops a sense of balance, timing, and spatial awareness. Listening and turn-taking encourage emerging social skills. 
And with you by their side, they will develop the confidence to be creative and original.

Our Time reflects the emotional foundations of school readiness and the latest research on music and early childhood development. Our Time is a unique opportunity for you to interact and learn together with your child in an unhurried and joyful manner.


Fall 2009 Unit: Wiggles and Giggles
Offered Thursdays at 10:15am, beginning September 24.

Splash in the tub, row your boat, jump in puddles, swim with the fish – all without ever getting wet! This unit is designed to reflect the importance of movement in the life of a toddler. You’ll learn 15 different dances, and explore many types of instruments and props. Dance and play, while developing language and cognitive abilities, fine motor skills, gross motor abilities, and social skills.

At Home Materials include 2 cds with over 50 songs, Home Activity Book, zig zag blocks instrument, and 2 books: Watch Me! and Pete and P.J.

Kindermusik Imagine That for Preschoolers

Kindermusik Imagine That!

• 3 to 5 years old
• 15 weekly 45 minute classes
• parent or caregiver attends the last 10 to 15 minutes of class
• tuition $150, materials $60, annual registration fee applies
• Call 250-754-4611 or visit the Nanaimo Conservatory at 375 Selby St. to register.

Using the power of music, Kindermusik’s Imagine That! taps into your preschooler’s creative spirit and boundless energy and focuses on developing his learning strengths and self-confidence so he’ll be ready for school, and prepared for future music lessons.

Through pretend play children are engaged in musical and vocal development, reading and storytelling, and expressive movement. Social interaction and peer bonding skills are encouraged through both structured and free group activities.
Children participate in the first part of the class alone, and parents, siblings, and caregivers are invited to participate in sharing time for the last 10 to 15 minutes of class.

Fall 2009 Unit: See What I Saw
Offered Mondays at 10:15am, beginning September 21.

In this class, your preschooler uses her real experience playing in the park to create imaginative, storytelling scenarios with music.  Each week provides your preschooler one uninterrupted session of imaginative play that's guided in a very specific, sequential way—with a special Family Sharing Time with you in the last 10 to 15 minutes of class.

At Home Materials include a Double CD, Family Activity Book, interactive "Grasshopper Park" play set, a slide whistle instrument, a pair of lumi sticks, and two beautifully-illustrated storybooks: Can You Find Me? and The Ant Picnic Feast.

Nanaimo's Fall 2009 Kindermusik Schedule

Check this link for the fall 2009 Kindermusik class schedule: http://www.kindermusik.com/Classes/StudioInformation.aspx?EducatorID=40353&LocationID=STUDIO1.

Spring 2009 Village Classes

Spring Village classes have just begun at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music, and we only have 4 spaces left. Village Zoom Buggy meets from 11:15 until 12 noon every Thursday until April 23. A brand new 8 week class, The Rhythm of My Day, will run the same time and day from April 30 until June 18, 2009.

The Rhythm of My Day

This class will help you bring more rhythm and routine to your baby's day, as well as help develop lasting learning skills. We'll show you how and tell you why music can help your little one soothe into the day’s schedule and help build a strong body and mind network for learning. You can bring home those same stress-free play and relaxation techniques from class, and incorporate them into your daily routines.

Home Materials: CD of beautifully arranged songs from class, The Rhythm of My Day—a colourful picture board book with class themes, a set of Art Banners, and an instrument for music-making at home.

Enrol today! Call 250-754-4611 or email nicole_arendt@yahoo.ca for more details.

Story Time Jewels

As I get ready to begin a new semester of Our Time this week I am again excited by the high quality of musical and developmental research that goes into each and every unit of Kindermusik. This Thursday (10:15am) and Friday (11:15am) I'll introduce the delightful unit Fiddle Dee Dee to parents and their children, including the favourite book, created just for this unit, called Animal Serenade written by Susan James Frye and illustrated by Andrea Eberbach. This sing along book ties in beautifully with all of the activities we will be exploring over the next 6 weeks of classes, at which point we get to explore another book. Refreshing myself with the book, I count 7 songs with a rich musical heritage. This one small children's book packs in original Kindermusik songs, adapted traditional tunes, as well as music from South Carolina, Arkansas, Germany, and Mexico.

It's not too late to join the learning and fun! Call the Nanaimo Conservatory at 250-754-4611 to register today!

Moving from Village to Our Time

Transitional Ages and Stages

How do I know if my child is ready for the next class level?

The Kindermusik philosophy springs from genuine respect for each child's individual rate of development. Class activities and at-home materials are designed to honor, support and celebrate the wonderful uniqueness of each child. Classes have overlapping age ranges to help parents accommodate their child's own needs.

If your child is near a transitional stage, the following guidelines may help your decision.

Moving from Village to Our Time - Children ready for this next level show many of the following characteristics:

Physical
- Improved walking skills, feet are together, knees flexible (vs. the "just walker" who has a wide-based, legs apart gate with locked knees)
- Beginning to imitate/explore a variety of traveling movements -- run, jump, leap

Cognitive
- Reliably point to correctly identified body parts
- Can follow two-step direction
- Understands what "one" means (vs. a handful)
- Learning to use toys and objects in symbolic ways (moving beyond just enjoyment of sensory properties)
- Can interact in a directed activity
- Able to shift attention with transition
- Connects to an activity; initiates a play sequence
- Reliably responds to own name (refers to self by name in secure environments)

Emotional
- Uses gestures and language to deal with frustration (as opposed to just crying or whining)
- Sustains interest and attention in activity for several minutes (Note: not wanting to give something up, such as bells or sticks, can be a sign of maturation)

Language
- Can express wants and needs symbolically (gestures, words)
- Has vocabulary of 20 words; receptive language is still stronger than expressive
- Reading with caregiver becomes cooperative. Child will select book, sit, relate to the story and interact

Social
- Interested in what other children are doing
- Capable of distal communication (i.e. following verbal instructions from farther away)

Musical
- Moves to music, perhaps to steady beat