Use these Kindermusik Principles When You Play with Baby

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By: Trisha Bautista

Running out of ideas for entertaining and engaging your toddler? Consider enrolling them in early learning activities like Kindermusik, or apply the principles at home.

There’s a reason why Kindermusik has gained popularity in recent years. Aside from giving your child a time and space to bond with other babies while spending quality time with you, Kindermusik provides a nurturing and stimulating environment for you and your toddlers. Studies have also proven that early exposure to music and movement gives babies a huge learning advancement. Aspects of music like rhythm, lyrics, and chants help develop language skill, too.

Dang Arambulo, internationally accredited Kindermusik Teacher at Children’s Talent Education Center in San Juan is one of the early pioneers of Kindermusik in the Philippines. The preschool-music studio has been around since the 70s, and is an accredited partner of Kindermusik International. Arambulo is a teacher with years of experience in early child and special needs education, and she shares with us some tips on how to apply Kindermusik principles to your QT with your cuties.

1. Maintain eye contact with your babies.

This is very important in a baby’s development. The ability to hold eye contact is one of the earliest milestones for infants, and of course the first people they hold gazes with are usually you, their primary caregiver. Keeping eye contact with your babies helps them feel safe and loved, and holding their gaze has both emotional and mental benefits. It helps them make associations between people, actions, words, expressions, etc.

2. Integrate physical motions with songs and lyrics.

“Think of it as active listening versus passive listening,” says Arambulo. The pitches in music and different vocal inflections help engage babies and helps them harness their cognitive skills. When you sing, choose songs with lyrics that depict action and direction, and do the action, too. If for example, the song has words that go “clap your hands,” match the lyrics with the action of clapping your hands.

3. Engage in group activities for socialization

“Although you can integrate Kindermusik principles with your play time at home with baby, a big factor that makes Kindermusik so beneficial to babies is offering babies a space to interact with other babies the same age. It also helps them learn music and language concepts when they see others doing the same actions,” says Dang. Arrange regular play dates with your baby’s peers, or look for a group activity like Kindermusik that you can join together. It will do you good, too—having a peer group of parents is great especially for new parents!

4. Have certain songs or certain music as part of their routine.

Infants pick up on music way easier than we realize, and babies naturally respond to music. To help train them on their routines (sleeping, playing, napping, etc), choose a playlist with a set of songs that you play regularly or on rotation. Listening is a big aspect of early musical education, and just listening to music helps develop musicality, sensitivity, and even focus.

Do all these at home, and consider investing in a set of Kindermusik sessions. Babies really do get engaged, according to Arambulo and other advocates of Kindermusik, children who grew up on music are more focused, used to social settings, and have an eagerness to learn new things, even as early as nursery. Try a class at Kindermusik no matter how young your baby is—they have interactive classes for kids from infancy to kindergarten!

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