In Kinder, your child develops her singing voice and rhythmic skills. She/He plays instruments and moves to the beat. Through these activities she/he learns the artistic, cultural, scientific and mathematical foundations of music. Research has shown that the benefits of music education include improved reading and reasoning ability, self-esteem and vocational preparation. Young children involved in consistent music instruction have a greater ability to grasp concepts that are also essential to the understanding of math and science. Most states have music standards that are based on the National Standards for Arts Education.
Singing: Kinders sing songs with repetitive words and melody patterns, such as nursery rhymes and folk songs. Many songs will be connected to the holidays. Others reinforce what your Kinder is learning in their homeroom class, such as songs about neighborhoods, money or shapes. Typical songs include “Down by the Bay,” “Jim Along Josie” and “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain.” Your child will learn to blend his/her voice with others by singing in a group and develops their own voice by singing alone. Your child will learn to sing expressively, on pitch (high and low) and with correct dynamics (loud and soft). S/He will sing an increasing number of songs from memory and with improved accuracy. The class plays singing games that combine music and movement.
Playing and listening to instruments Kinders play musical instruments, such as drums and xylophones, individually and in a group. Your child works with rhythm to find a steady beat. S/He will be able to maintain a steady beat as s/he plays instruments alone and in a group. Kinders are able to make connections between math and playing simple rhythms on instruments that sound on the steady beat and sound on subdivisions of the beat. Quarter-notes are the steady beat — one sound per beat — and eighth-notes are twice as fast – two sounds in the space of one beat. This also helps with Reading and Phonation Skills.
Moving to music Your child skips, hops, marches, claps, tiptoes and steps to the beat. S/he makes creative movements to music, showing her understanding of rhythm, beat and the feeling of the music. S/he may make up hand movements to go along with songs.
Learning the vocabulary Kinders begin to learn and use the vocabulary of music, such as tempo, melody, echo, solo and beat. They also learn to understand how music communicates feelings. Your child can use words such as happy, sad, excited or scary to describe the emotions portrayed in music.
Learning notes In a rich music program Kinders develop recognition of musical notation. They learn to read and write simple rhythm patterns.
What to Look for When You Visit: - Musical instruments, such as drums, cymbals, triangles and rhythm sticks - Sound recordings from a wide variety of cultures, styles and eras - Music-related books - Puppets or other props used for singing - Movement games