Free Preview Class :)

For all of you who didn't win our giveaway, here's a little something for you :)  Give me a call  on 8686146 and come along to a free preview class - you'll have a wonderful time and there's absolutely no obligation attached. 

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to Emma Gibson, who will be joining us for Kindermusik Village next term!! It's been lovely seeing more of you become followers and leave comments, and solve my little puzzle ;) I hope you'll all keep reading, and finding out more about ways to make every day a little more musical. 

I'm really looking forward to meeting our newest Kindermusik family when the term starts on July 20th!

Have a lovely day, everyone! 

Ooooh - nearly there!

To find out about our giveaway (which closes tonight!), click here first!

The giveaway is nearly over - and I see a couple of new followers have joined us as of this afternoon! One clever cookie has solved my puzzle already, and sent me the correct answer :)

Jarvis and I came up with S a novel musical instrument today, also known as 'Balloon with Bell in it'. It took me rather a long time to get a bell inside a deflated balloon, but once I did the fun was endless! Apologies for the rather dreadful photo and messy lounge ;) Hard to get a good shot of a young man vigorously making music!

A few days back I posted about the places music can be hiding in your backyard, today we spent the day searching for it inside. The Bell Balloon Creation came about when Jarvis started rummaging through a drawer & found a bell and a balloon, before that he made some pretty fantastic music using a stone mortar and pestle on the kitchen floor. There are endless possibilities - and none of them require you to go to a shop and buy an instrument! Our children can teach us an awful lot about how to make the most of what's around you :)

I look forward to checking my emails in the morning and seeing who else has taken the time to play my puzzling game - thank you all so much! I'll find my lucky winner then - if you haven't become a follower, make sure you do tonight - and leave me a comment too! I know there are some shy folk out there so I'm changing the rules a little - if you're a follower you get an entry, if you leave a comment you get another, and if you solve the puzzle you get yet another :)  I don't want to scare off people who aren't confident blog commenters! 

So...send your answers to me at serendipitystudio AT y7mail DOT com (excuse the lack of linky, I don't want those sneaky web bot things to steal my email address...), there's a link on the right hand side under the subscription box too :)

Good Luck!!

 :) Kath

Kindermusik - the Single Best Choice!

To find out about our giveaway, click here first! 

You may think I'm being a bit outrageous with the title of this post - but I truly believe it is :)


The research about music and children's development is simply amazing! More and more, the eyes of the research community are turning to music as a vehicle to deliver a learning experience to children.


Early, positive, and age-appropriate experiences with music - like a Kindermusik programme - can have a remarkable and research-proven impact on your child's life :) Language and literacy, maths and pattern recognition skills, social and emotional development, and the ability to plan, guide and self regulate behaviour are all attributes you'll see blossoming in your Kindermusik child! 


Kindermusik International have put together some fantastic resources, outlining the results of research into the ongoing benefits of Kindermusik. If you have a few D moments, they're well worth a read :)


Kindermusik - On the Path to Reading
Discovering Mathematics through Music
Music & Social-Emotional Development

Research aside, there are other amazing benefits of being a part of a Kindermusik class...the absolute joy you'll experience in a class and at home, the special bond you and your child will form in your special time together, the fun you and your family will have at home dancing and singing along with your Kindermusik CDs :) 

With over thirty years developing early childhood music curricula and products, Kindermusik is the original and most trusted name in music and movement classes. 

I can't wait to see which wonderful family will be joining us for next term - if you haven't become a follower yet, it's not too late!! I'll be choosing a winner on Thursday morning :) 

Don't be shy - write us a comment ;)  It's lovely learning about what everyone's doing to celebrate music with their families!

One more linky for today - some blogs from happy Kindermusik families around the world. If the research doesn't convince you, these surely will :) 

Blogs by happy Kindermusik families!

Musically yours,
Kath

Music in the Back Yard :)

To find out about our giveaway, click here first! 

I've just posted these over at my other blog, but thought they were a wonderful way to show how music can be hiding in the most unexpected of places :)

This morning, Jarvis and I went hunting for music in the garden. At first we found it in the usual places - Deedee the chicken and her team (Rosso, Rouge, Rojo, Blanco and Bianco - totally original chicken names round here...) clucking gently, with the occasional noisy outburst, the fantails sitting on the clothes line, the pheasants making their honking noises when they get startled and take off! 

Then, while I was hanging some washing out, Jarvis discovered a new source of music in one of his favourite things - the garden hose!! 

I heard him giggling wildly, and turned around to see this! He was making Shhhhhh sounds to go with the sound of the water spraying out of the hose, and totally enjoying the experience of having water flying EN wildly around his face :) Lucky I had the camera sitting outside, it was priceless!

Water is a very musical medium indeed! As well as the 'shhhhhh' sound of the water spraying from the hose, think about the sound you can make when you blow bubbles with a straw, the splash you get when you jump into a puddle, the sound of water pouring from one container into another, the sound of the shower sprinkling water into a full bathtub, the swish swish swish sound you hear when you  wiggle your hands or feet in a full bucket :) 

Only three days left of the giveaway - don't be shy lovely readers, please post a comment!! I'd LOVE to hear about your backyard music adventures, or even just have you say hello and tell me a little about you & your family :) 

 We have ten more followers now than we did a week ago, and that's wonderful - I can't wait to give away a term of Kindermusik Village on Thursday :)  

Don't forget to find the mysterious letters in this post - not many left to find now ;)

'til tomorrow!

Kath

Feathers :)

To find out about our giveaway, click here first!!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your Saturday :)  What looked like a murky day has turned into a lovely sunshiney afternoon here - a nice surprise.

Our Village unit for next term is called Feathers - in this unit the musical poems of Woody Guthrie, bird songs, and the naturally occurring sounds in nature help babies develop an early appreciation - and accelerated aptitude - for language, movement and music. 

                                                                 

The At Home Materials are just gorgeous! A Kindermusik Chime Ball (a big favourite with everyone in our class!), a colourful picture book filled with birds, an art banner to strengthen baby's vision and promote early literacy, and a cd with over 25 songs from class to enjoy at home :) In addition to the cd, everyone enrolled in class is able to download a digital copy of ER the Feathers album from play.kindermusik.com . This is such a great website - and many of our families have found it invaluable when their cds have been played to death!! 

We're already getting into the Feathers groove in our house - listening to the cd, reading the picture book, and getting outside and listening to the birds singing in the trees :)  Jarvis's favourite real life bird right now is the fantail who hangs out in the lemon verbena tree outside. Whenever he sees the little guy sitting there chirping away, he starts imitating his sound and chirping back at him! 

                                          

Nature provides so many opportunities for us to take time out and listen - the birds singing, the wind in the trees, the way leaves crunch when you walk on them...what are your family's favourite sounds in the backyard? I'd love to hear all about them :)  

Feel the Beat!

To find out about our giveaway, click here first! 

Hello, lovely readers! I hope you're all enjoying reading my ramblings about the wonderful ways music can enrich our families :) I'm loving the comments, keep them coming!! There are still a few words to come, so keep your eyes peeled...

One of the first things we experience, even before we're born, is a steady beat. For forty weeks or so, we lived in a warm soft home, where the main soundtrack was the beating of our mother's heart :) 

So, imagine how it must feel after nine months of feeling a quiet, calm steady beat all day to emerge into a very noisy world, filled with lots of randomly occurring noises! 

The world is a super noisy place! Things are always beeping, the tv or radio is often on, other children are running around doing wonderfully noisy kid things, animals are making noises, lots NEV of things for a new baby to take in!

Especially in the early days, when babies are still adjusting to their new surroundings, music with a steady beat can provide some familiarity and comfort in the midst of a chaotic world :) Steady beat can be expressed through movement too - walking (or dancing!) around the room to a piece of music is a great way of experiencing the beat.

Experiencing a steady beat has many ongoing benefits too...but I'll save them for next time ;)

How do you feel the beat with your family? Can't wait to hear other people's ideas :)

Musically yours,

Kath

PS - I hope you found the mysterious word - it's not actually a whole word today, just a piece of one! Keep saving them up - and keep spreading the word :) If you don't follow loads of blogs, an easy way to keep up to date with my posts is to subscribe - just put your email address in the box on the right hand side! You'll get an email whenever I write something new :) 

Relax :)

To find out all about our giveaway, click here first!! 

There's nothing like taking a few moments to sit down, snuggle up, and relax! Here, Jarvis is having a cuddle with his friend the (very enormous) Very Hungry Caterpillar at his Nana's place :)

Relaxing isn't something we know how to do when we're born! With so much going on in the lives of our little ones, it's super important that we teach them how to slow down and have a rest in between all of our adventures. Relaxing is a learned behaviour, and something which we need to practice (yay!). 

Something we do in our Kindermusik Village class during Quiet Time, is listen to a piece of lovely relaxing music. It's a great time to have a cuddle, and rock to the music whilst taking deep breaths. Our children are amazing - when we breathe deeply, they copy us and slow down too! It's a time to share smiles and cuddles, and enjoy taking some time out of our busy lives :)  Relaxation BEGINNING isn't only for before bedtime, but it's a handy skill to have when bedtime does roll around!

Try it out - take a few minutes out of your afternoon every day this week and relax with your children :)  Choose a favourite piece of music - something slow, soft and gentle will help you relax more than something bouncy and fast - and give it a try :) 

As always - we'd love to hear about how you and your family relax! Remember to hunt for the mystery word in this post (details of the giveaway here!), and become a follower if you aren't already :)  

PS - We're on facebook as well - it would be wonderful if you could come & 'like' us ,  tell your friends about Serendipity Studio!!  

Getting a New Perspective :)

To find out all about our giveaway, click here first!!

Things can look so different when you check them out from a different perspective! As adults, we can move our bodies heads and eyes around to investigate the world around us in so many different ways. Our babies don't yet have the ability to do this by themselves, which is why an important part of Kindermusik Village is holding our babies in lots of different ways, giving them lots of views of the action!


This wonderful variety of views helps our babies develop their eyes, their understanding of space, and helps with the development of the muscles in their bodies used for movement and balance. Every time baby changes position, and sees the world from a new angle, new neural connections A GOOD are being formed in the brain! 


As with everything our young friends do, repetition is what makes these connections permanent. Every new experience and new perspective forms a connection - repeating these strengthens the connection and makes it stick around longterm :) 


Give it a try tomorrow - do some of your everyday activities with a twist! If you usually hold baby on your hip, try flying him or her through the air like superman! Have him or her facing you or facing outwards, down low or up high :) There are endless possibilities! I love the way Jarvis is looking up a cobweb out on the deck in the photo above, from below it looks quite different from when you're observing it front on. 


Remember to find the mysterious words in this post & join them onto what you found yesterday! Spread the word - a term of Kindermusik is a wonderful prize for a lucky family to win :)


Until tomorrow!
Kath :)

1,2,3, Waltz with Me!

The lovely Shanks family, showing us their wonderful waltz moves ;) We miss having Bonnie (the young lady in orange!) with us each week - she's an honorary member of our Village class who's recently started at Kindy. She's helping Mum (Jacquie) and her little brother, Jake, enjoy some quality dancing time :) They're doing a great job of showing us what Kindermusik is all about - sharing music with our families. 


That's what makes Kindermusik so special - it's not just a once a week experience, the amazing At Home Materials mean you can take music wherever you go - listening (and singing along!) to the cds in the car, reading the stories before bed at night, having some quiet time together and KINDERMUSIK singing a soft lullaby :) 


Lately we've been enjoying a lot of dancing in our house - the Do-Si-Do cd certainly makes you want to jump up and dance!! Whatever your child's stage (lap baby, crawler, wriggler, walker, runner!), there's a way to incorporate movement & dance into your day. Dancing with your baby in your arms, or having them dancing alongside you, is so much fun, and has so many other benefits! 


Movement and sensory awareness are a big way that our littlies learn about themselves and the world - they internalise movement before making connections to the language which describes it (for example, they know what up and down feel like well before they know the words!). As they grow older, they'll do the action and say the word at the same time, then eventually the language will take over (but the movement is still there on the inside!). Pretty interesting stuff!! 


Make sure you click on the follow button and keep an eye on the blog - I'll be back tomorrow with some more wonderful ways to share music with your family! And be sure to collect the mysterious words hiding in my posts for the competition ;) Today's one isn't too tricky, I think you'll find it without too much difficulty! 


I'd love to hear about how you incorporate movement and dance into your day - please leave me a comment!


Have a musical day :)
Kath

Come, Follow Me! (also known as Giveaway Time!)

A bit of a Kindermusik joke there - watch this video & see one of our favourite Kindermusik tunes ;) 


At long last, here comes the giveaway I've been teasing you with for the last wee while!


Because we want to spread the word about how wonderful Kindermusik is, we're giving away a term of free tuition for one lucky local (Gisborne & nearby) family, valued at $165. It's for a place in our Kindermusik Village class in term three, for little ones aged 0-18 months :) 


It's easy peasy to enter...


1. Become a follower of the blog! Click on the 'follow' button to the right of the page, enter your details & you're done. If you're having trouble, click on the 'send me an email' linky and I'll help!
2. Leave a comment :)  I LOVE hearing everyone's ideas about wonderful ways to share music with their families! 


That's it! But, if you're keen for an extra entry and like a wee puzzle, I'll be hiding a word or two in each blog post for the next week. It shouldn't be too tricky to find (although it may look at first like I've made a crazy mistake & forgotten to proof read!). Collect the words, and email them to me at the end of the month (June 30th). 


At the end (on July 1st), I'll use random.org to choose a lucky winner! 


My next post holds the first clue :) Good luck, and please tell all your Gisborne friends!! 

A Giveaway!

How exciting - in conjunction with the lovely Jacquie at Cheeky Cherubs, and the ladies organising the upcoming Gisborne Baby Expo, we have a wonderful prize up for grabs...

A term of Kindermusik Village with Serendipity Studio for you and your baby/toddler (aged 0-18months), valued at $165!!

This is a very special prize, and there'll be a bit of a treasure hunt involved in entering the giveaway ;) Keep your eyes peeled on this blog, and on Facebook (the Serendipity Studio, Cheeky Cherubs & Gisborne Baby Expo pages!) for more details in the next few days...

I can't wait!!