To the casual observer, it might indeed look like we are just playing and having fun.  While the approach is necessarily playful, every aspect of the Kindermusik® curriculum is built upon a solid musical and developmental foundation. While they are playing and singing, children are, improving their rhythmic competency; developing a sense of steady beat; achieving the ability to match pitches; becoming acquainted with timbre; learning a repertoire of songs; experiencing many different instruments; increasing their ability to listen; and gaining a love of music that will last throughout their life.

I plan to have my children take music lessons when they are older.    Why should I bother with a music class when they are so young? 

Instinctively, we know that music belongs in the life of young children. Young children are ready for music, they are in their critical period for developing a good foundation in music, and musical potential is often lost if it is not nurtured and maintained in these early years. Any one who works with young children, even infants, know how eager and receptive they are to appropriate musical experiences.  Additionally, recent brain research has pointed to non-musical crossover benefits of early music study and to how important early music exposure is to a baby's normal development. In a Kindermusik® class, parent-child interaction is fostered, socialization with other children is encouraged, fine motor and gross motor development is enhanced, and language skills flourish. Kindermusik® helps each child develop musically at the right time and in the right way, and a Kindermusik® graduate has a solid foundation and a giant head start when they move to private instrumental, voice or dance lessons, and they even have better timing ability in sports

I feel my child is ready for private instrument instruction NOW. Why should I choose Kindermusik® over a Suzuki program or other private lessons? 

Many parents have found that this is not an either/or choice. Kindermusik® and private lessons are not mutually exclusive; in fact, Kindermusik® supplements and enriches private lessons tremendously. In addition, several Suzuki components are used in the Young Child program. The appropriate developmental nature of Kindermusik® activities ensures that learning is never "too much, too fast.” It has been my experience as I send Kindermusik® Graduates to private piano instructors that they are so much better prepared to succeed. Consistently they have said that a child who begins lessons much before age 7 or 8 is not any farther ahead of the child who begins at a later age.

 I want to enroll my child in gymnastics/dance/soccer/karate/pre-school.  

As children reach the age of 3½ to 4, a world of possibilities in the community opens up to them. We can send our children to any number of wonderful activities, where parents wait and watch. These activities are fun and develop skill, yet most are missing the one critical plus of Kindermusik® classes, they do not directly involve the family. Being able to enjoy our families in a rich musical environment is priceless. These days’ children are being pushed out into the world at younger ages than ever and it is nice to have an activity where family involvement is celebrated. Many of the benefits of the other activities, such as promoting physical coordination and social skills, providing a structured routine, building self- esteem, and developing talents and cognitive abilities, are all encompassed in a Kindermusik® class. IN ADDITION, there is the added benefit of the development for a love of music that will last much past the time the dance shoes and karate gees are put away - in fact, as we say at Kindermusik®, "A good beginning never ends.” The opportunity to creatively express their individual imaginations through art, vocal, dance and instrument activities is unique to Kindermusik®.

 My child loves Kindermusik® class and sings all of the songs and does all of the activities at home, but when we are in class, he just sits there. 

Not to worry! Although this is sometimes frustrating to parents because of our performance-oriented society, developmentally, pushing children to perform has no place in an Early Childhood program of any kind. We believe the parent is the child's most important teacher, and the home is the most important place for that learning to grow. When you think about it, success should be measured more by what a child does all the rest of the week than what he does in the 45 minutes at Kindermusik® class. And remember that Kindermusik® is about Process, not Performance. Every child can be successful in a Kindermusik® class no matter what developmental level he is on.

Let’s talk finances. Why doesn't Kindermusik® cost less.  

When you buy a dress, you don't just pay the flat cost of the materials it cost to make the dress. You also pay for the time it took to make the dress, the person who designed the dress, the cost for marketing and shipping and getting it into the stores, the equipment used in making the dress, etc. You also pay for the name brand that is associated with the dress. Similarly, the fees that you pay to attend Kindermusik® cover a multitude of items. For instance:  

1. Kindermusik® is the leader in Early Childhood Music and Movement Programs. Being a part of "KINDERMUSIK®" ensures that you are getting an internationally tested and tried product that works and is the leader in the field. It is the "Name Brand" label as opposed to a local or "in-store" label. 

2. Kindermusik® regularly consults with experts in the field of Early Childhood development, music and movement as they develop their curricula, such as: Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect;  Melissa R. Johnson, pediatric psychologist; Anne Green Gilbert, author of Creative Dance for Children; Claudia Quigg, founder and executive director of Baby TALK; Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, author of Raising Your Spirited Child; Patricia Campbell, author of Songs in Their Head: Music and Its Meaning in Children's Lives, and others. These experts, along with an amazing Creative Team, bring their knowledge and experience into your lives. No other program can boast of such backing. This is worth a lot. 

3. The materials produced by Kindermusik® International are of the highest quality. The CDs, Literature and other home materials are unsurpassed. The talented artists, musicians, and arrangers make the music come alive. You only have to listen to one CD to know that this is no ordinary children's music CD. Music learning with the family in the home is a fundamental cornerstone of Kindermusik® and this is accomplished best through the use of home materials. Other programs may offer no or optional home materials which makes it hard to continue the experience at home. It is very worthwhile.  

4. Your instructor brings a lifetime of involvement with music and young children to the classroom. She has one of the top programs in the country, welcoming over 100 families into her studio each semester. In addition, she participates in Training workshops at KI headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina and in other Continuing Education experiences. Experience counts! 

5.  When you take Karate, Gymnastics, Dance or even private music lessons, there are always uniform and costume fees, recital fees, instrument rentals or purchase and music fees, etc. When comparing total prices, Kindermusik is often less expensive than these other programs. You also know up front what is going to be spent and your instructor provides several options to make payment easy and affordable. 

6. A variety of instruments, props, and equipment are necessary to provide a wide range of learning experiences in the class – Inventory costs.  

7. "You get what you pay for!" - and more! To quote Carla Hannaford, author of Smart Moves, "Kindermusik® is elegant in its integrated approach to a child's development. Physiologically, touch, movement, rhythm, and sound are the keystones to optimizing brain growth. The importance of having families working together, where everyone benefits from the sense of belonging, gets directly at the heart of what we, as a society, need at this time to raise healthy, loving children . . . All of this is provided in the Kindermusik® program." Priceless!!

My child has special developmental problems. Is Kindermusik® for her? 

Absolutely! An autistic child, children with Down's syndrome, hearing-impaired children and those with other physical, emotional, and learning disorders have generally thrived AND improved in Kindermusik®. What the program can do for children with special needs is ten-fold greater than even, what it does for those without these disabilities.

Honestly, how do BABIES really benefit from their own music class? 

Let a Kindermusik® mom, Petra, tell you in her own words:  "My son, Alex, was a Village baby from 10 -18 months. Alex loved the classes and so did all of the parents and children who were with him. I will try to sum up why it worked for us:   

• Our teacher fully believed in the program and it came across to the parents. She regularly integrated Foundations of Learning statements and helped us to see what benefits our children were deriving from the activities. She also constantly gave suggestions for how to participate in the activities with different age groups. Everyone had ways to participate in a manner that was appropriate for their baby.

• The different ages in the class were wonderful. Parents with infants were enjoying seeing the activities of the older ones and the older children interacted so cute with everyone. There was so much sharing and kindness between the children and parents. We were constantly amazed.

•  The children felt so comfortable with the teacher and all of the parents that many times children would walk or crawl to the teacher or to the other parents and sit with them. No one was ever bored in class. We had more wonderful experiences than I thought possible.

• The thing that really solidifies my belief in the Village program is seeing my son at home and what a lasting  impact the classes have made. He is now 20 months old, so he has been out of Village for a short while. We still listen to the music regularly. He cries to have his Kindermusik® CD put on! The Armenian Lullaby from  COCK A DOODLE MOO is THE thing that puts him to sleep. He has chosen it as his favorite lullaby. The other day he was listening to the FEATHERS CD while playing and suddenly he was lying on the floor, not moving. I wondered what was wrong, but he just looked at me as if inviting me to join him. Then I realized a Quiet Time song was playing. I was stunned. He had never done that at home before. It was not a fluke. He did it again later in the CD. Yesterday during mealtime and the DO-SI-DO CD, he stopped eating during a Quiet Time song and resumed eating when it was over. Later he was looking at a book and the Tango, Cha-Cha! song began. He did not see me watching him move his book side to side in rhythm to Cha-cha-cha. Because of his delight in the music on the CD's, we are now able to take long road trips! Music is now a huge part of our lives, where it wasn't before." These experiences are what parents come to cherish about the Kindermusik Village class.

What are your thoughts about siblings in class? I have trouble, finding sitters. 

Ideally, Kindermusik® should be a one on one experience with parent and child. This is the ideal and what we all hope could happen. Unfortunately, we all know that the ideal often cannot happen! As a basic tenet of the Kindermusik® philosophy is its emphasis on family music making, I hate to turn away prospective families because of sibling/sitter problems. This is why I offer Kindermusik Family Time. This curricula was designed for those families needing an alternative to allow the family to come together. One parent, one or two children, two parents, one, two or three or four children. If Kindermusik Family Time is not the class for you I also offer a sibling discount. Village classes are not designed to allow for siblings unless they are significantly older and could occupy themselves with a book or other non-distracting work. However, because of the time, space, manpower, and instrument limitations during Kindermusik Our Time™ class, and in order to be fair to the other families enrolled in the class, it is essential that I am able to plan for siblings who must regularly attend and involve them appropriately. If I know about your sibling situations at the time of enrollment, I can properly gauge a class makeup and plan accordingly to include them. If your other child is in a carrier during class, there is no charge. There is a $5.00 per class charge for older babies who cannot remain in a baby carrier during class or for older siblings who are regularly participating in class. Exceptions to this policy will be made if the sibling is enrolled in their own age-appropriate Kindermusik® class or if the older siblings can occupy themselves and not be a distraction. This policy creates a better learning environment for everyone. With the exception of the first class of each semester (when parents are to stay the entire class), siblings are always welcome in “group” time for Kindermusik® for the Young Child.

 This really sounds TOO good to be true. It cannot really be all that wonderful! 

I would be lying if I told you that every class is a dream. Because we are dealing with very young children, there are of course some days that are chaotic and crazy. Every child is unique and no one acts the model child all the time. But, I can honestly and in all sincerity say that the curriculum works beautifully. It works because it is perfectly developmentally appropriate. Each child learns at his or her level and ability, and in most cases' revels in it! There is not one standard of performance that anyone is trying to meet, and the WHOLE child is developed through music. It's truly magic!

Helping Create Happy Musical Families since 1994!