Change on a dime: The Human Jukebox

Change on a dime | The cello/violin duo plays an instant-mash up in real time and gives whole new meaning to the term "busking."

11 months, 6 strings, and twins!

Apparently, birds love Bluegrass, too

Click here to watch the video.
What a gentle soul. Halfway through the song at this Bluegrass show, a bird flies on stage, lands on the lead singer's guitar, and flies away at the end of the tune.

What will your music do today?

(Love Bluegrass and Folk music? Check out this list of songs we'll being singing together in Kindermusik at play.kindermusik.com)

Go outside and play: Backyard Tin Can Band

Start your own Tin Can Backyard Band from Growing A Jeweled Rose.

“Rosie painted the cans using washable tempera paint. That is what we had on hand, but outdoor acrylic paint would really be ideal. Once the paint was dry, I used outdoor Mod Podge over the paint to prevent it from coming off. So far, this has worked great!

Then, I strung the cans together using floral wire and pony beads. To do this, I nailed holes in the cans, strung the floral wire through the holes, and used a pony bead on the underside of the can to secure the floral wire.

I also added medal key chain loops I had left over from another project, to the inside pieces of floral wire so that when Rosie banged on the cans, the medal loops would hit the inner sides of the cans and make noise. I then hung the strings of tin cans to our deck using utility rope I purchased at The Dollar Tree. 

Rosie loves her Tin Can Backyard Band! Every time we are outside, she grabs one of the sticks from her mud pie kitchen, and delights in making music.”

Yes, we're tooting our own horn a bit this month. 


Carol Penney, Director of Education for Kindermusik International, is featured in a special USA Today magazine. USA Today “Guide to Kids’ Health” Summer 2012 issue features a special article, “Music & Learning in Perfect Harmony” by Mara Gorman.


“Music makes a great teaching tool. “Everyone knows their ABC’s because of the melody,” says Carol Penney, director of education for Kindermusik, a music education program. ”Traditional children’s songs are perfect learning devices for turning sounds into words and words into creative thoughts.”’


Here are some additional fun “Did you know?” moments from the article:

• Children who engage in musical activities from infancy end up with stronger literacy, language, and math skills. They also typically have higher SAT scores and are more likely to graduate from college.
• Studies show that early and consistent exposure to music improves children’s academic performance. The explanation lies in music’s ability to affect brain
  development.
• “Music education actually rewires the brain in the same area where you develop math, language, and spatial reasoning skills.” ~ Jill Todd, president, Music Intelligence Project
• The top instruments for young children are: 1) Voice. 2) Percussion and 3) Keyboard. Many kids start lessons at 7 or 8, so look into a music education program if you think your child is ready for daily practice.

Download the full article here.

Music will take her home

This is where music begins: at home. Around kitchen tables. And the effects - and the love - lasts for a lifetime.

Music will always take her home.

Lights, camera, MUSIC!

A photographer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania shows a few "behind the scenes" shot of this Kindermusik class. Enjoy!

"We did a home session and live, class session – SO much fun & lots of energy from the three-year-olds!!" Studio S Photography

Priscilla Swee swapped a writer's pen for a pair of Kindermusik rhythm sticks in Jakarta, Indonesia

No more writer's block. Priscilla Swee, a former writer and advertising director, makes the Kindermusik class a mix of fun, patience and cute child talk. After the birth of her daughter she decided to swap her pen for rhythm sticks and bells, and in the process reconnected with her own love of music. 

“Music is like the vehicle in Kindermusik because it unlocks so many things in a child. Music just seems to reach out to them and help them express themselves,” Priscilla said. “When kids sing out loud, you see their happiness and growing confidence. And when you combine music and movement, I think that’s when you see the magic of Kindermusik.”  

Read Priscilla's full story in the Jakarta Globe.

Kindermusik: We make learning fun

photo by Molly McGinn

Minds on Music blog
The Kindermusik blog provides links to new research, tips for easy at home activities, and "what to watch for" developmental tips for Kindermusik Educators and parents.


ABC Music & Me
Developed for the early learning classrooms emerging in daycares, ABC English & Me helps children develop early literacy skills and prepare for preschool.


ABC English & Me
As more children around the world are beginning to learn English at an earlier age, this new program uses the Kindermusik approach with proven, research-based adaptions to help young children learn a second language.


Play Kindermusik
Kindermusik has developed an extensive online archive of songs featuring rock and roll bands, symphonies, children's choirs, and so much more. Explore the sounds of learning that you'll experience in the Kindermusik classroom in our online music store.

New study shows musical benefits for babies before they can walk

Source: Uploaded by user via Heather on Pinterest

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One-year-old babies who participate in interactive music classes with their parents smile more, communicate better and show earlier and more sophisticated brain responses to music. 


The findings were published recently in the scientific journals Developmental Science and Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 

"Many past studies of musical training have focused on older children," says Laurel Trainor, director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. "Our results suggest that the infant brain might be particularly plastic with regard to musical exposure."

Source: Science Daily, Babies' Brains Benefit from Music Lessons, Even Before They Can Walk and Talk

Where in the world? Flying Fox Studios in Brisbane, Australia

If you didn't already know it, Kindermusik is everywhere, and we love finding it in places like Flying Fox Studios in Brisbane, Australia.

I found this pic while searching for "Kindermusik" on the studio's Pinterest site and stumbled upon the variety of programs this creative development center offers to families.

Flying Fox Studios is a kids creative arts studio and store based in Brisbane Australia. We run classes for kids in art, music, and construction.  

We LOVE what we do!

And it shows!

Follow Me to Kindermusik!

There are now more creative places online to "Follow Me to Kindermusik." If you're thinking about becoming a Kindermusik Educator, you don't have to take our word for it: Just take a look at what a Kindermusik Educator has to say about it.

Do a "search" in any one of these popular social media sites and you'll see first hand what parents and educators have to say about it:

Kindermusik on Pinterest  

Kindermusik on Twitter  

Kindermusik on Facebook 

Minds on Music Kindermusik blog

Kindermusik on YouTube 

Kindermusik on Google Plus

Are we missing any?

Photo Essay: "You Have to Check Out Kindermusik!"

By photographer and Mom Samantha Ferguson.

One of the hardest things to describe is what happens in a Kindermusik classroom. So we love it when photographers attend a class, cameras in hand, to capture some of the "moments" that give us the goosebumps, and so much affirmation that a good beginning never ends.

Thank you to His Hands Photographs for taking these photos.

And here's what photographer, and Mom, Samantha Ferguson had to say about her first Kindermusik Class experience.

"I was so excited to be a part of this great idea but I didn’t know what to expect. I have heard of Kindermusik before but I really had no idea what it is exactly. 

Over two days, I was able to observe six classes and I am just amazed at how awesome the class is for both the child and the parent. 

The kids were singing, laughing, playing, LEARNING, and moms were enjoying a little down time with their babies AND spending time with other moms in the same place in life. 

Perfect! It is so perfect that I will be taking my Sarah to a class this semester. 

Kelly is so great with the kids and you can tell she is gifted in teaching music. I don’t know about you… but I am SOLD. 

You should sign up now, classes start next week! And you can even try out a class first!"

See more photos on His Hands Photographs. And thank you again, Samantha: We couldn't have said it, or pictured it, more perfectly!

Cereal Box Guitars

We loved this cereal box guitar, made by a creative parent. Visit The Fraker's Acres blog to learn and see more.

What I really do

Double click the picture to view full size.

Picture yourself teaching Kindermusik

Click here to "see" more adorable reasons why you need to teach Kindermusik.

Your classroom, your style

What a great photo for your Kindermusik program Brenda Couch Haynes!

We love how it looks on your facebook profile, too!

The only job that loves you back

To make this easy stamp heart craft, visit lilsugar.com

To make a living doing what you love, become a Kindermusik Educator. 

Grow your business from home, build with heart

Congratulations Sarah Hames. The Kindermusik Educator has been licensed and teaching since 2001 and the Friendswood.com story talks about how Sarah grew the business from her home studio, to a brick and mortar space in Friendswood, Texas. Take a look. For one Kindermusik teacher, giggles and hugs are just part of the job.

Connie Faria is blogging and teaching Kindermusik in the Middle East.

Connie holds a python. Yes. A python.

Connie Faria is putting away the GPS. For good. She's relied on the navigational device "far too much" to get around her new hometown in Abu Dhabi -- about an hour and a half from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The GPS is in the glovebox and the new intuitive Faria Positioning System -- or FPS -- will get her to the grocery store, to the library for story time, to her kid's new playgroups, and to teach Kindermusik.

It's easy to understand why Connie would need a little extra navigational help this year. It's her first time out of the United States. And the first time she's held a python snake (you can watch it here).

"The things I do for my kids!" Connie writes on her blog about the python experience, The Faria Five.

Once the family was settled in their new home, Connie says, she started getting a little antsy. That's one reason she started teaching Kindermusik again.

We talked with Connie, the blogger, mother, and Kindermusik Educator about how she got started teaching, and why she's coming back.

When did you start teaching Kindermusik?

I started taking classes in 2003 when my first child was 5 weeks old and loved it. After two years of classes (all the Village classes and starting on Our Time) - I decided that I could do it too.  I had mentioned it to the Educator and I became a Kindermusik Educator that year. I loved it!

I was teaching out of my home and loved the teaching part, I just didn’t like the marketing and drumming up business part. Teaching at a Montessori School fell in my lap and I taught there until December 2010, until they had some budget cuts and had to reluctantly let me go, which ended up working out since we found out about our move the Middle East in January and life got crazy for a while.

My husband works for the US Government and is currently working at the US Embassy. This is our first time overseas and my first time out of the country.

Musical background

I took piano lessons for 6 years as a child and sang in school choirs but never had any education/training beyond.  I volunteered as a Toddler and Preschool Storytime leader at our local library for 6 years and it was filled with song/rhymes and stories.  I really enjoyed that too, and I am actually starting storytimes at my children’s school in December (we don’t have public libraries here, but their school has a good library that school families can visit).  I have also volunteered in the classroom with both of my children since Kindergarten. But, no formal education/training in teaching (although my mom is a teacher).

Teaching Kindermusik again

After we moved to Abu Dhabi (about 1.5 hours from Dubai) I was busy with getting settled and figuring out how to live in a new country.  Then…I started getting antsy.  I made some inquries about Kindermusik and found a local educator (www.paradise-music.com) and approached her about teaching.

I am teaching at preschool and my classes are ages 2-4 with several kids that barely understand English, but they respond well to music.  I need to modify actions for songs or some of what I say.  We might talk about Yummy Hummus or Yummy Lamb, as opposed to Yummy Apples and Yummy Peanut Butter.  I need to find ways to make things relevant for my audience.

I have taught the same class three times now and it’s always fun to see the kids come out of their shell a little more each time.  The teachers and aides LOVE the class and asked for copies of the lyrics last time so they could learn all the words.

Welcome back to Kindermusik Connie!