MusiKids

Christine Nowmos offers MusiKids parent/child music and movement classes during the summer months at Pink Lotus Yoga studio (20 North Main Street, Woodstown, NJ). Classes are available for children from newborns through age 7, and they feature songs, rhymes, rhythm chants, “musical conversation” activities, movement exploration and simple dances, games, stories, and playing percussion instruments (egg shakers, jingle bells, rhythm sticks, etc.). Activities are designed to stimulate students' musical development and develop coordination, and promote cognitive growth, all while having fun making and moving to music. MusiKids parent/child music and movement classes offer a variety of fun, age-appropriate songs, games, and activities that help stimulate musical development and coordination.

Class schedule for summer of 2011:

Mixed Age Class (newborn through age 7): Wednesdays, July 13, 20, 27, and August 3.

Click here to download an informational flyer about this summer's classes. (Please note that the Tuesday morning class mentioned on the flyer has been cancelled for the remainder of the summer.) The summer series has already begun, but you may attend on a class-by-class basis and pay per class.  Cost is $8 per class for the first child, and $5 for each additional child.  Contact Christine at nowmos@verizon.net or (856) 769-1569 for more information and to register, or to be put on the e-mail list to receive information about next summer's classes.

For more information about yoga classes at Pink Lotus Yoga, visit http://www.pinklotusnj.com or contact Colleen Verton at pinklotusnj@hotmail.com.

A few frequently asked questions or comments from parents about early childhood music classes that might be of interest:

Why bring my baby to music classes? He is too young to participate. Studies on brain development have shown that the earlier a child is exposed to a particular kind of information (music, language, etc.), the more synaptic connections which process the information will be created. Synaptic development in the brain slows as a child reaches school age, and connections that are not used are eliminated or "pruned" away by the nervous system... so with music, it's a case of "use it or lose it." Listening and absorption are an essential part of the music learning process, just as they are in the process of learning language, so even if your child is too young to actively participate in a music class, he will still be gaining experiences that contribute to his overall development and may give him more success in music once he is old enough to begin making music.

I'm not very musical, so my child probably won't be, either. Recent research has revealed that musical aptitude, like all other areas of learning, is normally distributed throughout the population. All people are born with some potential to achieve in music. And musical aptitude is developmental, meaning that it can increase or decrease based on experiences (or a lack of experiences) with music, until about age 9. Success in music is based not only on innate natural "talent" but also on the richness of one's musical experiences as a child; it is a result of both nature and nurture. While some part of musical aptitude may be inherited, it is also influenced by music instruction, practice, and other experiences.  And a study on kindergarteners shows that preschool musical experiences at home, such as parents singing to and with children and listening to music, have a greater affect on a child's singing ability than his/her innate music aptitude (as measured by a standardized aptitude test) or even musical instruction at school... so by taking the step to learn how to make music for and with your child in MusiKids classes and continuing these activities at home, your child may indeed have the potential to become musical. You yourself may have been able to achieve more if you'd been given more encouragement or had more opportunities to explore music in your early childhood.

I don't have a good singing voice... do I have to sing in class? MusiKids classes have a very safe and welcoming environment, and you will never be judged on your singing ability. (This is not American Idol!) Although you are not required to sing with the teacher in class, if your preschool-age child sees you participating, she will be more likely to feel comfortable participating, too. Parents are really the best models for their children in any kind of learning. If your baby sees and hears you singing to her, it may become something that she wants to share with you as she gets older. The quality of one's singing voice is not nearly as important to a child's musical development as the pleasurable experience of seeing her parents making music joyfully and with enthusiasm. Children's response to live singing is much different than to recorded music, and babies are particularly responsive when the music comes directly from the parent.  And, as stated above, kids whose parents share music with them at home become become better singers than those whose parents don't, so this is a great opportunity to become comfortable using your singing voice so that you can sing with your child at home. Music is a wonderful way to bond with your child, regardless of your musical abilities!

Can music and movement enhance intelligence in other areas? Experts in child development have found that singing to children before they learn to speak, and later encouraging them to sing songs or chant nursery rhymes, can strengthen language and speech development. Studies have also shown that young children who received music instruction, particularly instruction focused on rhythm skills, scored higher on spatial and mathematical tasks than children who did not receive this instruction. Although the so-called "Mozart Effect," the idea that passively listening to classical music may induce short-term improvement on the performance of mental tasks, has been discredited, active music-making may have positive benefits. Also, movement and physical activity are important not only to a child's physical health but also his intellectual development. In addition, the development of both gross-motor (such as walking, marching, dancing, jumping) and small-motor (such as grasping and manipulating instruments or acting out the words to a song with hands and fingers) skills is essential to a child's success in school.