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FAQs

Which Kindermusik Class is Right For My Child?

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The Kindermusik philosophy springs from genuine respect for your child’s individual rate of development. Class activities and at-home materials are designed to honor, support and celebrate their wonderful uniqueness! Classes have overlapping age ranges to help parents accommodate their child’s own needs.

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The suggested ages for our Kindermusik curricula:

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  • FOUNDATIONS: Newborn to 15 mos (prewalkers)

  • LEVEL 1: 12 mos to 24 mos

  • LEVEL 2: 24 - 36 mos

  • LEVEL 3 for Preschoolers: 3 - 5 yr 

  • Kindermusik Musicians Year 1: 5.5 - 7 yr

  • Kindermusik Musicians Year 2: 6 -8 yr (Level 4 is a prerequisite to Level 5)

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While looking over this information carefully consider the following:


Which of these levels will my child thrive in, rather than just being able to get along in?
Am I considering my child’s pleasure and emotional development as much as their cognitive development?
Is my child eager for added independence and challenges, or are they most delighted by sharing special time with me to help guide and support them?

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Moving from Level 1 to Level 2: Children ready for Level 2 show many of the following characteristics:

 

Physical

 

  • Improved walking skills, feet are together, knees flexible vs. the “just walker” who has a wide-based legs apart gate with locked knees

  • Beginning to imitate/explore a variety of traveling movements —run, jump, leap

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Cognitive

  • Can reliably point to correctly identified body parts

  • Can follow two-step direction

  • Understands what “one” means vs. a handful

  • Is learning to use toys and objects in symbolic ways, moving beyond just enjoyment of sensory properties

  • Can interact in a directed activity

  • Is able to shift attention with transition

  • Connects to an activity; initiates a play sequence

  • Reliably responds to own name, referring to self by name in secure environments

 

Emotional

  • Uses gestures and language to deal with frustration, as opposed to just crying or whining

  • Sustains interest and attention in activity for several minutes (Note: not wanting to give something up such as bells or sticks, can be a sign of maturation)

 

Language

  • Can express wants and needs symbolically (gestures, words)

  • Has vocabulary of 20 words; receptive language is still stronger than expressive

  • Reads with caregiver cooperatively. Can select a book, sit, relate to the story and interact.

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Social

  • Is interested in what other children are doing

  • Is capable of distal communication, such as following verbal instructions from farther away

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Moving from Level 2 to Level 3: Children ready for Level 3 show many of the following characteristics:

 

Physical

  • Has a taller, thinner, adult-like appearance

  • Balances on one foot; jumps in place without falling

  • Holds crayons in pincher grasp rather than fist

 

Cognitive

  • Can do matching games

  • Knows some basic shapes and colors

  • Has developing divergent thinking skills (“What animals do you like?”)

  • Is beginning transition from concrete to abstract thinking; humor aids this process

  • Sits and listens to stories for up to 10 minutes

 

Emotional

  • Recognizes needs of another person; can be empathetic

  • Separates from parent without crying

  • Shows development of humor

 

Language

  • Is beginning to master rules of language; speaks in full sentences (4-5 words); asks questions

  • Has a vocabulary that increases from 300-1,000 words

  • Can relate a series of activities; tells stories (“We went to the grocery store, then to grandma’s and I played with the kittens.”)

 

Social 

  • Recognizes the needs of others

  • Turn taking becomes harder than earlier, but beginning to understand reasons

  • Is learning about patience

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Moving from Level 3 to Kindermusik Musicians: Children ready for these show many of the following characteristics:

 

Physical

  • Can jump forward many times in a row, hops, gallops, is learning to skip

  • Demonstrates control of pencil or marker

 

Cognitive

  • Is eager to learn

  • Has developed classification skills (i.e. can sort things that have a single common feature) and can sort by size, color and form

  • Counts to 20; recognizes numerals 1-10

  • Recognizes some letters of the alphabet

 

Emotional

  • Has emerging and developing impulse control

  • Exhibits self-confidence and reliability

  • Has a growing sense of right and wrong

  • Is beginning to see things from other’s perspective

 

Language

  • Speech is nearly 100% intelligible (exceptions may include children with hearing and language delay)

  • Uses grammar correctly, including past and future tense

 

Social

  • Enjoys friendships and group activities

  • Shares, takes turns, plays cooperatively

  • Is affectionate and caring

  • Follows directions

 

Musical

  • Sings a whole song

  • Begins to match pitches consistently

  • Is developing the ability to match to group steady beat

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Moving from Kindermusik Musicians to Private Lessons (piano, violin, guitar, etc)

 

Do you think your child is ready for private lessons? Contact director, Melissa Overton, to discuss an introduction to a private music teacher (402)401-9066.

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