Kindermusik Director of Education Featured in USA Today’s “Guide to Kids’ Health”

Carol Penney, Kindermusik's Director of Education

Carol Penney, Kindermusik International‘s Director of Education and Kindermusik educator for 30 years is featured this week in the USA Today “Guide to Kids’ Health” Summer 2012 issue in the article, “Music & Learning in Perfect Harmony” by Mara Gorman.

The article talks about why we should teach our children to love music and why playing music now means a higher GPA later. This is something we at Kindermusik have been known for 30+ years, prior to the first evidence supporting the benefits of music on cognitive development in young children, released only six years ago in 2006. This issue is near and dear to our hearts, being that our mission is to bring learning through music to children across the world, and is especially important as schools continue to cut back on arts & music program, leaving a hole in education that parents must fill. We wanted to share a recap of the article, along with some of our favorite quotes and features to bring attention to why music is one of the best learning methods for child development.

The article begins with a question:

“What if someone told you that from the moment your child was born, you could do something to improve her self-esteem, confidence, social skills, eye-hand coordination, and eventually her grade point average? Of course, you would sign up, maybe even if it meant extensive training or expense.”

As a parent, we all want to do what’s best for our children. As we at Kindermusik have known and the theme echoed throughout the piece: early and meaningful exposure to music in a family’s life is one of the best gifts we can give our children! As we discuss on this music education blog, early music exposure for children has infinite benefits. Kindermusik classes primarily focus on early childhood development – for children age newborn to seven. As research has shown,  the earlier we begin to share music with children, the better:

“Children are never too young to start experiencing music. In fact, the most fertile time for music learning is between birth and 5 years old.”

This guide also points out that being musically inclined is not a requirement to be able to incorporate music into your child’s life.  As parents, we can bang on pots & pans to a steady beat, play our favorite lullabies at bedtime or radio station for a dance party, have a good ol’ fashioned family jam session with homemade instruments, or try a Kindermusik class together! All of these things will set your child on the right path to early learning. The article suggests finding music classes in your area through programs like Kindermusik, citing the benefits of music. In class, we use instrument play, repetition, special songs for every day chores, soothing rituals, audiation,sign language, books, and more foundations of learning through music to give children the tools they need to develop cognitive, physical, and social skills.

“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
• Kindermusik classes use percussion instruments like the Japanese den-den drum, seen here, to encourage rhythm and movement.
• 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.

*All quotes in this post from Mara Gorman’s article in the USA Today Guide to Kid’s Health, Summer 2012 issue.

Music instruction linked to increased reading comprehension abilities

By Lisa Rowell, on June 14th, 2012

Edited Excerpt from Music and…Reading
For children, all the work they put into learning to decipher the code that makes up written words finally pays off when they have the “aha” moment that the squiggly lines on their bedroom door spell their name. The whole point of bothering to learn to read, of course, is to understand the meaning of written words, which reading experts call comprehension.
Researchers have found that children who participate in music instruction are more likely to score higher on tests of reading comprehension. A meta-analysis of 25 studies, some involving more than 500,000 students, found a strong and reliable association between music instruction and reading comprehension test scores. Children with music experience do better at understanding written words for many reasons, including music’s proven impact on:

• phonological awareness
• vocabulary learning
• listening skills
• verbal memory

How it works in ABC Music & Me
Imagine an early childhood educator sitting on the floor, a circle of small children around her. She’s reading a book aloud—or better yet, singing a musical story. The layers of learning going on in this scenario are staggering. The children around her are coming to understand how print works (in English: left-to-right on a page, front-to-back in a book, etc.). They are absorbing brand-new vocabulary (in context) from the song or story, building comprehension and plot-prediction skills—and if the song is rhyming, predicting rhyme scheme as well. They’re recognizing the value of expressiveness as the teacher’s face moves to boost the meaning of the story and her voice rises and falls in pitch and volume. The children are, quite simply, learning that language— whether written (read as symbols) or spoken (heard as sound)—has meaning and value . . . the most basic understanding that can be tied by research to reading success.
To experience for yourself how ABC Music & Me uses music to teach early literacy and language, email us at

11 Ways to REALLY Listen to Your Child

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Theresa Case

The follow post was shared with Minds on Music from Kindermusik educator Vanessa Cabrera’s Language, Music & More blog.
A few days ago I read this: “We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard and important as talking.”
Well, it’s true! It made me think about how much children have lot to say… a lot! Sometimes adults don’t think that children have anything important to say or that they can’t learn from children. So often times the adult does all the talking. They lecture, preach, or, worst of all, ignore the child. Listening to your children will help them grow up to be adults with increased self-esteem because you made them feel that what they have to say is important.
That said, children are not always sure how to communicate their feelings, so they might say something or act completely different from how they actually feel. Active listening can help you to help them figure it out! Here are some tips to REALLY listen to your child:
1. Stop what you are doing. Don’t be distracted doing something else.
2. Look at your child. Sit at his/her level.
3. Pay attention to your child’s nonverbal language. Does the child look happy, sad, afraid?
4. Be silent. It might be hard, but it is important that they have time to express themselves. It will also give you time to understand the situation before reacting.
5. Use simple acknowledgement responses that show you are listening. “I see.” “Oh.” “Uh-Huh.” or “Hmmm.”
6. Use “door-openers”: phrases that encourage further talking. “Tell me more.” “What else?” “Go on.” “How do you feel about that?” “Then what?”
7. Listen for and name the feelings you think you hear from what your child is telling you. “That made you pretty mad, didn’t it?” “You seem really happy about that!”
8. Use problem-solving phrases when needed. “What do you wish you could do?” “What do you want to happen?” “What do you think will happen if you do that?”
9. Don’t feel that you must advise or help your child come up with a solution all the time. The value of listening is in the listening itself.
10. Let them know you are available.
11. Don’t try to deny, discount, or distract the child from the feelings they are expressing.

Listening helps parents and children avoid the power struggle cycle. Instead of arguing or disagreeing, listen. Show your understanding while maintaining your position. Listening builds stronger relationships, shows respect, and helps the child explore his/her own feelings and thoughts on a deeper level. It builds their sense of empathy.
So, are you ready to listen to your child?