Do you ever find that your child is like the Duracell bunny and just never stops? Do they go excitedly from one activity to another and never seem to have any down time? Don’t panic! This can be quite normal for toddlers and preschool children simply because haven’t learned how to control or self-regulate their bodies and emotions. So how can we help them learn to STOP? Stop and go activities! These simple experiences hold incredible benefits for the development of small children, particularly if you want to help them learn to stop their bodies and listen!

Developing Self-Regulation

Learning to stop and go fosters self-regulation, a vital skill that helps children manage their emotions, impulses, and behaviour. In stop and go games, kids practise waiting for their turn, controlling their movements, and following instructions. Through these experiences, they gradually develop the ability to pause, think, and make thoughtful choices—a crucial skill set for navigating the complexities of life.

Building Focus and Attention Span

Stop and go activities naturally encourage children to pay attention and focus on the task at hand as these activities require intermittent breaks and moments of concentration. By alternating between stopping and going, children learn to regulate their attention, a skill that lays a solid foundation for future learning.

Enhancing Motor Skills and Coordination

Stop and go activities provide excellent opportunities for refining motor skills and coordination. Whether it’s musical statues, red light-green light, or playing with musical instruments, children engage in movements that challenge their balance, agility, and spatial awareness. These activities not only strengthen their muscles but also sharpen their ability to control their bodies with precision.

Stimulating Cognitive Development

Stop and go activities provide rich cognitive stimulation, engaging children’s minds in various ways. Whether they’re strategising their next move in a game of musical chairs or thinking up a new way to dance, these experiences promote critical thinking, creativity, and spatial reasoning. Additionally, the element of unpredictability inherent in many stop and go games keeps children mentally agile and adaptable, preparing them to tackle new challenges with confidence.

Teaching musical skills

Stop and go activities helps to identify the very basic building blocks of music – sound and silence. Through stop and go activities, even the youngest children start to appreciate that silence – and stopping – is an essential part of music. As they grow musically, they will also need to learn essential ensemble skills such as starting and stopping together so the earlier we tach them, the better!

Encouraging Mindfulness and Enjoyment of the Moment

In today’s fast-paced world, teaching children the value of slowing down and savouring the present moment is more important than ever. Stop and go activities offer a precious opportunity for children to practice mindfulness, to be fully present in the here and now. Whether they’re pausing to listen for the next instruction in a game or revelling in the joy of spontaneous dance, these moments teach children the beauty of being fully engaged and immersed in the present experience.

In conclusion, the humble stop and go activities hold immense power in nurturing the holistic development of small children. From honing their attention and self-regulation skills to fostering cognitive growth, these simple experiences lay the groundwork for a lifetime of learning, exploration, and joy. Here are a few of our favourite stop and go activities from Kindermusik class:

• Go for a drive – find a plastic or paper plate and pretend to drive your car around the room. Call out ‘red light’ when it’s time to STOP and ‘green light’ to go again.
• Play musical statues – Put on their favourite music from the Kindermusik App and dance! When the music stops, encourage your child to STOP their body and FREEZE – younger children may need holding gently to teach them how it feels to stop. Increase the speed (tempo) of the music to challenge older children.
• Play your musical instruments – If you have practised stopping with your whole body, why not break out the instruments for some fine motor stop and go – pause the music and STOP playing.

EXTRA TIP – add the sign language for STOP so that your child needs to physically change to doing something when they stop. We actually use the ASL sign in class because it uses the interaction of both hands and is easy for young children to replicate

Do you want to discover more ways to teach your child to STOP through music? Sign up for an introductory class today at https://www.kindermusikwithsarah.co.uk/book-introductory-class

Why do we lap bounce?

Whether doing a Kindermusik class with a baby or toddler you will all have noticed that we love doing a lap bouncing activity. This is not just because it is lots of fun for you and your little one but there are many benefits to lap  bouncing.

What is a lap bounce?

A lap bounce is something many new parents find they naturally do with their little ones. You may have noticed that your little one will want to sit on your lap whilst at home and it is a lovely opportunity to have a cuddle. They get to  feel close to you physically and feel safe and secure sitting on your knee. The lap bounce is a natural extension of this activity and one that has been done by generations with different songs and lyrics.

During a lap bounce, your little one can face outwards or they can face towards you which allows for lovely eye contact. You then gently bounce your little one up and down on your lap.

What are the benefits of lap bouncing?

When we bounce our little ones up and down on our lap we help them to develop awareness of a steady beat. When they were in the womb, they could hear the steady beat of your heart and now during a lap bounce you can help  them feel a steady beat too! This will help their future language development as they will be better able to recognise patterns in language (Kindermusik, 2021).

As your little one bounces on your lap, this movement also stimulates their vestibular system. This is a sensory system which is mainly located within the inner ear (neuroscientifically challenged, 2021) It helps your little one develop their sense of balance and coordination by providing information to the brain about where their body is in relation to their environment. So, when you bounce your little one on your lap the vestibular system sends information to the brain. The brain processes this new information and enables the eyes to focus on a moving target. This enables your little one to keep their balance as they are being moved and the same skill will help them to be able to read text in a book later when they go to school – what a fantastic skill to practise!

Lots of songs work well for a lap bounce. You could try Hickory Dickory dock so start off by gently bouncing your little one up and down as you say, “tick tock tick tock”. Then you can sing the song whilst always watching your little one for their reaction. If at any point they look like they are no longer enjoying it, stop the activity and give it a try another day. You can start off slowly and then gradually increase the speed of the lap bounce which usually results in big smiles.

Let us know in the comments below what are your little one’s favourites songs to have a lap bounce to?

At some point in every parent’s life will come the time when babies put everything in their mouth! You turn around and they have the car keys in their mouth or no matter how much you hoover they manage to find the smallest crumb and put it in their mouth! This can seem strange to us but they are simply making sense of the world through their sensory experiences. To understand why this is an essential part of child development it can be helpful to look at sensory play.

What is sensory play?

Babies and toddlers love to explore the world and they can do this through their senses: touch, hearing, sight, smell, taste and movement. Sensory play is when parents or caregivers create an activity for their little one to explore which uses and stimulates some of these senses. In a previous blog we discussed how the brain develops by creating neural pathways to link brain cells. When babies explore through sensory play, they are learning through different experiences which helps strengthen these neural pathways and in the long term leads to better sensory processing skills – there are huge benefits of sensory play! When we use our senses to learn we are more likely to remember the information and the more different senses that are engaged, the more we learn. (Parenting for brain, 2020)

How can I do sensory play?

If you are like me, the thought of sensory play might conjure up images of glitter covered floors and food dye over everything. There are, however, many different ways you can help your child explore their senses without mess or costing the earth! You can create a sensory box, to be used under direct supervision, from items around your home containing wooden rolling pins, metal spoons and saucepans. Talking about the items as they investigate them will also enhance their language development. Watch how they explore these new items and use their senses to try to understand what they are holding.

If you have some dry pasta you can put it into an empty, clear plastic bottle and secure the lid back on. Your little one will love listening to the sound the bottle makes and watching the pasta move around in the bottle. You can also try lentils and dry rice in different bottles so your child can investigate the different sounds these make. Check out our blog on creating sensory bottles for more ideas!

A great sensory experience which my own little ones have enjoyed is with cornflour. Get a large tray and scoop some corn flour onto the tray. Mix it with water and you get this fascinating material which can be drawn in and have cars driven through it – they are using touch and sight to learn what will happen when they put their finger into the tray. As they try to move a small toy car in the cornflour they will be developing their fine and gross motor skills.

Kindermusik and sensory play

We understand at Kindermusik how important sensory play is for optimising brain development and that is why we incorporate sensory play into our lessons. Through scarf play, for example, your little one will reach out for it and use their sense of touch to feel the material. As they move it around to the music, they will be using both their visual and hearing senses. What a great activity to strengthen brain development as well as developing them physically!  Is there a favourite sensory play activity your little one enjoys? We would love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

Check out these ideas for and more examples of sensory play:

• FREE music download and multisensory activity ideas for “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”
• Create an Ocean Sensory bag

To bare or not to bare? That is the foot question!

We all remember encouraging those first steps and being so excited when our little ones walk across the room to us. Not long after that, our minds start considering what cute pair of shoes they should wear. With various designs on the market it can feel a bit overwhelming. You may have noticed that in our Kindermusik classes we encourage little ones to take off their shoes. This is not just to keep the mats free from mud (although that does make cleaning easier!) but there are many benefits to removing those shoes.

Why is barefoot better?

When our little ones were born, we all enjoyed looking at those squidgy soft feet. However, there is actually a reason why their feet feel so soft. When babies are born, the bones in their feet are soft like cartilage. Through childhood, the bones in the feet ‘ossify’ and become the hard bone that we feel in our own feet. This process can take up to 18 years! So, as the bones in the feet are soft during childhood, it is important that any shoes that are worn are fitted correctly so no damage occurs to their delicate feet.

How often should my toddler go barefoot?

Paediatricians now feel that it is important to allow your little ones to go barefoot at some point every day if the environment is safe to do so. This will benefit them on so many levels according to Paper Pinecone (2020). When they walk around barefoot, their body can enjoy a sensory experience, for example feeling those cold tiles. Barefoot also helps develop their sense of balance because as they move, their centre of gravity changes which in turn stimulates the vestibular system.

As the feet move, information is also sent to the brain enabling them to be aware of their body’s position in relation to its location and this also helps develop their proprioceptive sense. For example, during a Kindermusik class when your little one is encouraged to step into a hoop, they will need to work out how much muscle strength is needed to lift and move their feet – removing their shoes enhances this experience further.

A recent study in the UK by the Univeristy of Bournemouth found that children learnt much better in the classroom when they took off their shoes! I thought this was an interesting, simple idea that could benefit school children. So now instead of constantly trying to keep socks on my little ones where possible I will enjoy observing how they experience the world in bare feet. Perhaps we would all benefit from removing our socks from time to time!

For more research into going barefeet, check out:

Sun’s Out, Shoes Off: Why Barefoot Is Best

Why going barefoot encourages better foot structure in children

Help! Why does my toddler run in music class?

I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt! My child was ‘the runner’ in his toddler music class. There’s usually always one and then, very quickly, there are two or three running around in circles!

So why do toddlers do it?

Firstly, let us try and understand the life of a 2-year-old! Commonly referred to as the ‘terrible twos’, the developmental changes that occur between 18 months and 3 years are amazing – and sometimes overwhelming. Many of the challenges this age group present are due to their new awareness of ‘the self’.

‘Me, myself and I’ perfectly sums up the life of a toddler as they realise that they are a separate being from you and start to assert their independence and become so self-absorbed! Children of this age have constant conflict between the desire to be close to their caregivers whilst also wanting to assert their emerging independence – research shows that mild-to-moderate conflicts occur for the two- and three-year-old once every three minutes and major conflicts occur at the rate of three per hour!

Couple this conflict with immature language skills where children cannot find the words to express themselves, a lack of understanding about the world around them (why can I throw a softball inside but not a plastic egg?) and a lack of emotional skills to understand how their action may have an impact on other adults or children (empathy) and we have all the ingredients for some challenging behaviour. It is our role as parents to help them develop these key skills in a loving, non-judgemental way whilst keeping our own emotions under control as they kick back!

Knowing that this kind of behaviour, at home or in class, is your child’s way of communicating something and/or asserting their independence might help you understand and gradually transform the terrible twos into the terrific twos.

Kindermusik toddler music classes

In Kindermusik class, pretty much every child goes through a stage of not joining in (because I simply don’t want to), throwing an instrument (but you let me throw a ball?) or starting a running race (my friends are following me – yay!). Our job as parents and educators is to help them explore this independence and creativity within the social norms that make behaviour appropriate – these norms are important, particularly if we want to keep them and other children safe.

How can you help your toddler to focus in music class?

So back to our original question, why do they run? Firstly, because they can and secondly, because they need to! Gross motor development continues apace in the 2nd and 3rd years of life as they move from toddling to running, to jumping, to leaping to dancing! They want to practise their new skills and, like the throwing example above, they need to know when they can run and when they cannot. It can be very confusing to a toddler – sometimes we are allowed to run in class (when we’re being fast trains) but other times running is unacceptable e.g. when it is story time or instrument play. Thirdly, it is fun! Having the space to run is so inviting and, coupled with some friends imitating them and playing chase, this is toddler heaven! Knowing when and when not to run takes a huge amount of self control, not just of our physical bodies and actions but also our feelings and emotions – to control this behaviour, we need to understand why we cannot run in class and what the consequences might be (to us and others) and these skills are simply not there in many toddlers.

As early years educators, we recognise that it is not developmentally appropriate to expect toddlers to sit still for 45 minutes. We aim to provide a mixture of movement activities in our class structure yet for some children this is still not enough and moving with instruments rather than sitting, or jumping staccato rather than bouncing on a lap are all perfectly legitimate ways to interact with an activity. As a parent, the best thing you can do is to go with it! Notice what they are doing, comment on what they are doing (“Oh, you’re using your feet to bounce instead of your bottom!”) and imitate what they are doing – by far the best form of flattery for a toddler! It is important to allow every child the freedom to participate in their own way, even if it means moving in the exact opposite way modelled by the adults. You may need to go to the back of the room to play with the instruments or jump rather than stay on the mat but if you do, you will be rewarded with a smile from your child and give them a wonderful sense of what they are doing is important to you, their very special person!

How we help your toddler in music class

If this movement is still not enough for your child, and they do not have the self-control to know when to stop, it is important that we then educate them in the when and whys so that they learn to recognise this for themselves. To help your child learn when to run and how to run safely we need to provide guidance such as:

• No running unless the teacher is running i.e. part of an activity
• All running must be holding hands with a parent (to prevent accidental falling over)

If your child is running outside of these rules, remember that:

• they may not have heard you – toddlers live in the moment and are self-absorbed in what they are doing
• they might be finding it really fun and don’t want to stop
• they do not have the self-control and ability to stop by themselves
• they may be asserting their independence away from you.
• they may be trying to get your attention (a big subject for another day!)

With this in mind, here are some simple, effective things you can do encourage them to stop running and model desired behaviour:

• go to your running child and hold firm in a hug at their level, look them in the eye (they love eye contact!) tell them ‘I know that you love to run but it is not running time now as Sarah has stopped running and we are doing X instead’
• use the word ‘stop’ to instruct rather than ‘no’
• give them time to process your instructions – toddlers take so much longer to process information than adults
• take their hand and distract with the next activity – “where shall we sit for story time?” “Which shaker are you going to use?”
• when they settle into the new activity, comment on this by saying ‘You stopped running and are now doing X’. We do not need to tell them ‘Well done’ or ‘Good job’ but simply noticing and recognising that they have changed their behaviour is enough.

If you would like to find out more about our toddler music classes at Kindermusik with Sarah visit our classes page here.

My goal as a teacher is to help make music a lifelong companion for my students. It is not about reaching a particular standard in their music lessons but rather about equipping them for a musical journey. Instead of setting out with an assumption that your child will become an accomplished musician, join me in one united goal: start them on a long-term relationship with music. Kindermusik classes are not just a weekly music lesson or something to do on a Saturday morning but are gearing them up to have music in their life forever!

Loving music through a music lesson

I recently read Neil Moore’s ebook “Music and the art of long-term relationships”. In it he likens music to any long-term relationship where there are peaks, plateaus and valleys of enjoyment and progress and each of these peaks, plateaus and valleys will be short-term, medium-term or long-term. We can help our students and children to navigate their way through their own up and down musical journey in our music lessons with them by explaining and providing encouragement and support through the tough times and celebrating the peak times.

How can you help support your child’s learning in a music lesson?

Show commitment

• Bring your child to their music lesson every week.
  Show them that regular commitment is important for progress. Children that do not attend lessons every week start to fall behind and feel insecure. If you do need to miss a class, be sure to help them catch up at home using the weekly emails. “For a child to come to believe that a commitment is important to them, they must see and experience that you believe it is. They must see that you are committed to it, and that you won’t cave in during those times when they would. This is parenting by modelling.”*
• Allocate time to do their music lesson ’homework’ each week where you will not be disrupted by work, TV, siblings or other outside distraction. “Little and often” is the key to successful music practise so putting aside 3 slots of 10 minutes to sit with your child will be far more productive than an hour before class the next day! It will also make it more enjoyable and manageable for you and your child. Don’t forget that a 4 or 5 year olds attention span is still somewhat limited, especially after a day at school. If you start setting aside time for music practise now, how easy will it be to turn this into instrument practise when they are older!
• Attend sharing time. After our music lessons this is your opportunity to spend 15 minutes, one on one with your child, understanding what they have learned in class and how you can help them at home before the next class.

Show that you value music

• If you are keen for them to enjoy music then show your child your enjoyment and, most importantly share your love of music – whether that is Beyonce, Beethoven or Beauty and the Beast! Discuss music, listen to music and make music together.

 Encourage

• Even if we haven’t ourselves had music lessons, or had much of a musical journey, as adults and parents we have the experience and benefit of having had long-term relationships. We know that usually “this, too, will pass” and can remind our children of this and help them get through any difficult dips in their journey. Equally we can encourage by celebrating achievements and progress during the peak times.

Helping your child to love music

As a teacher, I only see your child once a week for a very limited period of time during their music lesson. I am their short-term educator but you are their life coach who can help them navigate their music making every day. Be there, encourage and value their musical journey and they will gain the most from it and hopefully continue it for the rest of their lives.

There are so many different ways that you can add music into your child’s life without much effort but which can have a really positive effect on your day. Why not start by adding music to your daily routines outside of our music classes? Routines can make life more predictable, help make your little one transition from one activity to another and, in turn, help your child to cooperate and, combined with music, can become fun, stress free rituals.

Adding music to your day

One simple way of adding music to your day is to simply change the words of any favourite song and sing the instructions. Singing an instruction can also take away any anxiety or frustration on your part and can actually result in getting things done. For example, “Here we go round the Mulberry bush” could become ‘This is the way we wash our hair’ or ‘This is the way we go to the shops”. Now you know why I struggle to remember the original lyrics of a song sometimes! Another ‘Mulberry bush’ adaptation can be used for getting dressed – “This is the way we put on your shoes…” and when they are a little bit older and asserting independence (or not!), you can reword this to “This is the way YOU put on your shoes”

Six ideas for adding music to your child’s routine

1. Waking up

What better way to wake up the day than to sing a song ‘hello’. A personal favourite of mine is the “Good morning “ song sung to the tune of Frere Jacques.

Good morning (echo Good morning)
How are you? (echo)
Very well I thank you (echo)
How about you? (echo)

As an echo song, you can encourage your child to sing back to you too so you both start the day singing! Once you’re awake, why not put on a favourite up beat song to dance along to whilst you make breakfast – music can make your mundane jobs go faster too!

Another good wake up call song is “When I wake up in the morning, what do I do, I comb my hair [eat my breakfast/brush my teeth/get myself dressed etc.], yes that’s what I do”.

2. Cleaning teeth

The bathroom can be a battle zone in the morning. If you accompany brushing your teeth with a song, you can use it to give direction e.g. “Brush, brush, brush your teeth, brush your teeth so clean. Up and down, round and round [or at the back, at the front], brush your teeth so clean.” [sung to the tune of row, row, row your boat] so that they learn how to do it properly.

Singing a song whilst you/they brush can also be a great way of getting them to brush for long enough – one Kindermusik mum used to sing Twinkle Twinkle four times in different ways (loud/soft/jazzy etc.) and brush each quarter of the mouth along with it! If they have a favourite song, sing it once, twice or three times to get to the required brushing time!

They may of course try to sing with you but you can encourage them to hum along instead or, as they get older, encourage them to ‘sing’ the song in their ‘head’ or inner ear to help them practise their audiation skills too!

3. Eating food

Is this another battleground? Why not try the ‘I like to eat, eat, eat, Apples and bananas [insert new food as required]. This can ease your frustration as you load up yet another mouthful and make mealtimes more playful at the same time.

4. Putting things away

A familiar Kindermusik ritual that really does work! Singing an ‘away’ song indicates to your child exactly what you want them to do and this can be applied to any situation where they need to leave something alone or leave a situation. Some parents have been known to sing ‘park away, park away’ when they are about to leave the park! Pick a simple melody – ideally based on an interval of a major third as it is easiest to sing – and they will also soon learn to sing it back.

5. Relaxation

Need some downtime? Trying to calm energy levels before bedtime?  Why not put on some relaxing music from your Kindermusik collection, dim the lights and signal that it’s time to have a cuddle and relax? Don’t forget that if you relax too, your child will imitate and you will both benefit from this special time.

Maybe you have a special piece of music for bedtime or for afternoon nap to act as a signal. It is not uncommon for small people to want the same piece of music/book/food over and over again as this provides comfort in a busy, changing world. You can also use music to rock or hammock after a bath or before bed to relax. Follow this link to download free tracks to help de-stress you and your child and add some mindful listening to your day.

6. Distraction

Music is ultimately a great distraction. It can be useful to have your Kindermusik music in the car for those days when you need a distraction on a long car journey or need to change the mood at home. Why not create a playlist of all their favourite tracks on the Kindermusik App which they can put on when needed? Accompanying a favourite song with actions or a fun game can be great to motivate a child along on a ‘long’ walk (how many times have we pretended to be the Grand Old Duke of York!?) or maybe singing a song could be a good distraction at nappy changing time (try Head, shoulders knees and toes to label some body parts too)!

There are so many ways to incorporate music into your daily life outside of our music classes – the most successful rituals are those that fit easily into the day and are ones that you do not end up having to think about. If you sing as part of your daily routine, your child will come to understand that singing is normal and join in too!

For more on routines, visit:

https://www.kindermusik.com/mindsonmusic/kindermusik/music-gets-kids-into-the-rhythm-of-back-to-school/

https://www.kindermusik.com/mindsonmusic/benefits-of-music/music-movement-benefits-routines-social-emotional-health/

This week, more than ever, I have been thankful for how music can help a child’s social skills and confidence after seeing first hand the opportunities it has given my son! 

Music and social opportunties

Just recently, my ten-year-old son joined a wind band with our local music centre. Having played the trombone for 2 years and acquired his first exam grade at Easter, we thought (and he agreed!) that it was time for him to have a go at a group. So, off he went with a little apprehension but came out beaming and absolutely LOVED it! He is playing with mostly older children, something he can’t do at school anymore now he is in year 6, doesn’t do in any of his age-specific sports nor does he get this experience from his individual instrumental lessons.

This week, he asked “Mum, is it band night tonight?” to which I answered yes and he performed his own ten-year-old happy dance (apparently this is a ‘thing’ …). It made me so happy to see him looking forward to going and to see his smiley happy face when he left – finally! (Question: why does he dutifully help to tidy everything away after band but not at home?).

I know how he feels. The pure joy of working together with others to make music is not like anything I have found elsewhere.

Why is music so good for enhancing a child’s social skills?

From birth, music-making can provide an opportunity for babies to bond with their caregivers. By cuddling, playing, singing and humming with your child, you provide a safe environment for strong emotional development and early socialisation. Babies can also be exposed to simple turn-taking activities such as listening to instrument demonstrations and sharing instruments.

As babies turn into toddlers, music-making offers a child the opportunity to interact alongside others during instrument play and also with others through group and circle dances. Making music increases their self-awareness and confidence and offers plenty of opportunities to practise skills such as sharing and taking turns, and to follow simple directions such as ‘go’ and ‘stop’, in doing so enhance their own self-control. Through music, the preschooler can begin to explore their emotions and start making friends and music together. They become more confident in themselves and with their peers.

As the young mind becomes more independent and determined, music-making can provide a safe environment where ideas can be expressed, where disagreements are positively resolved and where cooperation is key. Children also learn to sit patiently in rehearsals, learn to follow rules and conventions and gain an individual motivation to succeed for the greater good of the ensemble around them. Most importantly, they begin to enjoy the company of others by sharing a mutual love of music.

Music provides new ways to socialise

Even into adulthood, music continues to provide me with a way of meeting new people and socialising. Indeed, I recently travelled to Dusseldorf, Germany under a twinning scheme between Reading Symphony Orchestra and the Orchester de Landesregierung Dusseldorf e.V. As orchestras from twin towns we take turns to visit each other, continuing and celebrating the positive relationship between our towns since 1947. As expected, an amazing weekend was had by all with a wonderfully inventive children’s concert performed on the Sunday morning combined with some great hospitality, sightseeing and, of course, beer! It is just shy of 25 years since I last travelled to Germany as part of an exchange trip with a youth wind band, an opportunity that I still remember clearly and that I hope my own children will have one day. Making music transcends language barriers and provides social opportunities that are not easily found elsewhere.

For more information about how your child’s social-emotional skills are developed in a Kindermusik class, visit http://musicalpathways.net/docs/ourtimesocialemotionaldevelopmentbook.pdf