How to teach creativity and nurture it often gets lumped into “the arts,” but creativity is about so much more than that. It has to do with asking the right questions, encouraging pretend play in different settings, providing starting points and watching (or nurturing vs leading) the problem-solving at work. One of the best places to turn up the volume on creative learning is outside. We asked Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Tinkergarten (now part of Highlights for Children) Meghan Fitzgerald, some of her team’s favorite go-tos when it comes to breaking down creativity into digestible, r ..read more

The bond between caregiver and infant is one of the most critical factors in positive whole-child development, and the keyword is secure attachment.  Secure attachment doesn’t mean constant baby-wearing or helicopter parenting—it does mean a consistent series of positive and nurturing interactions between caregivers and infants that form the foundation for healthy social-emotional and cognitive growth.  So, how do you know if you’re making these connections happen? Singing can help. It can all begin in utero. Prenatal and postnatal singing is one of the easiest ways to jumpstart secu ..read more

It may seem counterintuitive, but neurodivergent learners thrive with the right multi-sensory activities. Music—a multi-sensory activity that stimulates all parts of the brain at once—promotes everything from self-regulation to emotional expression. And that turns tricky transitions and long days into beautiful learning moments (for children and their special grownups). 3 Daily Music Activities for Neurodivergent Learners Listen to instrumental songs. Why? They help focus the brain, especially if they involve instrument solos. They can spark active listening (listening with the intention of d ..read more

Did you know that babies can’t focus on or imitate sounds in a low pitch? It’s OK to sing your favorite low-pitched song to your little one, but mixing in high-pitched kid songs in a head voice is critical to boosting young children’s natural development. Head Voice vs Chest Voice…what’s the difference? Most Top 40 songs (and even most kid songs!) are sung in a chest voice. It’s the lower register that grownups typically use when they speak or sing, and the vibrations are coming from the chest cavity. When you use a head voice, the register is higher, the sound is lighter, and it feels like th ..read more

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for children has been a huge focus in early childhood development over the past 10 years, but what about “Grownup Social-Emotional Growth?” It turns out, it’s just as critical for parents and caregivers to fill this specific brain bucket on a daily basis. Not to be confused with a fancy face mask or a day at the beach, The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and ma ..read more

You’ve probably heard the word phonics, but what exactly is phonemic awareness? Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken words, a crucial pre-reading and speech skill. Research shows that programs focused on phonemic and phonological awareness significantly increase children’s reading abilities in early years, and can be further enhanced by music. What does this look like at home? Here are a few things you can do that sound like learning, but feel like fun! Start by selecting a letter sound, phoneme, or blend to focus on. Some examples i ..read more

Times are busy. Commitments are tough. So, what makes a music class for toddlers the right choice for your family? Research tells us learning that happens in the first three years of life are vital to early brain development. And we also know that when multiple areas of the brain are activated at once, the brain gets a complete workout. Enter Kindermusik… 7 Benefits of a Group Music Class for Toddlers A Better Organized Brain What exactly does that mean and why is it important? Daniel Levitin (a researcher into early childhood music experiences and the brain) found “Musical activity invol ..read more

Athletic events, community concerts, and parades are the perfect outlet for making family memories, but did you know excessive volumes can lead to early hearing loss? Whenever possible, it’s important to protect your child’s intricate hearing system. Even a little loss can affect anything from daily conversations to how they hear music. So, how loud is too loud? First, let’s define decibel levels (the unit of measurement for sound). According to The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hearing damage can occur when you’re exposed to sounds louder than the “safe noise level” of 70 decibels f ..read more

Everyone loves to watch a sleeping infant, but is white noise for babies the best environment for these peaceful moments? Research tells us no, and here’s why – your baby’s auditory system is hard at work, and sleep aids like white noise can send it into overdrive. Our auditory system is the first to develop and the last to stop. It is almost fully developed at 16 weeks in utero. So, when your baby is born, they already have 5 months experience in processing sound. Before we look at why soothing, patterned sounds like music are better than white noise for babies, it’s important to understand h ..read more

Music is vital in the development of all young children, including children with hearing loss. How do I know? I live it every day. I’m someone with total hearing loss in one ear. I’m a music educator who works with hearing-impaired children (at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, MO). And I’m a mom of a child with severe hearing loss who, with the help of bilateral cochlear implants and years of music education, has now successfully transitioned to mainstream school. Music is one of the best ways to stimulate all areas of the brain, even in the midst of hearing difficulties. It bo ..read more