On a sunny day in June, WeJoySing parents gathered at “Farm Fun Play Days” (which I host each summer for North Canton area families at my farm.) As Audrey and her brother played on the tree swing and pumped water at the nearby hand pump, their Mom and I chatted about activities the children have participated in over the years (dance, swim lessons, pre-school, violin lessons…) She shared a comment that her husband made: “Of all the activities we’ve invested in, WeJoySing is the one that has had the greatest impact on Audrey’s development, especially in terms of preparing her for school.” In other words, this investment has had the greatest return.
Audrey’s father has been able to attend several classes with his children, so he knows and values the classroom environment. But greater still, he’s experienced the impact of WeJoySing at home.
Since April, Music Notes articles have focused upon the roles of both “nature” and “nurture” in brain development. “Nature” provides each of us with our potential for the various intelligences (identified by Psychologist Howard Gardner as musical, linguistic, mathematical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences.) How these intelligences are nurtured will determine the extent to which that potential is reached.
An environment rich in music not only helps to develop a child’s musical skills but also fosters other areas of intelligence as well. Music evokes synaptic firings in both the right and left hemispheres of the brain, forming connections that influence other areas of development. Research “concludes that there is a strong correlation between music education and increased literacy.” (Early childhood Education Journal, 2007)1 No wonder the investment of WeJoySing classes for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers has such beneficial returns-- for the school years and for life.
Because what we do at WeJoySing looks like mere “child’s play,” what children learn at class naturally becomes part of their play time and home life. This NATURAL way of NURTURING our children is like raising a tomato in the garden (versus in a “hot house.”) At just the right time, the color is vibrant and the fruit delicious!
Children who have been raised in this rich, musical environment often make the transition to the kindergarten years smoothly, having been prepared in such a natural way.
Below, we’ve divided a list of kindergarten readiness skills into several categories to help parents identify areas of strength/challenge for their child as they prepare for the school environment. Many of the skills listed below are directly addressed in every WeJoySing class experience. According to Peggy Gisler, Ed.S. and Marge Eberts, Ed.S., “Young children change so fast -- if they can't do something this week, they may be able to do it a few weeks later,” so check off what your child can do now, and check later for progress. 3 You’ve seen this happen in class…one week a little one’s gallop looks quite awkward, but with playful musical repetition the child quickly gains the skill until we can’t keep up with this “little horse!”
The Kindergarten Checklist 2
Literacy/Verbal and Logical/Mathematical Skills
- Speak understandably in complete sentences
- Look at a picture and tell a story
- Letter recognition/identify letter sounds at beginning of a word
- Eye Tracking- trace words or a line with finger
- Recognize common sight words (like “stop”)
- Understand/recognize rhyming sounds/words
Logical/Mathematical Skills
- Understand and Recognize rhyming sounds/words
- Understand Cause/Effect
- General understanding of Times of Day
- Count to ten
- Recognize groups of one, two, three, four, or five objects
Motor skills
- Throwing and Catching a Ball
- Hop on one foot, Jump on two feet
- Walk a line/balance beam
- Clap, Gallop, Skip
- Cut with scissors
- Trace shapes
Personal and Social Skills
- Manage Bathroom needs
- Dress oneself, manage buttons, zippers, boots
- Share with others
- Self-control/ separate from parents without upset
Listening Skills
- Listen to stories without interrupting
- Pay attention for short periods of time to adult-directed tasks
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In closing, Gisler and Eberts remind us, “What teachers want to see on the first day of school are children who are healthy, mature, capable, and eager to learn.” 4 WeJoySing aims to JOYfully cultivate eager, life-long learners! Click for more info
A Note from Mrs. Jo
What a joy it is to see your children’s faces light up with delight as they energetically “chime-in” with “but he was still hungry!” as we read and share together Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar! It amazes me how long they will attend to the stories we bring into class. Their listening, math, language, and communication skills are being nurtured in such a developmentally appropriate way! Readiness must be JOYFUL, or the child will “switch off” to the activity. If it isn’t JOYFUL, it’s not worth doing. Moreover, the activities experienced at WeJoySing naturally lend themselves to brain development that leads to and nurtures these skills. WeJoySing helps children to hunger for more, a trait that breeds eager learners.
1 Huron, Amos, “The Littlest Learners,” MetroKids South Jersey, December, 2008, p. 16.
2 Adapted from Peggy Gisler, Ed.S. and Marge Eberts, Ed.S. at FamilyEducation.com with input from Mary A. Myers, M Ed., retired kindergarten teacher with 25+ years’ experience.
3-4 Gisler and Eberts
