I’ve been privileged to spend over 40 class hours learning from some of the top developmental movement specialists in the country – with Stephanie Johnson of Baby Bare, and also in the Brain Gym program, featuring the work of Carla Hannaford and Paul and Gale Dennison. In addition, I’ve received amazing training over the past 27 years through Kindermusik International, the leading childhood learning program in the country.

Summing it up in a five-minute podcast is challenging, but I really want you to know and appreciate the wonders of the enrichment you’re making possible for your child through the movement aspects of our class. So today’s podcast is all about movement! Let’s go!

Why do we move so much in Kindermusik? And why does my child want to move aaaallll the time??

Great question! The fact is that from birth to around age 7, learning takes place through movement. Your child literally moves to learn! When the neuropathways for movement are fired, they activate and connect the WHOLE brain synergistically. Not to mention the endorphins and feelgood hormones that the brain releases when our bodies are in joyful movement.

Also, when we are not only hearing something like high and low (auditory) and seeing it (through moving a scarf or other object), but we’re also experiencing it in our bodies? That is integrated, active learning at its very best. In addition to being actively engaged, these activities are emotionally rewarding, especially when a loving adult is joyfully participating with them. And when we’re actively and emotionally engaged? There’s no limit to what we can learn <3

Side note: Did you know that when we sing, play and dance as a group, our heartbeats synchronize??? And this is just what we KNOW is going on in our brains and bodies. Who knows what other amazing and transformational activity is going on that we don’t understand yet?

Play Is the Child’s Work: All learning is integrated for children; they don’t separate feeling from thinking, acting, and socializing. Play is the most effective learning tool for them as it engages the whole body, emotions, social interaction, cognitive development and much more. Also, who DOESN’T learn better when they’re having fun?

It makes sense that movement experiences impact our children’s physical confidence: Body awareness is important in the development of physical confidence. We explore this in several ways, through:

• Moving body parts. We do this in all levels, but especially in the baby class where our little ones are still figuring out what parts are where. And as I mention frequently, the activities where we cross the midline (side-side and up-down) strengthen the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain.
• Whole body movements in one place. This one doesn’t necessarily occur to our children, but when we give them opportunity to move while standing on a dot or inside a hoop, they are experiencing inhibitory control, and also explore creative options for ways to move within boundaries.
• Whole body movements while traveling in space. This is definitely their jam and their happy place. As we “walk to the grocery store”, we try out short and long, fast and slow, smooth and bumpy, etc. This is called scaffolding – when we start with what they know how to do and build upon it.

The more your child has opportunity to explore physical movement, the stronger, abler and more confident they become!

Sometimes in class you hear me reference the vestibular system:

The vestibular system, the part of the brain that handles balance and the sense of gravity is in peek development in the early years. Swinging, twisting, swaying and rocking all stimulate the vestibular system, which is why we do so much of it in class! Your child’s body craves this stimulation and will seek it out if it’s not provided. Interestingly enough, these activities can also work to calm the nervous system!

So there you have it. THAT is why we move so much in class, and why your child thrives when given many chances to participate in moving every which way!