by Beverly Smith, Kindermusik parent
This week I finally got to return with my daughter, Isabelle, to Kindermusik class (after being home with my new baby). It was so good to have that quality time with her and see her sweet teacher too! The thing I love about her teacher is that she makes all her kids and parents feel welcome. Isabelle gets so excited for Kindermusik every week and not just for the dancing, but to see “Ms. Lisa.”
The staff at Music Connections has always been so welcoming, supportive, and serve their families and community well. Every child is accepted and loved, regardless of their background, ability, or personality. My child is accepted for who she is; in fact, I feel like she is celebrated every week in class! Because she feels so comfortable, she is even able to stretch herself to interact in ways she normally wouldn’t. I love how the kids are included in the class when it comes to cleaning up, creating moves for dances or songs, for read aloud questions, and even in ways they can say hello to their friends, every single week! The kids have ownership in their experience and are made to feel like an important contributor to the class. At the same time, they are building, even at this early age, a community of friends that they learn to recognize, share with and love. It has helped encourage a healthy self-esteem and confidence in Isabelle. She leaves feeling more confident in other areas of her life, such as interacting with other children and answering questions during our story hour at the library.
My daughter’s personality is a mix of princess, animal lover, explorer, scientist, little mama, and farmer. Sometimes she’d rather play firefighter than wear a princess crown. In every Kindermusik class I’ve been in, it has been a mix of both girls and boys. In all those classes I feel that every child is allowed to explore many different interests and be who they are. Isabelle can be a princess or a tomboy and is supported and appreciated either way. The Kindermusik curricula, where every child feels safe and secure in being themselves, fosters so much more than music – it is whole-child development at its finest.
Soon my world and my daughter’s will change forever. We are welcoming baby number 2 (gender unknown) into the world later this month. My daughter is two and half and embracing independence, while still needing “me” for reassurance and encouragement. The transition will affect her whole tiny world! She spends all day with me as my little shadow and we have a blast just us two! We stay busy and the whole “stay-at-home mom” title doesn’t apply to me because we are literally never at home! We go to the museum, library, zoo, park, play dates, Kindermusik, shopping, etc. together all the time. So when a newborn is introduced in the mix and staying at home more will be a necessity I am sure Isabelle and I both will have some growing pains.
