Play a song in a language that your child doesn’t know in a style that appeals to him/her. What does it sound like the singer might be talking about? What is it about the music that makes him/her think so? The
Broadway Baby
Watch a broadway show or musical theater movie with your child. Have him/her make up a song for one of the other characters in a scene that wasn’t singing…or compose a song for “after Happily Ever After”–what happens to the
Dancing Outside the Box
Adapted from several online resources, including ArtsWork. When many of us picture ourselves dancing, we think of movements inside a small box (prom-style)–or moving side-to-side with small arm movements close to our bodies. And even for kids that have attended
Kine-Simon
Do you remember the old My Simon game that was a family favorite back when we were kids? (Need a memory jog? Play the video at the bottom of this post.) Update that concept with Kine-Simon for some active family
References We Used As We Developed Kidzmet
Genesis of Kidzmet While we started building the current version of Kidzmet in late 2010, the inspiration for the idea actually came from Jen Lilienstein’s undergraduate senior thesis in 1994. Under the direction of Dr. Francesca Cancian at UCI, Jen
Family Activity Friday – World Music!
This weekend, listen to some music from other parts of the world with your family. What different instruments are used? How about harmonies, chords, dynamics or rhythms? Do these differences in the country’s music give you any clues with respect
The Music of Poetry
Pick up a copy of The Music Lover’s Poetry Anthology at your local library or bookstore. Choose a few of the poems that you think your child would enjoy, then download some of the musical pieces by the composers that were the
Yoga for Young’Uns
Yoga is one kinesthetic activity that kids can enjoy no matter which multiple intelligence lens they prefer to look at the world–just select an appealing entry point below: Visual-Spatial kids: Without worrying about movement flow at first, challenge your “Picture
Musical Musings
Listen to a piece of music from a ballet, then have your child draw a picture or make a model of the scene they believe is occurring at that point in the ballet. Have your child describe the picture (or
Math Music to Your Ears
More than a quarter of a century after learning the states to the tune of “Do your ears hang low”, I still remember the states alphabetically in this way. And even though I’ve never had ANY use for the greek