Exploring Eggs In Zumbini
Shaking eggs has always been a favorite instrument of mine while working with young children both in a traditional classroom format and in Zumbini. Eggs are super fun, easy to create a sound, and portable for these little movers! One of my favorite things about eggs is how easy it is to create sounds. Just turning an egg over makes a sound. All children, regardless of age or developmental level, are able to create a sound with this instrument. Even if they drop it! There’s also a fun change in dynamics with eggs. While they can be loud when shaken quickly in a group, these are generally a quieter instrument.…
Music Is A Language For Everyone In Zumbini
I am reminded how true this statement is every week in Zumbini. It doesn’t matter what language someone speaks to communicate, everyone can “speak” music. From the tiny babies with little verbal language to a fluent adult, everyone can communicate with music. When a dancing song comes on, you can see everyone start to “speak” with tapping their toes, bouncing up and down, clapping, or swaying their body. When we sit to sing, everyone can feel the rhythm from patting our legs, repeat basic words in the song, or copy the gestures we use along with the words. Music works through everyone. In any given week, I have families in…
Additional Articles by Amanda
Putting everything I want to share on (virtual) paper goes two ways for me. Either I’m completely stuck on how to begin or it’s like my fingers are flying on the keyboard cranked up on coffee! Sometimes I just want to keep sharing about music and movement with young children or prenatal/postnatal fitness, other times I have a lot to share on a range of topics. With so many years of working in this field, I want to share everything I have learned in hopes of helping someone else! I’m so lucky that some of my writing has been featured in other locations outside of my own blog, such as…
Play With Your Food To Build Pre-Writing Skills!
Did you ever think you would encourage your little one to play with their food? What if it would help to build their pre-writing skills? Play on and eat up little one! What Are Pre-Writing Skills? Pre-writing skills are the fundamentals young children need in order to complete more advanced writing tasks. Between the ages of 18 months-4 years old, there is a progression from scribbling to imitating written lines to independently creating marks on a page that resemble a vertical line, horizontal line, circle, etc. These are all important lines and shapes needed to form letters and numbers. As a teacher, I started noticing that some young children had difficulty starting…
6 Things I’m Afraid My Kid Will Do In Class
Afraid of what your little one will do in a group activity for the first time? Here are some of the top fears parents face when starting a new class and some comforting words of wisdom: 1. Lick the mirror Mirrors are like this magical portal that must be licked. Toddlers are developmentally egotistical, which means they love looking at themselves but are also super curious. What happens if I lick this fascinating material? What does it taste like? Will I then have two tongues? No worries, that’s why we have glass cleaner. Lick away, little explorer! 2. Cry Many kids cry at their first group experience, that’s completely normal!…
My Baby Can Read! How Reading To Infants Develops A Lifelong Love of Reading!
Omg, my baby can read! No, not picking up a random book and deciphering the words or storyline, but reading the way a baby can read. In this post, I am so excited to share one of my biggest passions when teaching young children (aside from music and movement): reading! Where does reading begin? How do you learn to read? Without starting a huge internet debate, I’ll answer this question with the most trusted researched-based answer: reading begins in the womb. From the time we are the smallest form of life, babies are developing their senses, such as hearing, and begin learning the sounds of life surrounding them. They can…
Again again again! How Repetition Helps Development!
How many times have you read your little one’s favorite book? Sang their favorite song? Played the same game over and over? It can drive us crazy, but they still want more! Why? Here’s some info on how repetition helps development! Repetition is key to learning and mastering anything. Any new skill, (learning to roll over, walking, clapping hands, doing back-handsprings, knitting, driving, reading, etc.) takes repetition. When doing something new for the first time, your brain is working so hard to figure out how to perform all of the complex requirements of this new skill. The more you repeat the same skill, the more your brain rewires itself to…
Socializing With Bini-Buddies! How Zumbini Fosters Social Growth
Smile! Coo! Chase! Share! Laugh!What does socializing look like for little ones? It looks like a good time 🙂 Whether you’re looking to find new friends for your child (or parent-friends!), you’ll start noticing how your little one develops their socialization skills in Zumbini®! First Encounters Think back to your first day of school or that time you went to a party when you didn’t know anyone. Remembering that feeling of, “Where do I go? What should I do now? Oh, where is someone that I know that I can cling to for a bit!” Young children have similar thoughts when they enter a new place. Some may take a few…
Drumming Through The Years
I’ve been lucky to see hundreds of kids grow and change in the past few years in Zumbini®, but my favorite person to observe long-term growth with my own little one. He has been drumming since the days he attended Zumbini® prenatally ( kicking in the belly!) One of my favorite parts of teaching Zumbini® is seeing the weekly growth as these children change so quickly. Sometimes their growth is in singing a new word, sometimes it’s a social skill like waving to a friend or a physical skill like jumping, and sometimes it’s a musical skill like drumming. Drumming and Infants Some parents have mentioned not wanting to bring…
Teaching With Breakfast Pizza!
Ok, if you’ve ready some previous posts I’m sure by now you’re probably wondering, “Does this family eat anything that isn’t pizza?” Yes, actually the only thing this kid typically eats for breakfast is porridge. (That’s right, not oatmeal, I said porridge like Goldilocks and the bears…) But today we were out of his typical favorite so when I asked what he wanted to eat, I had to honor his request for pizza with Breakfast Pizza! This was another super fun way to connect with him through a cooking activity we both love to share! He has become a pro at spreading sauce, shaking spices, and sprinkling cheese on our…
