KiddyKeys: Training for Tots
On a Tuesday night a few weeks ago, I assisted in a KiddyKeys class for a teacher who was absent. There were about six kids present--all of them very excited to run into their classroom and begin the lesson. We started out with the KiddyKeys song to get adrenaline pumping and eyes lighting up before sailing into finger exercises and picking instruments to march around the room.
This being my first week assisting--or teaching, at all, ever--I hadn't the slightest notion of what to do in what particular order. Luckily, I had a lesson plan to follow along with--but even more importantly, I also had a group of kids who knew exactly what they were doing. They were excited to tell me all about what they were learning and jumped into every activity willingly. Though only between the ages of 3-5, every child was able to tell me what they had been learning about and the hand motions that correlated with the featured songs, and they discussed common music terms eagerly.
That was what struck me most about experience. The excitement of the kids, the willingness to learn, the joy being spread to each of them through music. I remember when my four-year- old brother Jude first came home from KiddyKeys--he didn’t stop singing the ‘Monkeys Jumping on the Bed’ song for about three days. Within a week, we were consistently using 'piano' and 'forte' to differentiate between 'soft' and 'loud' when telling him to quiet down, and he was overall more excited about listening to music and singing.
The NAMM Foundation declares music to be a number one catalyst to developing fine motor skills and muscle movements. Listening to music regularly also enables the children to recognize rhythms and eventually to create their own patterns of beats. Just as they say, KiddyKeys truly does ‘make learning music concepts and life skills fun for preschoolers by appealing to individual learning styles,’ and brings a new schooling approach to the table.
It is truly beautiful to watch these skills being developed, as well as see creative energy being used so positively. For kids who are naturally curious (which I believe to be a very common characteristic in children) KiddyKeys is a good example of what it means to shape curiosity to the right form. It’s a lovely setting for tots to exercise their freedom while still being introduced to the beauty of music. They are never curbed, and always, always encouraged to embrace their inquisitiveness.
From firsthand experience with my brother and the other little ones I've now had the pleasure of teaching, I can say confidently that KiddyKeys is hugely contributive to developing cognitive motor skills and stimulating mental energy in the best way. Because of Lochwood, these children now have a place of freedom that is amazingly beneficial to their health and growth. It is truly adorable to watch how excited the kids get about learning new things–-not to mention how amazing it is to see what they are capable of! It seems we always forget how smart children truly are until we give them something to help them expound on their intelligence, and are able to watch them fly from there.
Author: Kirstan D.
We would like to encourage you to enroll your child in KiddyKeys! To register, simply follow this link: http://www.lochwoodacademy.com/kiddykeys. We hope to see your little one there! :)