News Details (Posted: August 14, 2006):

Kindermusik in Gilbert

Contact Information:

Nancy Genys
480-507-1898

Full Description:

Gilbert, AZ – School-age children will head back to school in the next few weeks, but what about their younger brothers and sisters? With the older children back in the classroom, this fall is the perfect time to introduce their younger siblings to the excitement of lifelong learning through Kindermusik. Kindermusik is the world’s leading music and movement program for children from birth to 7 years old. Research has shown that early music and movement activities positively impact whole child development in areas such as cognitive, emotional, physical, spatial and literacy skills. Nancy Genys of Kindermusik from Class Act Performing Arts Academy offers a complete music program where both children and parents learn through music and movement. Genys is a licensed Kindermusik educator and serves as director of the program. Nancy Genys has taught music and dance to children for more than 20 years. Kindermusik is a wonderful addition to the Class Act Programs offered. Class Act offers a full program of Kindermusik classes, including Kindermusik Village for newborns to 11/2 years; Kindermusik Our Time for children 11/2 to 3 years old; Kindermusik Imagine That! for 3-to-5-year-olds; and Kindermusik for the Young Child for 41/2 through 7 year olds. - MORE - Kindermusik Offers an Early Start to Lifelong Learning /page 2 Created by early childhood music educators and informed by the latest research in child development, Kindermusik programs provide early childhood learning opportunities through innovative music and movement curricula and involve families in the joy of their child’s development. Kindermusik curricula are designed to be developmentally appropriate – each child is encouraged to learn at his or her own pace. The most current research on child development indicates that a child’s fundamental learning takes place between birth and 7 years. At Kindermusik, we recognize that all children are musical. Kindermusik offers a child a broad assortment of activities to promote language development, social interaction, cognitive development, coordination and emotional development. Research supports that music helps prepare the mind for specific disciplines of learning, including math, science and language. One study referenced in a 1997 article in Neurological Research indicated that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. Kindermusik classes are available at Class Act Performing Arts Academy, 511 W. Guadalupe Rd. Call 480-507-1898 for more information on class times and when they start. ### Headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., Kindermusik International publishes acclaimed music and movement curricula and produces other musical learning products for children newborn to 7 years of age. A network of more than 4,000 Kindermusik educators throughout the United States, Canada, Singapore and 20 other countries are specially trained to nurture the education and development of very young children. www.kindermusik.com DID YOU KNOW? Young people who participate in the arts for at least three hours on three days each week through at least one full year are: • 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement • 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools • 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair • 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance • 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem Young artists, as compared with their peers, are likely to: • Attend music, art, and dance classes nearly three times as frequently • Participate in youth groups nearly four times as frequently • Read for pleasure nearly twice as often • Perform community service more than four times as often (Living the Arts through Language + Learning: A Report on Community-based Youth Organizations, Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University and Carnegie Foundation For the Advancement of Teaching, Americans for the Arts Monograph, November 1998) Music education helps other disciplines of learning... • According to Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect, tracing neurological development through childhood provides the answer. Prior to a major spurt of neural integration in the brain during the elementary school years, learning occurs through movement and quick emotional associations. For example by age two, the brain has begun to fuse with the body via marching, dancing, and developing a sense of physical rhythm. The more music children are exposed to before they enter school, the more deeply this stage of neural coding will assist them throughout their lives. • Skills learned through music carries over into study skills, communications skills and cognitive skills useful to all parts of life. For example, research supports that music helps prepare the mind for specific disciplines of learning. One such study referenced in a 1997 article in Neurological Research indicated that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. • Even our elected officials have realized the importance of music for our children. Recent federal law, No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, states, “Studying music encourages self discipline and diligence traits that carry over into mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history and geography.” The facts are that arts education... • makes a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries. (Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School, James S. Catterall, The UCLA Imagination Project, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA, Americans for the Arts Monograph, January 1998) • has a measurable impact on youth at risk in deterring delinquent behavior and truancy problems while also increasing overall academic performance among those youth engaged in after school and summer arts programs targeted toward delinquency prevention. (YouthARTS Development Project, 1996, U.S. Department of Justice, National Endowment for the Arts, and Americans for the Arts)