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Transitional
Ages and Stages
How
do I know if my child is ready for the next class level?
The
Kindermusik philosophy springs from genuine respect for
each child’s individual rate of development. Class
activities and at-home materials are designed to honor,
support and celebrate the wonderful uniqueness of each child.
Classes have overlapping age ranges to help parents accommodate
their child’s own needs.
While
a child should be at least the minimum age to enroll in
any given class, there are three critical “transitional
stages” when parents have an important choice to make
about which class is most appropriate and beneficial for
their child: at age 1.5 years , 3 to 3.5 years
and 4.5 to 5 years.
The
suggested ages for Kindermusik curricula are:
Village ~ Newborns to 18 months (or 20 months)
Our Time ~ 18 months to 3 or 3.5 years
Imagine That! ~ 3 to 4.5 or 5 years
Young Child ~ 4.5 or 5 to 7 years
If
your child is near a transitional stage, the following guidelines
may help your decision:
Moving from Village to Our Time
Moving from Our Time to Imagine That!
Moving from Imagine That! to Young Child
Moving
from Village to Our Time
The
suggested age for an Our Time class is 18 months to 3 or
3 ½ years. Children ready for this next level show
many of the following characteristics:
Physical
-
Improved walking skills, feet are together, knees flexible
(vs. the “just walker” who has a wide-based
legs apart gate with locked knees)
-
Beginning to imitate/explore a variety of traveling movements
---run, jump, leap
-
Reliably point to correctly identified body parts
-
Can follow two-step direction
-
Understands what “one” means (vs. a handful)
-
Learning to use toys and objects in symbolic ways (moving
beyond just enjoyment of sensory properties)
-
Can interact in a directed activity
-
Able to shift attention with transition
-
Connects to an activity; initiates a play sequence
-
Reliably responds to own name (refers to self by name
in secure environments)
-
Uses gestures and language to deal with frustration (as
apposed to just crying or whining)
-
Sustains interest and attention in activity for several
minutes (Note: not wanting to give something up such as
bells or sticks, can be a sign of maturation)
-
Can express wants and needs symbolically (gestures, words)
-
Has vocabulary of 20 words: receptive language is still
stronger than expressive
-
Reading with caregiver becomes cooperative. Child will
select book, sit, relate to the story and interact.
Moving
from Our Time to Imagine That!
The
suggested age range for Imagine That! classes is 3 to 5
years. Children ready for this next level show many of the
following characteristics:
Physical
-
Has a taller, thinner, adult-like appearance
-
Balances on one foot; jumps in place without falling
-
Holding crayons in pincher grasp rather than fist
-
Knows if they are a boy or girl
-
Can do matching games
-
Knows some basic shapes and colors
-
Developing divergent thinking skills (“What animals
do you like?”)
-
Beginning transition from concrete to abstract thinking
(humor aids this process)
-
Sits and listens to stories for up to 10 minutes
-
Beginning to master rules of language; speaks in full
sentences (4-5 words); asks questions
-
Vocabulary growing from 300-1,000 words
-
Can relate a series of activities; tells stories (“We
went to the grocery store, then to grandma’s and
I played with the kittens.”)
-
Recognizes the needs of others
-
Turn taking becomes harder than earlier, but beginning
to understand reasons
-
Learning about patience
Moving from
Imagine That! to Young Child
The 2-year Young Child program was intended in design
for kindergartners and first graders. Individual exceptions
might be made for a child participating in a pre-K program
who will turn 5 years old in the fall or who is developmentally mature. We find that children who have come up through our Kindermusik program are generally more mature than a child who has never participated in Kindermusik. A 4’s
preschooler would best be served, in most cases, by participating
in Imagine That! which is also a 2-year curricula. Children
who are 6 are encouraged to begin in Year One, but may elect
to begin in Year 2 if they are more comfortable with the age range. 7-year-old children should begin in
Year 2.
Any child entering the program in the middle of
the year should be the same age as the children in the class.
(Children who were 5 in the September will be turning 5.5 by January.) This is true because the Young Child
curricula is a sequential curricula and the child will have
to catch up with the major concepts taught in the fall semester.
At the beginning of each semester, there is a review of
the major concepts so that new children may be incorporated
into the class. Because of the sequential and foundational nature of the curriculum, it is best to start in the fall if the child is 4. Children who are 5 in January usually can fit it with the review at the beginning of the semester. Young 4's would have a more difficult time catching the missed concepts quickly. If in doubt, speak with the Director, Nancy Hall. If you are a new client, it would be helpful for the child to visit a class so the teacher can observe the child.
Children
ready for this next level show many of the following characteristics:
Physical
-
Can jump forward many times in a row, hops, gallops, is
learning to skip
-
Demonstrates control of pencil or marker
-
Eager to learn
-
Has developed classification skills (i.e. can sort things
that have a single common feature) and can sort by size,
color and form
-
Counts to 20; recognizes numerals 1-10
-
Beginning to see things from another’s perspective
-
Recognizes some letters of the alphabet
-
Impulse control is emerging and developing
-
Exhibits self-confidence and reliability
-
Sense of right and wrong is growing
-
Beginning to see things from another’s perspective
-
Enjoys friendships and group activities
-
Shares, takes turns, plays cooperatively
-
Is affectionate and caring
-
Follows directions
Kindermusik
of the Woodlands
and
Hall's Musik Studios
25218 Grogan's Park Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Phone: 281 367-0545 Fax: 281 298-6944
Email: info@kindermusikofthewoodlands.com
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