The importance of developing childhood creativity is discussed in the July 10th issue of Newsweek. The article affirms what Kindermusik parents already know, that pretend play helps develop a child’s creativity. In Kindermusik we are nearly always pretending. The article states, “Preschoolers who spend more time in role-playing (acting out characters) have higher measures of creativity: voicing someone else’s point of view helps develop their ability to analyze situations from different perspectives.” The article also discusses how role-playing helps a child explore and understand emotions. Singing about emotions is a safe and appropriate way to learn about being, sad, frustrated, angry, etc. and also about happiness, fun, and love, etc.
Kindermusik’s home materials offer your child a chance to pretend play and explore emotion every day. To help them explore and understand emotions have them sing songs showing different emotions with their faces and through their voices. Encourage them to change the words to the song to better communicate emotion and give the song additional meaning. You can also use musical play to help develop creativity. You are improving your child’s problem-solving abilities every time you help them explore an instrument or the various sounds an object can make, (What is another way you can play the sticks? While driving in the car, your children can explore the different types of body percussion they can produce. Make sure they explore making quiet body percussion or they might drive you crazy!) Many Kindermusik songs naturally encourage role playing with movement, (How else can you move like a monkey?) When we explore props in class we’re always trying to figure out new ways to use the prop, (What else could this hoop be, how else could you move it?). Participation in Kindermusik fosters the development of creativity, problem solving, and emotional understanding!
To read the actual article click HERE. (It’s a bit long but has some points worth thinking about.)