Anyone Ever Do Kindermusic Class?

[Whisper]

I'm already thinking I'm not going to do because it is 180 bucks and would be a half hour drive one way all for a forty-five minute class and in the early a.m.

My dd is a late sleeper so I can see hassles already! OH! She will be two in March.

But a part of me thinks it would be neat.

If you took this class with your toddler, was it worth it?

[siddie]

How old is your child? We took Kindermusik from about age 1-2 years. It was fun, my ds loves the cd's to this day. I did find the classes to be VERY dependant upon the instructor. One instructor was an opera singer, my ds would stop and look at her everytime she opened her mouth to sing BUT she really stuck to the Kindermusik agenda and I felt pushed the kids toohard to give up their toys and move on to the next song/activity. The good instructor would follow the cues the kids gave her, if they were really enjoying banging on the drums or glockenspiel, she let them finish. If the kids were getting upset/overstimmed she would put on a lullaby. I quit going because we got a bad instructor who expected my child to do the complete circle time activity on her schedule with her and even had the nerve to tell him he needs to stop running around the class and sit and do circle time. I would recommend trying it but it does seem like a bit of a hassle for you. You could always buy a Kindermusik kit (includes cd, instrument, and instruction book for music play) and do it at home. I wouldn't recommend WeeSing, it can be rather annoying, Kindermusik is very pleasant to listen too.

[3boysmom]

I have such wonderful memories of my kindermusic time with ds #1 (now nearly 12!). He was about 18-24 months at the time. For us it meant a 30 minute walk each way in the dead of winter in windy downtown Chicago, but it was definitely worth bundling up for!

[Solange]

ITA with siddie
Instructors do make all the difference, but, one thing you may want to consider is that a lot of mainstream parents go to these and sometimes do not heed the rules of disciplining children away from the rest of the group.
Also the last group we were in (and we stopped going to after a month-see you do not get your $$ back so if $$$ is a factor to you do not chance it) a mother there had a son with the same name as mine and all she did through the whole entire class was yell at him from across the room saying "so-so don't do that" "so-so no!" and my ds was like what who keeps saying my name and it was really distracting to my ds.
The our time kindermusik music is really fun for my ds and I to listen to so if you can possibly get some of the music at the site and not go to the classes and just kind of do it yourself at home it is much more fun. I second siddie here as well....
If you are wanting interaction with other little ones for your child please search out and API lead group or LLL
www.attachmentparenting.org
www.lalecheleague.org
hth

[ebethmom]

I agree that the instructor makes all the difference. We've been taking the Village class(birth - 18 mos) and our instructor cannot carry a tune. She is a compassionate person who is good with children, but she really shouldn't try to lead a music class!!!

From what I have seen on the Kindermusik website and heard from other music educators, the training process for Kindermusik has been greatly reduced. You can basically get your KM training online, with one phone call from a mentor.

So our instructor does not know the tunes well enough to lead the class. She makes it up as she goes along. Very frustrating!! Especially from a professional musician's point of view.

We're not enrolling for the next session. I wish there was a Music Together class nearby. I'm thinking of getting my certification in that program.

[Deirdre]

Hi!

We just finished the Village class and I am considering doing the next one for 18 months to 32 months. We had an excellent instructor this time who was very laid back and had an excellent voice. All of the mommies were still beastfeeding and one day someone brought up Dr. Sears Baby Book and I was like Phew!!!! I like these Moms!

The next session will be a different teacher and different kids (since most of the kids in the last session were much younger that dd) but I sure hope it will be as much fun. DD just loved it, she loves to dance and sing

edited to add: you probably do want to serious consider the time of the class and whether it will work with youor child's schedule. I know some Mom's in my group had a hard time because their child would fall asleep in the car on the way there and then they would be groggy and cranky for class. We are lucky as there are many times and days that we can go.

[Tracy]

i dont' know much about kindermusic,....

but I've been doing another group, it is called Music Together with my son for 9 months. This was a program that got created out of a study at Princeton....
it is very cool and different. At least to me.

my ds loves it and we like it and we play the music constantly....

there are all kinds of little things we do out of the class....

anyway, maybe they are closer to you......

here is their link...

http://www.musictogether.com/

[NaturalMamma]

I've heard good things about Music Together too and I think it's usually less expensive. I wanted to do that class, but couldn't find an instructor closeby at the time. It can sometimes be more AP friendly than Kindermusik, but you just never know.

I started my DD in Kindermusik when she was 23 mos. She reall y likes it and asks me to put in the CD at home. It's been good to see her enjoy the music in the car too. It wouldn't have hurt her for me to wait a few months, though. She was pretty shy about the whole thing and there were some mornings she did not want to go and we were both frustrated by the time I got there (it was a 9am class which wasn't good for us).

Honestly, I don't think it's necessary to have them in any class before they're 2.5 or 3. I sometimes think it would be better if they are older and can really understand that they will miss the class if they're shoes aren't on and to let them make their own decisions. Regardless of what you decide and what kind of instructor you get, I think the most important thing you can do for your DD is to let her explore and have fun. Don't let anyone bully you into conforming (e.g., you must stay in the circle). Don't feel bad if other toddlers are "ahead" of her. It just doesn't matter. There were times I let this get to me and saw how it could hurt my DD's self esteem. They have so little control of their lives and so many rules to follow that they need to have their playtime unstructured and enjoyable.

Good luck!

[chicklet]

my dd and I took the Music Together classes twice in a row- she was 2 to 3yo. I agree wholeheartedly that the instructor makes or breaks the class - make sure you like him/her and are comfortable with the way they handle the children. we ended up losing some $ because we didn't finish the season - didn't like the teacher who replaced original instructor, and you can't get a refund.

p.s. - on a good "note" (ha ha) MT does have a GREAT CD that comes with the fee. it's a cute folks-y mix of songs that you won't mind playing over and over....and over.... the kids love it too!

[ekblad9]

We did Kindermusik and loved it! We are doing a different music class now and also like that. It's called Music with Joy but I think it's just local. It's about the same price but goes in 8 week sessions (instead of 16) so it's easier for us to pay! Good luck!

[Tracy]

I forgot to mention my son is 18 months. We started Music Together when he was one year and having been doing it ever since. Once a week class.
We do like our instructor very much.

[eirrak]

You might want to see if there is a MusikGarten class around. I looked at both that and kindermusik and liked the musikgarten just a little bit better. There's more flexibility for the instructor, where as in kindermusik the teacher can only do kindermusik things. our MG teacher incorporates a lot of different songs and activities.
But we love it and plan to stay with the program. My DD was only about 3 months when i took her to her first class and I can see how she's really developed musically. If you're a musical person, it's worth the money.

[NaturalMamma]

Something else I just thought of...

...sometimes instead of going directly through Kindermusik, you can find a shorter (less expensive) Kindermusik class offered through your local park district. If your town has a recreation activity booklet, I'd check it out.

[Whisper]

We've decided not to do the class...this session. Maybe next. I think it would be worth trying...I guess it is dependent (like so many of you said) on the teacher, etc...but now, because of the distance and $$$, we'll consider it for the future! Thanks!

[Shannon]

I just wanted to add one more thing, even though you already made your decision this time around. I'll bet if you ask, they will let you do a trial class so you could see how your child likes it. I assumed that my ds would love Music Together, so I skipped that part. He did love the music and he loved the instructor, but he didn't care for the class. Just never know with little ones what they're going to think!
Shannon

[Elphaba]

we're doing it right now. today was our second class. the first class she didn't participate in any of the activities, and took the other babies' toys and cried a lot, which she NEVER does. this time she still didn't particpate in some activities, about half i guess, but she had more fun than last time, and no crying, so less stress for me.
i had to ask my dad to pay our tuition, because it's $200, and i think i could feed all of us for a month on that, and we don't have any spare cash anyway.
the teacher is really nice. she's the principal harpist in our city's symphony, and very talented. we chose her after seeing a demo class at babies r us. she was the best one by far.
the only disappointment has been that the other moms all know each other, so i'm the odd woman out of the group. and there's this one mom who is ASTONSIHINGLY beautiful. really. i've never seen a non-famous person who looked like this. i feel like a toad next to her. but that's a whole other thread, right?

[lilyka]

Here is my problem with kindermusic. one it is freaking expensive for babiesand there is nothing they do that I don't alr3eady do at home. Secondly they wouldn't let me bring dd (2 weeks old) in her sling. It isn't like she would have been disrupting class att aht age. The instructor said it would be unair to madeline because she needed my undevided attention. i will decide what my dd need thankyouverymuch.

we visited a Gymboree music class and really liked it. They let dd (who was too old for the class) stay and encouraged her to participate (very sweet of them), it was very down to earth and relaxed and ended with plenty of play time. Cheaper too!

[Seeking Refuge]

I agree with Lilyka, Kindermusic was a little too mainstream for me. I think it just depends on where you take it. Things like that tend to reflect the attitudes of the community you live in. Ughh.
Maybe you could get together with some friends and do something similar.

[Tracy]

just to follow up, I think music together is pretty different.

the place that offered it near my home is a place that is very creative and fun for kids and was created by moms who hated the franchise, (McDonald's formulaic feel) of gymboree.

and they were the ones that thought music together was interesting enough and different enough for their space...


anyway, just two cents