Kindercare music: Learning Adventures® Enrichment Programs | KinderCare

Learning Adventures® Enrichment Programs | KinderCare

Small-group enrichment programs for bold, bright futures

Phonics, music, cooking, and STEM … where’s your child’s next Learning Adventure going to take them? Our optional, on-site enrichment programs focus on kids’ favorite topics, providing your child with another opportunity to expand their interests and dive into their curiosities.

A boost of discovery and confidence.

With extra enrichment sprinkled into their day, students get ready for “big-kid school” (and everything that comes after). Here’s how Learning Adventures help children thrive:

Each program takes place in a small-group setting in our safe classrooms, so students get individual attention from qualified and caring teachers.

The curriculum is aligned with what your child is learning at KinderCare, so each topic they explore reinforces skills they have already been introduced to. The result: next-level comprehension and confidence!

Learning Adventures classes are conveniently offered during your child’s day, so getting an extra dose of fun and learning couldn’t be easier!

Phonics Adventures®

Bookworms, unite!  

Ages: 2–4 years old

Skills: Language and literacy 

• Grow a love of books, words, and poetry 
• Discover the basics of letters and sounds 
• Get ready to start kindergarten with confidence 

Music Explorers®

Calling all future Beethovens and Beyoncés!  

Ages: 2–4 years old 

Skills: Social and emotional, cognitive development, executive function, and language 

• Learn the foundations of music 
• Sing, move, listen, play instruments, and create original tunes 
• Get exposure to math, science, social studies, literacy, and mindfulness (think yoga!) 

STEM Innovators

Lab coats not required!  

Ages: 3–8 years old

Skills: Social and emotional, cognitive development, school-readiness, and critical thinking 

• Experiment with age-appropriate science, geology, and robotics concepts 
• Uncover secret messages with code 
• Discover how to use technology to do amazing things 

Cooking Academy®

Can you say bon appétit?

Ages: 3-12 years old 

Skills: Social and emotional, cognitive development, language and literacy, math, and wellness 

• Learn new recipes and kitchen skills  
• Try new flavors and encourage a healthy relationship with food 
• Build STEM skills through kitchen exploration

Talk to your center director to learn about pricing and availability for the programs offered at your location! 

5 Reasons Musical Activities Makes Kids Smarter

Anyone who’s witnessed a kid belting out “If You’re Happy and You Know It” knows that children love to sing and dance. But there’s more learning power to singing, rhythm, and dance than you may realize.

For young children’s developing minds, music is really powerful stuff: Research shows that music is a super brain-building activity, providing huge social, emotional, and cognitive benefits for kids. That’s why award-winning early childhood educator Attiya Mirza uses music in her KinderCare classroom every single day.

“Music is learning. It lights up everything,” says Mirza. “Music truly teaches the whole child.”

Mirza is particularly adept at using music as a learning tool: In her native Pakistan, she recorded a pop album (learn more about this outstanding educator’s unique path to teaching here).

This top teacher in Palatine, Illinois shares five of her favorite ways to incorporate musical activities into the daily rhythm at home.

1. Play with the Band

Get out the instruments—pots and pans, egg shakers, an old ukulele you found on vacation—and start a jam session by turning on some music and letting your kids play along! “When you play music together, children can learn to wait and to listen. They learn sharing and they learn patience,” says Mirza.

Hitting the high notes: Your little rocker is learning social skills. Banging on pots and pans also builds communication skills, as it helps them find their voice.

2. Hold the Drumline

Flip over a bucket or large pot, grab some sticks, and let your pint-size drummer really go for it. Try setting a beat (bum-bum-BAH-bum) and then repeat it back and forth to each other. “Drumming develops cognitive skills and memory,” explains Mirza.

Hitting the high notes: Remembering and repeating rhythm sequences helps your child learn to recognize numerical patterns. (These are critical pre-math skills!)    

3. Crown a Karaoke King (or Queen)

For a lo-fi home setup: Use a wooden spoon for a mic and string up some Christmas tree lights around your “stage” (a.k.a. the living room doorway). Turn on some favorite tunes or download a kid-friendly karaoke app, and let your star take the stage. Before they begin, encourage them to introduce themselves.

Hitting the high notes: Singing builds confidence and self-esteem, and gives your kid the chance to find their own voice.     

4. Stage a (Mini) Musical

Ignite your child’s imagination by turning on some instrumental music (try anything from Prokofiev’s classic Peter and the Wolf to the theme from Star Wars), and making up a story for your child to act out. Mirza’s class loves one she calls “The Mermaid Game.”

As she plays the piano, she tells a long, winding tale about some mermaids who swim in the ocean, run from sharks, and rest in a coral reef. The kids act out each of the scenes—and they ask for the game again, and again, and again.

Hitting the high notes: This game teaches younger children how to listen and follow directions, skills that will be critical to success in school as children get older and classes become more structured.

5. Listen to Nature’s Music

Music is everywhere, even in nature. Take a walk with your little explorer and gather leaves, rocks, twigs, and other natural objects. Bring them home and discover the music they can make. Dry leaves make a soft rustling sound, rocks tapped together make a beat, twigs can scrape and scratch—add them together, and you’ve got an all-natural symphony!

Hitting the high notes: Using sound to explore the natural world builds your child’s scientific-thinking skills.

“Music is the best teaching for kids—and they’re learning without realizing it. It truly is a universal language,” says Mirza. So go ahead: Play on and play loud! The lessons your child will learn are invaluable.

At-Home Activities

Brain Development

Imaginative Play

From KinderCare Educators

Social And Emotional Learning

Toddler

Pre-K

From Our Educators

Learning In Our Classrooms

Preschool (3-5)

Children’s music of the mid-19th — early 20th centuries

Until September 20, the exposition “Music in the Life of a Child. Exhibition of notes and books on music for children. About why this topic was chosen and why it is so important, says the head of the department of musical publications and sound recordings Alla Alekseevna Semenyuk.

Students of the music school named after V. I. Safonov at the grand opening of the exhibition

Children’s music – the theme is “eternal”. Almost all composers turn to creating works for children. And this is not surprising, because music organically enters the child’s world from early childhood. Suffice it to recall lullabies and musical rhymes, musical games and fairy tales, children’s operas. The main aspect of the topic is related to the educational and educational function. Recall that music education in Russia, since ancient times, has been distinguished by its original character, and there has always been interest in it. The number of subjects required for individual and group learning included music (singing). However, having deep roots, the children’s theme received the status of an independent and multifaceted direction in art relatively recently.

In the 19th century, especially in its second half, the traditions of children’s music were laid down, which were developed in the 20th and early 21st centuries: images, themes, genres of children’s music, musical language, and so on are formed. At the same time, the issues of children’s music and the problems of children’s musical education were actively discussed on the pages of the musical and pedagogical press – “Russian Musical Newspaper”, the magazines “Music and Life”, “Choral and Regency Affairs”, “People’s Education”, “Pedagogical Collection”. Articles and notes on the state of music and education in the Russian secondary school were published there.

Many composers of the second half of the 19th century turned to composing plays and songs for children and compiling collections for different levels of education. The same composers and compilers of collections wrote manuals and methods to help teach children music. Among them are Alexei Nikolaevich Karasev, Alexander Andreevich Arkhangelsky, Vasily Fedorovich Komarov and many others.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the initial home teaching of music to very young children was very popular, so the most interesting publications are the Schools of Play, Collections of Children’s Plays and others, which served as a guide primarily for mothers. For example, the “Elementary School for Piano”, compiled by Brasseur and Iotti, is presented as a “Treasure for Mothers of Families” and is dedicated to Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II. The role of Maria Alexandrovna in the reform of education cannot be underestimated. Under her rule, two higher educational institutions, about 40 gymnasiums, more than 150 educational institutions of the lower level began to operate; she repeatedly emphasized the need to teach children the arts – the ability to draw, play music, and compose poetry. In the preface to the 1871 edition (Moscow, P. Yurgenson) one can read the following words: piano, was able to teach her children music herself and thus be their first leader in this art.

Often the compilers of the collections emphasized the purpose of their work with such remarks as, for example, “a collection of children’s plays to encourage love of music and develop taste”, “a collection of light pieces for children, compiled from favorite motifs with the aim of arousing the desire for music in babies” or “dedicated to kind mothers who intend to teach their children the first principles of piano playing themselves.”

Also of interest are the prefaces in notes, where the authors-compilers give their recommendations and methodological developments. The red thread in these recommendations is the words “Playing the piano should be fun for the child, not a scholastic occupation.”
These inscriptions tell us about the spirit and culture of that time.

The purpose of the exhibition is to show the musical environment of the child, diverse in genres and bright in sound, to present, as far as possible, a complete picture of the development of children’s themes in Russian music in the second half of the 19th – early 21st centuries. In historical sequence, the exposition presents collections of songs, plays, musical alphabets, various educational anthologies and methodological publications, children’s operas, ballets, musicals, books, records, CDs.

For the first time in the RSL, a unique and valuable copy is shown – “The latest complete school of play or Tutorial for the harp” by Fyodor Kushenov-Dmitrevsky (second half of the 18th – early 19th centuries) “with an image of an engraved type of harp and a hand to indicate the name of the fingers”, published in Petersburg at the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1808. Gusli, which is often called the “lying harp”, is the most traditional Russian folk musical instrument. In Rus’, the harp sounded everywhere: at feasts, at peasant feasts, in everyday life, at solemn ceremonies, and so on. Russian bogatyrs Dobrynya Nikitich and Nightingale Budimirovich, the famous Novgorod guest Sadko, played the harp. In the musical life of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, amateur music playing on the harp played an important role in everyday life. Therefore, the notes for the harp – published in 1802 by Maxim Pomerantsev’s “Self-instruction manual for playing the harp” and in 1808 by Fyodor Kushenov-Dmitrevsky’s “School” – were popular publications and quickly sold out.

The exposition presents a rare collection “Children at the Piano: a collection of 25 small pieces for 4 hands”, arranged by M. Bernard (St. Petersburg, 1866). Matvey Ivanovich Bernard (1794-1871), a famous music publisher, was also a composer and teacher. His musical activity began in Moscow, from 1822 he moved to Petersburg, where he was considered the best piano teacher. Here Bernard created many romances, piano pieces, as well as practical guides for children from the L’enfant pianiste series and youth.

In addition to playing musical instruments, children learned to sing. Many modern musical pedagogical studies give a historical picture of the development of pedagogical methods and carry out the idea that music education relied on monophonic or choral a cappella singing as a solid and reliable foundation that unites theory and practice. Prince Vladimir Fyodorovich Odoevsky (1804-1869), who considered choral singing “the basis of musical education”, also spoke about this. It is known that Odoevsky entered children’s literature as the creator of “Tales of Grandfather Iriney” (grandfather Iriney is the “children’s” pseudonym of the writer). Works for children included in the collections “Children’s Tales of Grandpa Iriney” (1840) and “Children’s Songs of Grandpa Iriney” (1847) were highly appreciated by Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky. The exhibition shows for the first time the first edition of the lithographed collection of “Children’s Songs of Grandpa Iriney” by V. F. Odoevsky, published in St. Petersburg in 1847 in the printing house of Karl Kray.

Exhibits of the exhibition “Music in the life of a child. Exhibition of notes and books on music for children. XIX—XXI centuries»

Among the displayed sheet music of the 19th century, the main attention is drawn to compositions for children’s musical theater, which was one of the most interesting trends in the musical and educational development of the little musician of that time. The emergence of children’s opera in Russia occurred at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Caesar Antonovich Cui (1835-19eighteen). However, a significant role in the development of the genre belongs to lesser-known musicians, mainly teachers, whose works were the first examples of the new genre, which largely determined the future fate of children’s musical theater. Among the first children’s operas are works by Nikolai Bryansky (“Cat, Goat and Sheep”, “Musicians”), Franz Abt (“Little Red Riding Hood”, “Cinderella”, “Snow Maiden”), Alexander Buchner (“King Spruce Cone”, “Mushroom Trouble”, “Tsar Ledysh”), as well as the works of Vasily Orlov, a student of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Orlov’s children’s operas are connected with the plots of Ivan Andreevich Krylov’s fables and folk tales – “The Fox and the Grapes”, “The Pig under the Oak”, “The Bullfinch and the Swallow”, “The Witcher’s Crow” and others. The creation of all these operas dates back to the late 80s – 90s of the XIX century. The operas were mainly supposed to be performed by children, which is why there is a simple musical language and a simple presentation of piano accompaniment.

The librettos of some of the operas are associated with the name of Alexander Alexandrovich Fedorov-Davydov (1875-1936), a children’s writer, editor, and translator. He was a well-known figure in the field of education, he published the Moscow children’s magazines “Firefly” and “Business and Fun”. Many children’s operas were released for the first time in the appendix to “The Firefly”. It is known from the press of that time that the performances attracted the constant attention of music teachers in Russian gymnasiums.

In Soviet times, remarkable composers came to children’s music – Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (1891-1953), Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich (1906-1975), Isaac Osipovich Dunaevsky (1900-1955), Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (1904-1987) and many others . Soviet composers paid great attention to the musical education of the younger generation. New genres of children’s songs appear – comic, marching, lyrical, children’s ballets, musicals, cantatas. Soviet composers have written thousands of songs for children. The genre of Soviet children’s songs developed rapidly. At the exhibition, you can see wonderful cycles of songs written to the poems of your favorite children’s poets Agniya Barto, Samuil Marshak, Sergey Mikhalkov. Among the best songs of the war years about young heroes, about work in the rear, about friendship, the collection “Fighting Songs of the Guys” stands out (Moscow, 1942). It includes songs by Mikhail Jordansky, Joseph Kovner, Mikhail Krasev.

In the 20th century, all kinds of teaching and educational musical aids continued to be published – ABCs, primers, initial exercises, etc. Of greatest interest is Natalia Petrovna Konchalovskaya’s “Notebook ABC” (1903-1988), which tells about notes and musical instruments in a poetic form. signs. The well-known artist Kesh (real name Innokenty Pavlovich Shaposhnikov, 1901-1960), author of military posters, artist of the Murzilka magazine and many children’s books and board games.

The development of educational programs in the 20th century is continued by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky, who formed a certain system of personality education through music: these are musical quizzes, and improvisational concerts, and musical crosswords, and a musical kaleidoscope, and much more. At the exhibition you can see one of the latest editions of the book “D. B. Kabalevsky about music and musical education (Moscow, 2004).

An interesting cycle of piano pieces “A Piano in the Nursery” by futurist composer Arthur Lurie (1892-1966), which he dedicated to his four-year-old daughter Annochka. The artist of the publication was Pyotr Vasilyevich Miturich (1887-1956). For each play, Miturich chose a funny drawing imbued with childish sincerity and spontaneity, the artist looked at the world through the eyes of a child and saw so many interesting details that adults sometimes simply do not notice. This is one of the best works of the artist in the book.

The exposition also demonstrates children’s ballet. This is a special genre where classical “pas” are combined with the plasticity of everyday dance, where there is a lot of humor, grotesque and lyrics. This is exactly how Karen Surenovich Khachaturian’s (1920-2011) ballet “Cipollino”, based on the fairy tale by Gianni Rodari, turned out. For the creation of this ballet, its authors were awarded the USSR State Prize, and the ballet itself was staged in many theaters of the Soviet Union and gathered full halls of children and their parents.

The development of the opera genre in Soviet Russia is rightfully associated with the name of the remarkable children’s composer Mikhail Ivanovich Krasev (1897-1954). He wrote 10 children’s operas. Among them, at the exhibition, you can see fairy-tale operas: Morozko, Masha and the Bear, Teremok, etc. The opera-game The Clock by Lyubov Streicher is also very popular. All spectators take part in it, which gives children a wide scope for the manifestation of creative initiative, for instilling a sense of collectivism.

Alla Alekseevna Semenyuk, head of the department of musical publications and sound recordings of the RSL, talks about the exhibition

The exhibition presents sound recordings of popular children’s bands. This is the Children’s Choir of the Institute for the Artistic Education of Children, led by Professor of the Moscow Conservatory Vladislav Sokolov and the famous V. Loktev Song and Dance Ensemble.

Some of the notes included in the exposition look rather modest, and some are decorated with drawings related to the content of musical works. Most of the drawings were made by those engravers who worked on the musical text, but sometimes well-known artists were involved, which have already been mentioned above. The publications, which were distinguished by successful design techniques and a well-thought-out concept, thanks to which a harmonious visual appearance was created, of course, attracted the attention of parents and the child.

In addition to sheet music and books on music for children, the exhibition presents phonograph records and CDs with recordings of famous songs from children’s feature films and cartoons. Each instance is individual and interesting in its own way.

Thanks to the exhibition, teachers, researchers and everyone who cares about the topic of music for children have the opportunity to get acquainted with the best and most interesting publications from the collections of the Russian State Library.

Children’s music playlist | Listen on Deezer

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