Kindermusik with Janet's Music Fun

http://www.coverbandcentral.com

Just reminding people that Kindermusik classes will no longer be happening. 😢 Also, if you see a free piano for sale on Facebook it’s definitely a scam. I was told by someone who checked it out. 😊

CHANGE OUR REACTION…CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY

He’s 4.

The temptation to dump the entire box of blocks was just too much. The sound, the colors, the scatter of hundreds of blocks…GLORIOUS!

For his parent? The sound, the colors and the scatter of hundreds of blocks produced a much different reaction: Stress! What a mess!

For many reading this, the initial response from the parent is predictable and understandable.

‘That’s was bad’.
‘That’s not what your supposed to do’.
‘You made a mess, clean it up now!’

That reaction could surely create some big behaviors and a power struggle. Why? Because the child saw nothing wrong with what they did, so the parent’s reaction doesn’t make sense to them. Why clean this masterpeice up?

What if we didn’t react in that way? What if we saw ‘the mess’ through the lens of the child: as an opportunity!?!

This happened in one of my recent sessions. I felt the tension in the parent as the blocks scattered everywhere. I understood what they were feeling. I totally got it.

My reaction to the mess? “Wow!”

(I felt that ‘wow’ captured both the mild heart attack as well as the awe of so many blocks going everywhere.)

And then, we played.

We bulldozed all the blocks into a big pile and made truck sounds while we were doing it. We stacked as many blocks as we could using our fingers and rolled on our backs when the tower collapsed, as if we were collapsing, too. We lined up the blocks in color order, and then messed it up again. Then, we took our hands and pretended to be giant cranes, scooping up as many blocks as we could and dropping them in the box.

And by doing that, we just cleaned up. I ackowledged the cleaning up and we gleefully moved on to something else.

The mess was gone and the stress was gone. What we got was some great sensory play, color matching, cause/effect, fine motor coordination, graded control, imitation and imagination, all while holding the expectation that if we have a spill, we have to clean it up. Everybody won.

Here’s a truth bomb: It’s really, REALLY hard to stay regulated when there are spills, breaks or messes! The dysregulation can seem to be instantaneous, but how we react can change the trajectory of the situation. Approaching the situation from a place of calm can lead to a strong sense of connection and felt safety in the child. To raise our voice and immediately insist that the child clean up the mess sends a confusing and scary message that they did something wrong, when they were really just being a kid.

It's not easy.
It takes work.
We’re going to mess up, and that’s ok…we’re learning. Give yourself grace.

Staying regulated and connected with a child is so important. It also feels better for everyone! And when we mess up, we repair and try again. You got this!

Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist
www.gregsantucci.com

Hi everyone. After 22 years of teaching the wonderful worldwide Kindermusik programme I have for a number of reasons, made the very sad decision to close down and have already taught my final class. I have loved this programme so much and will miss all the wonderful parents and the happy little faces of the children who have given me so much joy. I hope their experiences will influence their lives in some way. Thanks to those who have supported my page here.

💕

From WeAreTeachers

LANITA NUMINA 💙🧡🖤💚🤍❤️
www.sister7.gallery on Larrakia Country
Lanita is the Eldest of the SIX renowned Anmatyerr Numina Sisters with her new painting - My Country - The women collecting bush tucker Katyerr (bush melon) and Aaki (bush plum) digging for Kwaty (water) walking along the creekbeds collecting everything in their coolamon bowl and teaching the young ones all the time.

💙💛💖💜🧡💚 SELINA NUMINA 😍
www.sister7.gallery on Larrakia Country
Kurrajong flowers - Anmatyerr/Atnangkerre
The Kurrajong leaves are used to make the bush medicine we need made by Anmatyerr women - after the desert rains the kurrajong flowers and then sends it seed to the ground to regrow on Atnangkerre Country for the bush medicine we make to be healthy always and forever 😊

Beautiful Harpsichord. 😍