Do you remember how you first learned the alphabet? I am quite sure that the majority of us learnt it by singing the ABC Song: 'ABCDEFG-HIJKLMNOP-QRS-TUV-WXY-and-Z...'
There is no doubt that music and songs are one of the best means to teach children new information and knowledge. And over the last 25 years, many researches and studies have been done to find out how music influences our brain and how we can use music to help us learn faster and more effectively. And it has been found that our brain is most open and receptive to incoming information when it is in a special state of relaxation.
That type of relaxation is not to get you into sleep. It's a state of relaxed alertness - what we sometimes call relaxed awareness. For those who learn relaxation techniques such as Yoga, you know it is the state when our brain is at Alpha.
The study of super-memory and the brain started back in the 1950's by a Bulgarian psychiatrist and educator, George Lozanov. After years of research, he concluded that we all have an 'optimum learning state'. This occurs, he said "when heart-beat, breath-rate and brain-waves are smoothly synchronized and the body is relaxed but the mind concentrated and ready to receive new information."
Lozanov put his research into practice and achieved some amazing results, particularly in foreign-language learning. It was reported that Lozanov had helped Bulgarian students learn 1,200 words in a day, using his method.
Today we know that it is fairly easy for people to achieve that ideal learning state. Deep breathing is one of the first keys. Music is the second.
Music played at different beats and tempos influences our moods differently, and in turn it affects how our mind functions (which determines our actions).
Have you ever noticed how departmental stores use music to sway the mood of their customers within their premise and to regulate the flow of human traffic? During off-peak period, they will play soothing music to help shoppers relax so that they will stay longer in the stores and as a result buy more things. During peak hours when the stores are crowded and they need to get the human traffic to move faster so that more people can come in to the stores, they will play fast and loud music.
Likewise, we can use music to our advantage by helping our children in their learning and enhancing their concentration.
If you would like to put your child in the best state of mind when doing something or learning new skills and knowledge, you can try playing soothing music with a 50 to 70 beats per minute pattern.
The most common music to achieve that state comes from the baroque school of composers, in the 17th and early 18th centuries: the Italian Arcangelo Corelli, the Venician Antonio Vivaldi, the French Francois Coupertin and the Germans, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel.
Some of our favourite music pieces that my wife and I play at home for our children, Ethel and Ethan, when they are at play and learn:
- Vivaldi's Four Seasons - one of the best-known pieces of baroque music that helps you to shut out other thoughts and visualise the seasons of the year
- Handel's Water Music - a deeply soothing piece
- Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D - our favourite to relieve tension
If you have yet to introduce music when educating your child, start using it today; it will put your child in a relaxed, receptive state, helping her focus and learn more effectively.
Article by Alvin Poh, founder of Learning Champ, a parenting wesbite that provides information and resources to parents, who want to help their children develop the important skills and mind set for a brighter future -> http://www.alvinkh.per.sg/learningchamp
monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..Each child carries a unique picture of the self, shaped... Read More
Most teens go into the work world ill-prepared to manage... Read More
Some years ago when touring the Scottish Highlands, a man... Read More
Although many parents are concerned with our children's intelligence quotient... Read More
the woes of being a parent of an ADHD child.....Like... Read More
The back-to-school shopping is done. Brand new pencils, colored markers,... Read More
The Theme from MASHI flipped the button on the remote... Read More
Having a babysitter take care of your kids is sometimes... Read More
A study done by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found... Read More
Many times, we are so conditioned in how we speak... Read More
Finding answers to a child's underachievement is often a difficult... Read More
Just as every snowflake is unique, so is every child.... Read More
Every now and then I'll get a story sent to... Read More
O.K. So now you have taken the step of having... Read More
Is there a fathering instinct?Celebrated child development expert Erik Erikson... Read More
Most of us can agree that there is a lack... Read More
Why do some children still do best after divorce and... Read More
An address given by Rev. David B. Smith... Read More
Studies have shown that:1 out of 4 children were sent... Read More
A friend phoned her neighbor, complaining about the wafts of... Read More
As parents, we strive to address all of the questions... Read More
Mommy (Daddy), Why do those people want to hurt everyone?Last... Read More
Teri was 5. As younger siblings do, she looked up... Read More
There are a few points about shyness in children which... Read More
Having been a parent educator and a PBS consultant for... Read More
scheduled maid service Mundelein ..In my opinion, these things matter...1. Enjoying childlike delights before... Read More
Although nothing anybody says can ever completely prepare a woman... Read More
When choosing the perfect jogging stroller, a very important question... Read More
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More
For several years now, I've told the following story as... Read More
Why Me?"We should certainly count our blessings, but we should... Read More
For most children, it is easy to learn to read... Read More
Potty training fears, often called toilet terrors, are common among... Read More
In his recent newsletter "Happy Kids", parenting expert Michael Grose... Read More
Little Suzy has really been having a hard time getting... Read More
There are times when my ideas of raising a child... Read More
When my oldest daughter was born, I walked the floor... Read More
It was at that time when our marriage was falling... Read More
John Bishop's Goal Setting for Students.comLegacy to Your ChildrenIt's 6:30... Read More
Teens can freely access the Internet from computers at school,... Read More
Single parenting has seemingly become an acceptable norm which is... Read More
It can be hard being a parent with a teen... Read More
We are all familiar with the stories that most students... Read More
Oh Please, Don't Say Maybe!!!!Are you often a participant in... Read More
Do you have a consistent problem with your child lying... Read More
Here is a list of ways to convey the message... Read More
The biggest complaint you hear from parents about their children... Read More
1. Make stronger connections among individuals and, therefore, creates a... Read More
Early childhood educators have called play "children's work". Many parents... Read More
There may really be a real monster under your kid???s... Read More
Parenting |