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
Rolling Meadows Cadillac Escalade rental .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareAlthough many children are picky eaters at some stage in... Read More
When it comes to the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity... Read More
Sitterphobe "I never have a second to myself," this mother... Read More
"Now don't you go getting any ideas, Harold.""Don't you get... Read More
Raising a pre-teen or teenage daughter (or son) is not... Read More
Nothing touches the heartstrings of a parent more than the... Read More
By the time your children reach their teens, there is... Read More
Courage means doing the right thing when it is hard,... Read More
Research has shown that the present generation of children worldwide... Read More
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading was conceived... Read More
Single parenting has seemingly become an acceptable norm which is... Read More
When a child wets the bed they worry. Children tend... Read More
So you're pregnant. Congratulations! Your life is about to change... Read More
Is there a fathering instinct?Celebrated child development expert Erik Erikson... Read More
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More
Many people consider plush toys great for children. They say... Read More
As a hypnotherapist, I am acutely aware of the power... Read More
Looking for an unusual and memorable gift? Why not preserve... Read More
Search for Assurance: The Power of BelongingThe job hunt is... Read More
Did you know that the school system is only able... Read More
My thirteen-year-old daughter recently called me up to say she... Read More
Though you can cover even very long distances by car... Read More
Recently, a much-anticipated game of mini-golf with my children soon... Read More
"Where did he come up with that?" Kids often amaze... Read More
Can you draw a straight line? Most adults don't consider... Read More
Des Moines rental limo ..Saturday mornings. Cold cereal and Scooby Doo. How many parents... Read More
We were sitting in the family room. My kids had... Read More
A number of scientific studies have shown the way a... Read More
I have been a single mom for almost 20 years.... Read More
It's hard to explain to the uninitiated the changes that... Read More
It may seem obvious to many people why literacy is... Read More
A friend phoned her neighbor, complaining about the wafts of... Read More
Everyone knows that exercise is good for your health. Exercising... Read More
Once the newness has worn off a little, you will... Read More
There is nothing pleasant about failure, at least not at... Read More
Vinegar or honey, what do kids really want? "Toys, candy,... Read More
"I don't know and I don't care."I've heard those words... Read More
Bath time can be fun or it can be a... Read More
Throughout the year, many days of celebration are tucked capriciously... Read More
Finding answers to a child's underachievement is often a difficult... Read More
If You're Having Twins..is it double the headache, or double... Read More
Did you know there's a game children and parents play... Read More
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the phrase that is... Read More
So you're going to become a father. Now is not... Read More
Although it's hard to say when the first stuffed dogs... Read More
Goal setting is essential for building a successful life. However,... Read More
LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2005) - With Memorial Day weekend,... Read More
My cousin boasts five names and I confess that when... Read More
Do your children have a McChildhood? Do they experience the... Read More
So your little Susie wants to join a competitive gymnastic... Read More
Parenting |