The Sound of Learning: Building Listening Skills Through Kindermusik
The Sound of Learning: Building Listening Skills Through Kindermusik When we think about listening, we often imagine simply hearing what’s around us; but hearing and listening are not the same thing. Hearing is an ability; our ears pick up sounds automatically. Listening, on the other hand, is a skill; one that children must practice, develop, and refine over time. In Kindermusik, we help children strengthen this vital life skill through something called sound discrimination; the ability to tell the difference between sounds and focus on what we hear with intention. Sound discrimination helps children notice that a trumpet sounds different from a flute, or that “bat” and “pat” start with different letter sounds. It’s what allows them to recognize a parent’s voice in a crowd or hear the difference between a question and a statement. As children practice distinguishing one sound from another, they’re also building active listening — the ability to hear something and repeat it back with a...