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Kindermusik- Family

Category

Family Support

Child's Age

0-1 years, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, 4-5 years

Participant

Children, Parents/Guardian

Languages

English, Spanish

Brief Description

Kindermusik's music and movement studio classes are designed for parents/caregivers and their young children to support their child’s achievement of developmental milestones through an engaging, interactive group meeting.

Expected Impact

  • Improved connection with infants
  • Increase in parent’s social support (bonding, connecting with other parents and infants, engaging in conversations)
  • Increase in positive parenting practices (cuddling, reading together, learning how to interact with children)
  • Improved levels of social-emotional self-regulation
  • Improved confidence in parenting skills and interactions with their child

Core Components for Model Fidelity

  • Group Classes: Music and movement group classes with children and their caregivers. Classes are led by an Accredited Educator and delineated based on the child’s age (Foundations for ages 0-1; Level 1 for ages 12-24 months; Level 2 for ages 2-3; Level 3 for age 3-early pre-k; and Level 4 for PreK+, to be released summer of 2023). Group sizes vary depending on the level (e.g., up to 4 children in Foundations and up to 20 children in Level 3) with a typical class size being about 8-12 caregiver-child dyads.
  • Kindermusik App: Kindermusik classes are supported by the Kindermusik app’s home materials such as virtual field trips, audiobooks, and craft videos. This is used for caregivers to reinforce the activities from the group class between meetings.
  • Training: For Smart Start purposes, all facilitators must be Accredited Educators through Kindermusik’s training services.

Languages Materials are Available in

English, Spanish

Delivery Mode

In-person group classes.

Dosage

Group classes last approximately 30-45 minutes and meet once a week for 14-16 weeks. The minimum recommended dosage is 8 weeks/sessions.

Infrastructure for Implementation

Materials: Through accreditation, educators have access to digital teacher guides, Kindermusik’s free enrollment system, monthly marketing resources, and other exclusive supports. Accredited Educators need access to technology to use the Kindermusik mobile app. Educators must also purchase curricula through Kindermusik’s website. Prices and materials vary. 

Space: Ample space for group classes is necessary.

Staffing Requirements

Kindermusik group facilitators must be Accredited Educators to teach instructor-led curricula. 

NCPC strongly recommends staff receive training in the Standards of Quality for Family Support and Strengthening. Contact Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina (PCANC) or National Family Support Network (NFSN) for more information, training, and certification. 

Training for Model Fidelity

For NCPC purposes, all Kindermusik facilitators must be trained and accredited to provide classes to families with children in the age group they teach. For more information, visit the Kindermusik training webpage.

  • Training: NCPC requires completing premium training. Premium training for each level costs $349 per trainee. Discounted rates are available for groups; contact support@kindermusik.com for more information. Premium training courses are virtual and self-paced, requiring approximately 15 hours to complete. Trainees have 90 days to complete the training. These sessions include weekly group meetings with an experienced Kindermusik University Coach, access to a private peer-support forum, a 4-week live practicum with personal feedback from the Coach, a self-paced training course, knowledge and comprehension quizzes, videos of class activities, and limited-time access to a Kindermusik curriculum unit. There are 3 levels of training available (Foundations for ages 0-1, Level 2 for ages 2-3, and Level 3 for age 3-early pre-k).
  • Accreditation: NCPC requires accreditation. Educators must be accredited for each level they teach. The application fee for accreditation is $25 per level. The accreditation exam fee is $75 per level. The monthly accreditation fee is $63.95.
  • Optional Workshops: Kindermusik also offers optional workshops for professional development. These workshops are open to any professional who works with, instructs, or cares for children.

Contact Information

https://www.kindermusik.com/families

support@kindermusik.com

Melanie Kennedy: mkennedy@kindermusik.com; 800-628-5687 ext. 2007

Cost Estimates

NCPC requires that all facilitators be Accredited Educators and complete premium training for each level they teach. Visit the Kindermusik class locator webpage to find Accredited Educators in the community.

Premium training for each level costs $349 per trainee. Discounted rates are available for groups; contact support@kindermusik.com for more information.

The application fee for accreditation is $25 per level. The accreditation exam fee is $75 per level. The monthly accreditation fee is $63.95 (flat rate, not per level).

Costs of Kindermusik curricula kits depend on age level and number of materials required. Kits are available for purchase through Kindermusik’s website. For more information, visit the Kindermusik catalog.

Purpose Service Code (PSC)

5505 - Parent Education

Program Identifier (PID)

Kindermusik- Family

Minimal Outputs for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Number of parents/guardians participating†
  • Number of children participating

Minimal Outcomes for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Increase in positive parenting practices

Minimal Measures for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • NCPC Adapted Kindermusik Survey

NCPC Evidence Categorization

Evidence Informed- 3 articles written about Kindermusik delivered in family groups, all published in the last 11 years. Only 1 study used an informal comparison group.

Research Summary

The most recent publications on Kindermusik include a case study,1 a study comparing Kindermusik participants to non-participants,2 and a non-experimental study reflecting the experiences of teen mothers participating in Kindermusik.3  Little information was provided on the sample populations in the research. Results of these studies indicated that mothers participating in Kindermusik classes reported feeling more connected with their infants and the researchers observed indicators of positive parenting practices and bonding among participants. The research also found that children in Kindermusik classes demonstrated greater self-regulation than their peers who were not in Kindermusik classes, and parents reported greater self-confidence in their parenting skills and interactions with their child after completing Kindermusik classes.

  1. ^ See Barrett (2009). This is a case study of one family’s experience with Kindermusik, in which the parents reported greater self-confidence in their parenting skills and interactions with their child. Research measures included parent video and written diaries, parent and caregiver interviews, and observations by the researchers.
  2. ^ See Winsler, Ducenne, & Koury (2011). This study was included in Child Care & Early Education Research Connections and found that children in Kindermusik classes demonstrated greater self-regulation than their peers who were not in Kindermusik classes. This study was limited in its sample’s homogenous demographics, as most participants were Caucasian, middle to upper-middle class, and from a two-parent household. The sample size was small (n = 89), and their levels of statistical significance and effect sizes were moderate. Research measures included a self-regulation task battery, gift-in-bag task, and SAT items.
  3. ^ See Emmerson, Nicol & McIntyre (2016). This study delivered 8 45-minute Kindermusik lessons to a group of 13 young mothers (16 to 21 years of age) and their infants (5 weeks to 25 months of age) in a mid-size city’s alternative high school. The sample population included mothers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, including Aboriginal or multiple ethnicities. Research measures included observations written by the authors and focus group interviews held with the mothers after sessions. Mothers reported feeling more connected with their infants and the researchers observed indicators of positive parenting practices and bonding among participants. Limitations include a lack of a comparison group and failing to measure the mothers’ perspectives before the program began.

Researched Population

  • Children ages 0 to 7 years
  • Teen parents
  • Families from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds

Clearinghouse and Compendium References

Child Care & Early Education Research Connections

Barrett, M. S. (2009). Sounding Lives in and Through Music: A Narrative Inquiry of the ‘Everyday’ Musical Engagement of a Young Child. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 7(2), 115-134. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X09102645

Emmerson, J., Nicol, J. J., & McIntyre, l. J. (2016). Teen Mother and Child Experiences in a Parent-Child Music Program. Creative Education, 07, 941-951. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2016.77098

Winsler, A., Ducenne, L., & Koury, A. (2011). Singing One’s Way to Self-Regulation: The Role of Early Music and Movement Curricula and Private Speech. Early Education and Development, 22(2), 274-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409280903585739



Local Partnerships Currently Implementing

Local Partnerships in purple have adopted Kindermusik- Family. Local Partnership contact information can be found here.