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
cleaning help near Mundelein ..The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all... Read More
Self-reliance and potential are two very important values that I'd... Read More
Are you a parent concerned about passing values on to... Read More
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More
Have you ever sat and watch a child struggle with... Read More
John was a 43 year-old sales manager at a large... Read More
Recently, a parent came to me, conflicted over whether to... Read More
Public-school teaching is structured in such a way that it... Read More
Wooden toys are one of the best alternatives for the... Read More
What do you mean average? Not good? Just doing good... Read More
The internet is a dangerous place for your children. Don't... Read More
'I felt great until I walked into the classroom -... Read More
You send your child to school and the teachers teach... Read More
I recall somewhere in the recesses of my aging brain... Read More
O.K. I've heard it a hundred times from my prison... Read More
Today the little red school house is not what it... Read More
Whenever parents discuss how to deal with bed wetting, the... Read More
The choices are mind numbing. Walk into any toy store... Read More
To the untrained eye, it might look like a piece... Read More
Many research studies have shown the overall effectiveness of stimulant... Read More
It's been said, time and again, that for a child... Read More
I look out of the window as I am writing... Read More
Thank you for all that you do in the classroom!... Read More
There are a few points about shyness in children which... Read More
The school holidays are a great time for the kids,... Read More
reliable maid service Wilmette ..21 Reasons I Love Being A DadWhat you will read... Read More
The 'phone conversation had nothing at all to do with... Read More
From the book Spider's Night on the BoomI've only begun... Read More
4 traps to avoidTrap 1 - Parents need to realize... Read More
Children are notoriously bad at drinking enough liquids. They are... Read More
If you ever walk through an orphanage, it will be... Read More
Research literature, recent books, and common sense, all point to... Read More
Have you made your usual New Year resolutions? You know... Read More
Here's some of the bad news about sedentary lifestyles:? Forty... Read More
You want your daughter to wear a dress to the... Read More
For parents, keeping our kids safe is a constant top... Read More
Ask any teacher or adolescent counselor what the most disturbing... Read More
"The best blush to use is laughter: It put roses... Read More
Oh yes you have! Suddenly, "Where's Bobby?" You instantly realize... Read More
Here we will come to know who are the most... Read More
Though you can cover even very long distances by car... Read More
As a parent there are lots of things that you... Read More
The advances in science over the past century have been... Read More
How often do you think of family life as an... Read More
I remember when my daughter was born, later my son.... Read More
Here are some tips that I have picked up from... Read More
Q. When you consult with a family with teens, what... Read More
LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2005) - With Memorial Day weekend,... Read More
Anyone can splurge on a formal dinner or a pricey... Read More
Having worked with parents for the last 35 years and... Read More
Parenting |