Teacher conducts valuable lessons in Kindermusik

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By Kara Houser, Staff Writer
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November 16, 2009 — Have you ever tried to teach music theory to a five year old?

Teresa Birch does it multiple times a day...and it all started from teaching primary music.

A member of the 6th Ward in the Spokane Washington Stake, Birch teaches a program that incorporates basic music theory into lessons for toddlers that are said to improve literacy and language skills.

Birch was actually a primary music teacher before starting her first Kindermusik class. Having seen Birch's teaching style with children in primary, one of her piano students casually mentioned that she would be a great Kindermusik teacher.

Teresa Birch teaches 26 kindermusik classes each week. Contributed Photo.

Birch, who was busy with piano lessons and raising her family, brushed the idea aside. However, when her husband became unable to work due to medical complications, she suddenly found herself the main breadwinner of the family and was reminded of her student's idea. Seven years later, Birch has almost totally quit giving piano lessons and now teaches a total of over two dozen Kindermusik classes each week.

A visit to Birch's class for 5-to 7-year olds is a fun experience. Eight children sit wiggling on the floor while "Ms. Teresa" sits on the floor in front of them, explaining each activity. They clap basic musical rhythms, and then work on identifying the musical symbols associated with each rhythm.

The students take a short break to shake off some energy by jumping ten times - then it's back to working on hearing the differences between high and low sounds. They play games and sing songs, and even have a short story time where they learn about Mozart and the music he wrote. One boy immediately raises his hand and asks about Mozart's funny hair. Ms. Teresa compliments his good observation and they have a brief, animated discussion about his wig.

After class is over, Birch takes a few minutes to eat a quick lunch and, in between bites, explain a little more about how Kindermusik has become such a big part of her life.

"I was pretty skeptical at first," she said. "I wondered why parents couldn't just teach their kids at home."

But as she learned more about the program and the child development experts that created it, she became a believer.

"It lays a good musical foundation, but more than that, it's about the whole child," she said.

Using music as a vehicle, classes are focused on every area of child development. Hand-eye coordination, listening and comprehension, interaction with others, coordination, imagination, emotional balance, and language are all developed through various activities.

A Kindermusik teacher goes through extensive training, is licensed, and held to a very high standard. Caregivers are expected to be a part of each class, and there are materials for each child to work on at home.

Birch admits this job is not a big income-earner, but as she says, "I feel so lucky to be able to do something I love. It feels like a beautiful, happy bubble of joy. No matter what's happening outside in the world, in here it's good."

She also loves that the classes give families extra help and ideas of how to incorporate music at home. Classes are offered for infants to kids up to age 7 and Birch says that many students, by the time they leave the program, can read and write basic music in treble clef and discern different types of music. Many can also play simple music on glockenspiel (pre-keyboard), string and wind instruments, which can help the parents and children emphasize what musical instrument suits them best for future lessons.

What has Birch learned most over the last seven years? "I understand better about different learning styles," she said. Some children take longer to process. I try to encourage each of them."

Obviously Birch is doing something right, because her Kindermusik studio has now earned the rank of "Maestro Conductor's Circle" which means that they are in the top 1 percent of Kindermusik studios in the entire world.

It still takes a lot of work for Birch to adapt lessons and activities to the different dynamics of each class even though the curriculum is well written. She takes every interruption in stride, and makes sure everyone has a chance to participate.

It's all part of a well-tuned approach to an educational symphony.

For more information on Teresa Birch's Kindermusik classes, visit her website today!

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