Founded in the United States in 1978, Kindermusik is an early childhood education

Early childhood education

Early childhood education is the formal teaching and care of young children by people other than their family or in settings outside of the home. 'Early childhood' is usually defined as before the age of normal schooling - five years in most nations, though the U.S...

 music and movement

Music and movement

The term Music and movement often especially denotes the use of rhythmic song and dance in education, thought of as beneficial for childhood development...

 program for children from infants to 7 years of age (2nd grade in Elementary School

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

). It is based on a Kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 music and movement program developed by educational experts in Germany in the 1960’s. When developing Kindermusik’s curriculum

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

, the original creative team drew on the works of esteemed musicians and educators from Europe and Asia, including Shinichi Suzuki

Shinichi Suzuki

was the inventor of the international Suzuki method of music education. Considered an influential and controversial pedagogue, he often spoke of the ability of all children to learn things well, in the right environment.- Biography :...

, Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator, a noted humanitarian and devout Catholic best known for the philosophy of education which bears her name...

, Zoltan Kodaly

Zoltán Kodály

Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....

, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze

Émile Jaques-Dalcroze

Émile Jaques-Dalcroze , was a Swiss composer, musician and music educator who developed eurhythmics, a method of learning and experiencing music through movement...

 and Carl Orff

Carl Orff

Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...

.

Within a few years, Kindermusik programs had expanded into Canada, and, from there, around the world. More than 1 million families in at least 60 countries have attended Kindermusik classes in programs worldwide.

The Kindermusik curriculum is based on the research of the original creators, but has been revised as the curriculum development team examines emerging research in child development, music and education. The program uses high-quality recordings, instruments, and award-winning literature books along with traditional nursery rhymes, fingerplays and songs to build a strong foundation of not only music education, but other areas of development, including cognitive, emotional, social, physical, and language development.

The phrase derives from the German for Children's Music.

Kindermusik International

Kindermusik International

Kindermusik International, Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina. Kindermusik is a method of early childhood education and is one of the most widely recognized music and movement programs for young children.-History:...

 is a company based in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 that develops the curricula and materials used by Licensed Kindermusik Programs around the world.

"Kindermusik (Demo)" is the name of a five song demo tape independently released by New York City based industrial metal band Hanzel und Gretyl

Hanzel und Gretyl

Hanzel und Gretyl are an Industrial metal music group formed by members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas in February 1993. In the 1990s their sound was described as a genre-defying blend of sci-fi metal/electronic and experimental, but into the new millennium they adopted a decidedly heavier sound...

in 1994.