Did you hear that?

An important part of the Kindermusik experience is practicing active listening. In class we've listened to environmental sounds, animal sounds, and parts of songs, and then we talk about what we heard.

“Active listening is a process that goes beyond the physical act of hearing. It is an intellectual and emotional process that integrates a full range of inputs in a search for the meaning of and an understanding of a sender’s message. It involves listening between the lines to hear what is not said as well as what is said.” Early Childhood Education: Blending Theory, Blending Practice by Lawrence J. Johnson, M.J. LaMontagne, Peggy M. Elgas and Anne M. Bauer.

The following thoughts on listening skills from Danielle, another Kindermusik educator made me laugh:

"I was just thinking about the necessity for developing our children’s listening skills. As I sit in my living room and hear a beep or chime, I ask my husband: Is that my phone? Is that your phone? Is that my phone’s battery dying? Your phone’s battery dying? Is that the answering machine beeping? Or is that the microwave? Is that the oven timer? Is that the security sensor? Is that the smoke detector? Or the smoke detector battery dying? Could that be the signal to change the filter of refrigerator, air purifier, coffeemaker? Or is that someone’s phone on the TV? Is that the front doorbell? The back doorbell? Could that be a construction truck backing up outside? Is that the ringing in my ears?

"Our little ones have lived with these sounds all their lives. And now they need to recognize different ringtones for persons on their phone lists. We’d better get busy honing their listening skills so they can make it through life without catastrophes!"

I like to talk about the difference between hearing, which is passive, and listening, which is active. It takes practice to be a good listener.

Jacob's latest joke

Since there is an eight-year-old in our household, we are on the receiving end of lots and lots of jokes. Great jokes--clean and silly and funny. The best part is the joy, the glee, with which Jacob tells his latest. Then, once you laugh and he laughs with you, he dashes off to find another family member and tells it again.

Why wasn't Cinderella very good at soccer?

Because her coach was a pumpkin.

another book to love

When Leah, my 5-year-old daughter, really loves a book, she takes it with her where ever she goes. And the book she just took with her to the grocery store with her daddy is Betsy-Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace (gotta love that name), originially published in 1940. Leah's right--it's wonderful, one of those books that captures a small, shimmering piece of childhood and holds it up to the light. It's a chapter book, a read-aloud for Leah and me, with very sweet illustrations at each chapter head. Two little girls, Betsy and Tacy, meet and become fast friends when Tacy moves into the house right across the street from Betsy, and lots of little-girl adventures ensue. This is even more magical for Leah, because she is right now watching the building of a new house on the lot right across the street. Will a little girl just her age move in? We all certainly hope so.

What's more, this is a series, so if you fall in love with Betsy and Tacy, you can read them through adulthood. Available at the Westover Library. Enjoy!

Your musical quote for the day

Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. ~Charlie Parker

The kind of dolls who immediately become friends

Please go say hi to Hillary Lang and her creations over at this blog: http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/

I predict you will be glad you did. Love 'em!

We are the music

This from Kindermusik Educator Wendy Jones, via the blog of another Kindermusik educator and good friend of mine, Heidi Day (Hi, Heidi!)

"A Kindermusik class involves body, mind and soul. Too many people think of music as something that needs to be provided for them, and the whole point of Kindermusik is to help children AND families realize that music is something which everyone can make and that doesn't require all sorts of special instruments and professional, 'already made' music. Beat-keeping and instrumental ensemble play to a recorded sound source is only one of the ways music happens. Music should be coming from the children to prepare them for the next step, when they are ready to sing whole songs on pitch, read rhythms and notes, and play both percussion and melodic instruments. A child who sings only with a recording is not relying on their own internal pitch sense, and the same child singing unaccompanied with their peers is developing a much better sense of listening to the group to match pitch, tempo, and style. Movements need to be labelled, discussed, and explored to develop competency and range before adding them into dances--otherwise, a child tends to stick with a much smaller range of expressive movements when moving to a recording. Most importantly, the child who is constantly given the message that 'real music' is the recorded type is receiving a very powerful message about the worth of his or her own musicality, which WILL affect their later willingness to create and develop as musicians. Rhymes ARE music training- how else can we later understand the rhythmic patterns we read? Singing IS music training- we need to produce pitch ourselves in order to hear and feel its motion. Movement IS musical- all musical concepts can be explored through body movement, and a child needs concrete experience and labels to understand abstract musical concepts.Lastly, in this age of children's videos, CDs, and computer games, we need to send a strong message to the children we reach that YOU CAN DO THIS, and that what you are doing is the 'real thing', not just a makeshift version or 'make-do' in the absence of something. It has broken my heart a few times in classes over the years to see puzzled looks on the faces of a few 3-4's as we sang, played instruments with our singing, and then heard them say, "but when will the music start?" or "when will you turn on the tape so we can make music?" We ARE the music.

Now that's a symphony

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury; and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babies and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony."

William Ellery Channing

Thank you for this one, to Ali at this blog: http://aliedwards.typepad.com/