Magical Music Method

Perhaps the tide is shifting, because parents are now embracing learning alongside their children.

Our children will thrive in seeing us learn new things, make mistakes and still persevere. It’s hard to relate to someone who does everything perfectly, but seeing someone learn and still continuing- that’s inspiring.

So if you’re a parent who values a musical and creative mind and think that music is an essential foundation for all children, I’d love for you to check out my method. It guides all parents no matter their experience on how to start teaching music like a language and bringing it into the home everyday. 🎶

For Part 1, see pinned post where I show 5 different clapping games!

Many children are struggling with crossing the midline and fine motor skills, rhythm and keeping a beat- all essential components for literacy.

It used to be that kids would play like this all the time, and now it’s becoming more rare.

Save this post if you have kiddos or work with kiddos and let’s get the kids clapping again! 🙌

We know the plethora of benefits music and art provides us.

But perhaps the most significant impact is not in what it does for us, but how it shapes us in what we do for others.

My whole professional life has been about the importance of music, even if it often seems like it falls on deaf ears. Starting from a 16 year old girl teaching piano lessons to the neighbors, to a music degree, running a music studio and gigging and thinking I knew how it important it was.

When it actually took becoming a parent and experiencing life in all its ups and downs to realize that music really isn’t self serving in its aims. It makes us better so that the world around us can be better.

The discipline. The hard work for small pay. The constant undermining of the intrinsic value by society. It all reflects the selflessness we are called to aspire to. The same selflessness reflected in these beautiful works of art.

Even if Holy Week is not a significant week for you in your belief system, I hope that the message of this post is that music and art is meant to make us see each other more clearly.

So that if we see each other clearly we may then make choices that are for the betterment of all. That make us empathize rather than scorn. Help rather than be unmoved. Encourage rather than ridicule.

And in our current times, we need more moral people who are not swayed by money and power, but rather swayed by what is good, beautiful and honorable.

Raising children is the most important work.

Just some thoughts that were swimming around in my head this week.

Tell me some of your thoughts this week if you care to share and if Holy Week is a week that makes you reflect more than usual.

This is the post to save if you have or teach kiddos! 🙌

Clapping games should be an essential part of childhood! They build up so many skills through play! The way children are meant to learn.

Pat a cake and a sailor went to sea are particularly great for the littlest as they have actions which enable every child to join in before they can even clap back!

Teach these clapping games to your kids and encourage them to show their friends. Let’s get the kids clapping and singing again.

Some March musings for those of you in a similar season of life. ❤️

Keep passing on the culture. Keep up the intentional parenting. Keep up the sacrifices and keep up building joy from scratch.

I’m sure the internet is tired of hearing about this certain celeb, and I concur. However, I find the discussion about what it signals about our culture far more interesting to discuss.

Because this discussion about opera and ballet aren’t really just about art and ballet. They signal something deeper.

What do you think? Are the “dying” art forms synonymous with a culture that doesn’t value things for their intrinsic worth?

I love talking about this topic, because I think babies are not given nearly enough credit or respect. And yet all the science points towards their deep understanding, abilities and how their nervous system is doing some of the most transformative work of its life.

How we are treated in early childhood becomes imprinted on us as human beings. And the truth is that even at our smallest we are craving beauty and connection.

We hear our mother’s heart beat. Our first experience of sound is that heart. It’s why we are so sensitive to rhythm on a fundamental level.

One of my favorite studies shows that babies remembered melodies that were played frequently to them in utero. And not just after birth, but even a few months later!

This means that singing to your baby- even if it’s the same song, will have a tremendous impact. Some musicians even sing scales to their babies. 🙋‍♀️

And then when your baby is born and you sing that same melody they heard before they were born, they will recognize it. It may help even when nothing else seems to soothe them during those early finding your footing days. And as added bonus, you will feel calmer too, because singing will help regulate your heart beat too. ❤️

As an interesting side note, the piece “The Swan,” you hear being played is one of the pieces of music they used in the study in Mexico to measure babies response to classical music. It’s a beautiful piece to listen to if you’re pregnant, a new mom, a toddler parent, or a lover of beauty. 🦢🎻🎶