Jingle Jangle Christmas!

Jingle Jangle Christmas Celebration
Enjoy one hour of Kindermusik fun with Christmas music and activities.
Date: Monday - December 17th
Times: 9:00, 10:10, or 11:15 AM
Cost: $10 per child
Come celebrate this wonderful season with your child.
Spaces will fill quickly, so be sure to register today!

Thankful thoughts

It has been our tradition for many years now to decorate our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday, but I love decorating our tree.

My husband and I have collected one ornament for each year of our marriage. Often the ornament itself represents something significant that happened that year, and it's fun to think back and remember. I have also received quite a few ornaments from my students over the years. I love pulling each one out and remembering the children they came from. There's the green elf from the Matthew, my musical angels from Parker, and my Raggedy Ann and Andy ornaments from Ellie. Many of these families I haven't seen in years, but I still remember them. Each ornament brings back cherished memories of lives I have been privileged to touch and who have touched my heart forever. I truly have so much to be thankful for!

It's a fincharooapillar!

I had a blast making new animals at Switcharoo Zoo. You can choose from different animal body parts and make the funniest looking creations. It will even give interesting facts about the animals you choose. I wanted to post a picture of one of my creations here, but I couldn't save it to a file. You'll just have to use your imagination to see my fincharooapillar!

Thanks to my daughter, Rachel, for the head's up!

Now accepting smiling faces!

Registration has begun for our January semester. I hope you and your child will make plans to join us! You can view our class schedule and further information here.
I'll look forward to seeing your smiling faces soon!

Why I teach music

I am privileged to work with many children, including some who have been abused and now live in the custody of the state. I am only one music teacher, and, at times, I have questioned my ability to work with these children. I want to create something meaningful and lasting in their lives, but they have been stripped down to bare survival instincts. How do you reach past such a barricade and remind them that it is ok to just be a child, to laugh, to trust, to believe that life is full of wonderful possibilities?

These were some of the questions that haunted me on a return trip home from the foster facility recently. I had met a new child in class. She and her sister were the same age as my own two daughters. She sat sadly in a corner and wouldn’t even look at me. I tried every technique I knew to make a connection with her, but I couldn’t see that I even made a dent. As I was leaving, I overheard one of the other children remark, “She says she misses her mom! Doesn’t she think I miss mine too?” I cried for them all the way home. Did I believe in music anymore? What was I accomplishing there, anyway?

I did a lot of soul searching that week and here’s what I found. I do believe profoundly in the power of music. It is a universal language that invokes emotions and passions understood without words. It unites all of us in joys and sorrows. It brings us comfort when we are all alone and washes away our sadness. It stirs up hopes hidden deep within us, even hopes and dreams that we may have forgotten. Through music, we can express our innermost feelings, and the resultant melody moves those around us to share in those feelings. Sometimes a surprisingly beautiful harmony can be created in the process of dissonance, even the dissonance of an abused child.

I have come to realize that I can't change the world. However, through the power of music, I can change it one child at a time. Oh and by the way, that little girl was the first one through the door the next week, with a great big smile and an even bigger hug for me. I believe in music! Do you?

It seemed like a good idea

Did you ever have one of those ideas that seemed so great at the time? Well, doing the remodeling of our house ourselves was one of them. Two smashed thumbs, a lot of dust, and some paint stained clothes later.... here I am trying to get back on track with life as it should be. This past month has been a whirlwind of people, places and things. I promise to get back on track with posting next week. I did finally find the time to upload a few pictures from the Halloween Horribles Parade and the Kindermusik Convention. You can view them here.

Book of the Month

I really like reading Denise Fleming books to my younger classes. Barnyard Banter and In the Small, Small Pond are two of my favorites. She writes with a simple, but fun, story line and uses bright, kid-friendly pictures. There is usually a recurring animal that is fun to find on each page. For In The Small, Small Pond, it is a frog. We had some fun finding him this week in our Our Time classes.

***Down at the Sea Hotel***

A must-have for dreamers and those who rock them to sleep! The latest from Canadian publishing house The Secret Mountain is one of the best lullabye/naptime CDs you'll ever hear, and for several reasons: The performances, songwriting, and production on Down at the Sea Hotel are worthy of any grownup album...no shortcuts were taken here just because it's a kids' CD.

A gaggle of stellar singers and musicians from Minnesota's roots rock label Red House Records convened to record quiet songs written by the likes of Nanci Griffith, Tom Waits, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Neil Young, Billy Joel, Goffin & King, Bruce Cockburn, Jesse Winchester, Don Henley, and Steve Earle. The whole project gets its warm, rich, deep sound from producer Paul Campagne, who makes sure each voice and instrument get their own space.

There are two ways to enjoy this collection of tunes for beddiebye-time: As a picture book/CD package, illustrated by Mireille Levert's amusingly fantastical paintings, and featuring Greg Brown's "Down at the Sea Hotel"; or as a digipac CD. Throw this one in the stereo on a drowsy afternoon, or read the picture book with your little one as the title song plays in the background. High quality on all fronts!