The Fixinator!

I was recently having a conversation with one of my children. She was feeling a bit inadequate with her abilities in a class she is taking, and her response to me was, "Why can't you just fix it? You can fix anything!" Now, don't get me wrong. I was flattered that, in her eyes, I am still Super Mom, but it bothered me that she assumed I could fix EVERYTHING! That's a tall order, but that's what parents do, right? We fix things- broken toys, cuts and bruises, spilled drinks. We are referees to all things sibling rivalry. Champion of the defenseless on the playground. Defender from the Boogie Man and monsters under the bed. Able to leap loads of laundry in a single bound! The depth of our super powers are simply staggering! ;)

However, I am of the firm persuasion that it doesn't help children to have everything neatly and pleasantly packaged. I love my children immensely, and it pains me deeply when they are hurting. Yet, I know they need the opportunity to venture out from under my Super Mom wing and fail sometimes. Out of failure comes some of life's greatest lessons. Things like humility, unselfishness, common sense, self discipline, and determination. It was bittersweet leaving her bedside that night. I had to step off that pedestal and admit I couldn't fix it. I simply reminded her, "Do your best, because your best is always good enough for me!" I'm thinking about keeping the super hero costume though. It might be fun to wear at her wedding. LOL :D

Yours truly,
The Fixinator
AKA

Welcome Mrs. Faith!

Delightful Sounds is so excited to have Mrs. Faith joining our staff! Faith Clark is a certified teacher in Early Childhood Education with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida. Faith thoroughly enjoyed teaching Elementary School for 5 years until she and her husband had a little boy of their own. As a stay-at-home Mom, Kindermusik will be the perfect opportunity for Faith to continue on in her passion for education while still enjoying time with her family. Since music has always been a huge part of Faith’s life she feels entirely blessed to be able to work with children and families in developing a lifelong love for learning and music. Welcome to the Delightful Sounds' family Mrs. Faith!

A Talent for Giftedness

Q. My child's teacher says that he is gifted. Isn't that just another way of saying he is talented?

A. Giftedness goes well beyond individual talent. It affects both ability as well as emotional/social interactions and many other aspects of daily living. The current definition of giftedness is "Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities." I encourage you to read more about giftedness here. It is a common misconception that gifted children learn the same as other children and will be the model student in the classroom. The truth is that without the proper understanding and learning environment, gifted children will often become bored, have behavior problems, struggle with social interactions with their classmates, and purposely fail classwork.  In fact, I recently read that when Thomas Edison was a boy, his teachers told him he was too stupid to learn anything. I recommend that you discuss your child's development with your school's psychologist, enrichment teacher, or a local child psychologist to further understand what to expect.

The "Signs" of Language Learning

I was doing some research today on baby sign language and ran across an interesting article.  Even though sign language is a great way to encourage early communication in young children, some parents, like the one in the article, are concerned that this form of early communication might delay their child's verbal development.

The opposite is typically true. The combined experience of movement and spoken language encourages your baby's understanding of the word, as well as increases retention of the new word. This is because he is engaged actively in the learning experience, and the movement has stimulated the brain to receive the incoming information. "Talking and signing together flood the baby with language," says Acredolo whose research, published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, indicates signing may even give children a slight future verbal edge. "At 36 months, the [signing] babies in our study were speaking, on average, the equivalent of non-signing 47 month olds," she says. *



Parents can begin to work on baby sign language as early as 3-6 months, and children will typically begin to sign back around 6-12 months old. However, it's not too late if your child is past that age. Sign language can be a fun way to communicate for children of all ages. I recommend taking a sign language class, such as Sign and Sing, with your child to learn how to present the signs in an interactive, age appropriate, and fun way. A sign language class will also help you to understand your child's hand development. If a sign is too difficult for them to form, your child will likely make adjustments to the sign. Once you learn what to look for, you may be surprised to find your child has several signs they are already using.

*MSNBC.com article written by Victoria Clayton

Solo by Tom Goslin

I thought we could use a little culture today. Enjoy!

Lessons for a Lifetime

It's spring time, and in most households that will  include some "spring cleaning". At my house, my children have been sorting through their toys and removing the items that they have outgrown or no longer enjoy. I'm guessing that you've been there at some point too. I have often said that Kindermusik classes are a gift that will last a lifetime for your children. My children loved their years in my Kindermusik classroom, and I can still see it's effects today.
Recently, I read an article discussing the life-long effects of music study. In this study, 70 healthy adults age 60 to 83 were divided into groups based on their levels of musical experience. They found that the musicians had better performance scores on several cognitive tests than the adults who had never studied an instrument or learned how to read music. "Based on previous research and our study results, we believe that both the years of musical participation and the age of acquisition are critical," Hanna-Pladdy says. "There are crucial periods in brain plasticity that enhance learning, which may make it easier to learn a musical instrument before a certain age and thus may have a larger impact on brain development."
So as you are considering what activities to do this summer, I hope you'll choose the gift of music. It's benefits last a lifetime!

Featured Artist - Nancy Stewart

Nancy Stewart is a national award-winning musician who has been writing and performing for young children and their families for twenty years. This followed a successful fifteen year-long career as lead guitarist and vocalist with a nationally known show band. Featuring original and traditional songs, Nancy’s nine CD’s for children can be heard in schools, homes, and libraries across the country. Her music workshops for teachers, parents, and librarians have been highly praised for their relevant, useful, and easy to use songs and ideas.

Nancy has also shared the stage with Burl Ives, Shirley Jones, Bill Cosby, and Lily Tomlin at concerts and nightclubs across the United States and Canada. As lead guitarist and vocalist she performed with Randy Sparks and the Back Porch Majority beginning in 1971, and recorded several albums in Nashville and Los Angeles, the Disney movie theme “The Apple Dumpling Gang”, and numerous radio and TV commercials.

For more information, visit Nancy’s website at www.Nancymusic.com

- Seattle, WA

Featured Artist - Farida Dowler

Farida Dowler shares folktales and plays guitar to accompany traditional and original songs for preschoolers and kindergarten age children along with their caregivers.

She is available to perform at bookstores, libraries, children’s parties and other venues in the Seattle area. Past performance venues include Island Books, Third Place Books, Pierce County Library System, Seattle Public Library, and the Seattle Children's Museum.

To book a program, please contact her at farida@dowler.com with information on where and when you are having your event as well as group size.

-Seattle, WA