How To Reveal Your Child’s Inner Musician In 5 Minutes A Day
No one is born musically gifted.
It’s a common misconception that some people are born with oodles of “natural talent,” while others inherently “can’t carry a tune.”
Nothing could be farther from the truth. Honest.
Here’s the scoop: neither of my parents are musicians. Both my sister, Nicole, and I went on to study music professionally. None of that had anything to do with good genes, or that we were somehow special.
So, what’s the “special sauce” that allows some students to easily excel in the arts while others show disinterest?
Simply put, your child needs opportunities to exercise her creative muscles.
In my case, I owe a lot of my ability to early exposure to the dances and music of my Greek heritage. But there’s a much more practical way to give this gift to your child.
One small hinge that opens a large door: singing to your child, from pregnancy, is the first, and most important step.
Singing to your child allows her to hear the expressive capabilities of the human voice, which encourages her to explore her own voice.
When you sing to your child, you are making her learn without her even knowing it. Pretty cool, right?
You don’t have to have a great voice. You don’t even have to have a good voice. Your child loves your voice, and that’s all that matters.
And it doesn’t matter what you sing. Sing whatever you already know by heart. Or better yet: make up your own songs.
One huge benefit of our Musikgarten classes is that our members are constantly learning new songs to sing to (or with) their children. The development of creativity requires new, fresh exercises on a regular basis.
But if you’re just starting out, make it up or sing what you already know. Singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” to your baby as a lullaby is better than doing nothing.
Make it a daily routine. That one small change will open up a whole new world to your child.
Here’s the catch: your window of opportunity to unlock your child’s inner musician ends shortly after their fifth birthday. If you’re reading this, chances are there’s still time. But, starting now is important.
Leave a comment and tell us what you sing to your child.
“His Hat was Made of Pumpkin Pie?”…
“Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”
- Pablo Picasso
There I was toward the end of the preschool class. The kids were getting tired, a little loopy, and totally distracted.
I had one more song to lead, the silly one about the man in the moon. I had pre-written lyrics, and no matter how awesome I thought the song was, I was losing the kids.
Then it hit me… “Make it about THEM.”
I sang…
“There was a man lived in the moon,
lived in the moon, lived in the moon,
There was a man lived in the moon,
and his name was Aiken Drum.
And his hat was made of…
“Joey, what was his hat made of?”
He thought… and thought… “Hmm. Pumpkin Pie!” (Yes, this was the class before Thanksgiving.)
And the kids lit up, and they focused.
We went around the circle, inventing these silly, goofy notions about this man in the moon, and the ideas the kids had were BRILLIANT! They sang with so much more energy because they were seeing this man in the moon with their own eyes.
His hair was made of “pink paint”!
His buttons were made of “strawberries”!
Here’s how you can help reveal your child’s imagination at home:
Ask Your Child to Make up New Words to Well- Known Songs
In my house, you’ll hear songs like “Twinkle Twinkle In the Sun”, as re-worded by Sarah, my 3-year old, or many adaptations of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.
You can start out slow and easy by asking your child to alter one word. Like, “Mary Had a Little_________?” It starts out small, but eventually, you’ll hear them making up their own words entirely.
Ask Your Child Make up Motions to Well- Known Songs
With fresh eyes, kids will find ways to move their bodies in ways you wouldn’t think of.
Take a song like “Rock-a-bye, Baby” and ask them to show you a rocking motion.
Or… “Gia, when we sing “when the wind blows”, how should we move our hands or our feet?”
One of the best parts about being a parent is that we get to see the world through our kids’ eyes. We get to see everything fresh. Music is a vessel for that vision.
Stay Creative!
Use the comments section to share how you see the world through your child’s eyes.
Music Class Inspirations: Finding Calmness
Kids have energy. This is a good thing! They’re eating, growing, exploring… Babies are looking everywhere, listening, crawling. Toddlers are becoming more mobile, walking, and climbing. Preschoolers are refining their movement, jumping, skipping, and somersaulting.
Do you ever wish you had the secret to calmness for your kids? How can you help them to zero in, listen, and find a calm and happy space? Well, I can share with you what works for me, and music is my inspiration.
My secret to calming the little ones is helping them relax into engaged gentleness.
One effective way to attain this gentleness is by using rhythm.
First,
Observe the rhythms of your child.
Observe the rhythm of his or her:
- Speech/ Sounds
- Body movement
- Breathing
A child who is on edge will usually have fast and/or irregular rhythms in these three areas. Think of the movement of the tail of a cat. If a cat is agitated, its tail twitches spastically. If a cat is happy, he purrs long sighs, moving its tail in more of a regular, flowing manner. We want your kids to feel like the happy, calm kitty.
Second,
Engage with your child. See if you can meet eye to eye. Relax. Smile. Let go of thoughts of worry, of any tension in your body. How often do you really meet your child during the day?
Third,
Breathe Gently. If you have an infant, model and meet them with your breath. Breathe in through your nose as if there was a butterfly sitting on top. Breathe out warm air through the bottoms of your nostrils. Find a gentle rhythm. Rock your baby in that same gentle rhythm. They will sympathize with your steady beat. Moms of toddlers and preschoolers can begin to instruct their little ones in addition to modeling. If you have trouble finding a rhythm, think of a song that calms you. Breathe to that rhythm. Kids love imagining the butterfly!
Fourth,
Express a Gentle Voice and Gentle Body
Ideas:
The Singing Owl
- Sing with or for your child on an “oo” sound, like the sound an owl makes. Sing gently for as long as your breath can support you, and then begin again. You can stay on one note, or sing sweet melodies.
Gentle Rhymes
Nursery Rhymes are great for expressing a slow rhythm, especially for moms who don’t feel comfortable singing. Saying a rhyme or poem gently and slowly will help calm those who listen.
Here’s a rhyme I made up for you to say slowly:
Babies breathing like sun
Flowers blooming one by one
Fairies sleeping in the trees
Glowing in the warm night’s breeze
Add some swaying back and forth, rosy smiles, and a warm heart, and you’re on your way to gentleness.
Happy Thanksgiving! And remember the Butterflies!
Music Class Leaks: 3 Fun Activities to Improve Your Child’s Communication Skills
I am sure that you will agree when I say that we need more effective communication in this world. The Presidential campaign season has, after all, been more about talking than communicating. More and more people are concerned about technology and how it impacts our personal relationships.
What if I told you that this skill of effective, authentic communication begins on day one of life? What if I told you that a child can begin to build and achieve better communication skills in an early childhood music class? Sounds great?
Well, I believe that this so important; I want to help you by giving you a few golden nuggets from our Musikgarten music and movement classes that you can use at home right now.
Imitation
In class, we imitate each other a lot. We imitate the teacher; we imitate our parents, our peers. This is how we first learn to express, by imitating what we hear. In music and movement classes, we imitate words, sounds, melodies, rhythms, and body language.
Activity #1 – Encourage your child to imitate you often. Have them imitate your facial expressions, your body movement, your noises, your words, your singing. Even if they are too young to imitate you quite yet, they’re soaking up everything you do!
Exploration
Music class also provides an opportunity for children to explore different ways to make music and express themselves in new and creative ways. Being flexible, improvisatory in music and communication is an added social skill that will pay off in the long run.
Activity #2 – Encourage your child to use everyday objects in different ways. What kinds of sounds can you make with the object? With an older toddler or preschooler, what are the different ways you can describe or use the object?
Self- Expression
Music class provide a fun, non-threatening environment for children to express themselves with and in front of other people. Qualified music teachers are not only trained teach music, we’re trained to listen attentively to children, to validate what they are expressing, and to encourage them with positive feedback.
Activity #3 – Find the time and patience to fully listen to your child when they are speaking, cooing, babbling, singing, or dancing. Sing with them or for them often. Have your child sing a song he or she learned for others. The more positive experiences you can create for them surrounding their self-expression, the better.
Keep Communicating!
