Music Tip #10 Lullabies

What better way to tuck your baby/children into bed each night than to sing them a lullaby. Do you have songs your parents sang to you at night? Pass them on. Need some new songs to sing to your child each night? Here’s a cute song I happened to find on you tube. It’s become a favorite of mine. http://www.cuppycake.com/videos.html

Looking for other lullabies you can sing? How about: Tell Me Why, Skinnamarinkadinkydoo, All the Pretty Little horses, All Through the Night, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and A Bushel and a Peck.

If you are not familiar with a song, but would like to hear it, go to Amazon and click on Music, then MP3 Downloads. Type in the title of the song and you will be able to hear samples of lots of artists singing the song. You can even buy the download for .99 cents. What a bargain!

There are lots of lullaby CDs you buy. Here is a link to one that presents each song twice, once with beautiful vocals and again instrumentally, so your own voice can sing your child/baby to sleep. http://www.serenitysupply.com/catalog/Lullabies-for-Little-Dreamers-CD-126.html

Here is a wonderful site that has lots of beautiful lullabies you can listen to, download and view the lyrics. They are categorized by Welsh, Christian, Angel, etc. There is also a link to lullaby books. http://www.lullaby-link.com/index.html

Tonight let the cares of the day, the crying and frustration wash away as you tuck your little children (and don't forget the big children) into bed, sing them a song of love and kiss them goodnight.

Parenting Tip #9 The Best things are the Little things

I am a mother of seven children. When my oldest was age 18, my youngest was age 4. The next youngest child was 6 and not in school yet, so I was a stay at home mom with two preschoolers. But I viewed myself as a mother of older children who should have more free time while the kids were at school to work on projects I wanted to do and use my creative energy to write music, etc. The problem was: in actuality I was a mother of two preschool children and needed to give them my time and nurture them as I had their older siblings.

I was frustrated with my life and felt my needs were not being met. I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to tell me where my priorities should be. The answer: I am a mother of preschool children. I need to take the time to nurture them, enjoy them, and teach them. That is my first priority.

It was hard to accept this answer at first. But as I sat at the breakfast table with my 4 year old on my lap (she loved to sit on my lap to eat breakfast)I began to enjoy the wonderful way it felt to hold her and knew that I was giving her a sense of security and love. And as I helped my 6 year learn to read and play the piano, I felt love for her and knew I would cherish these memories with her.

I didn't feel like I was wasting my time anymore or missing out on some big project I could and should be doing. Instead, I felt peace, knowing that the little things I did during the day were really the big things--and the most important things.

Music Tip # 9 Car Time-Song Time

Do you feel like you're a taxi cab driver and spend most of the day in the car with your children? Want to make car time a happy time? Play music CDs. I'm sure you already do this. What are you favorite CDs to listen to? There are a ton of children's CDs you can buy or borrow from the library. My daughter just found a fun CD by Burl Ives. Ever heard of him? You might recognize his voice as Sam, the snowman on the old animated Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer movie. You could put in a CD of nursery rhymes and pass on the rich heritage of Mother Goose to your children. Or a CD of folk songs like My Bonnie lies over the ocean, Home, Home on the Range, etc. My granddaughter in Virginia insists on playing the same CD each week when driving home from Church.

Some Suzuki students listen to their music CDs while traveling in the car. Music can turn the drive time into a learning time, jam session, or even a lullaby time. Take advantage of car time to sample some different styles of music from CDs you've rented from the library. Leave a comment and tell us your favorite CDs to listen to.

Parenting Tip #8The wicked old witch!

Many years ago, my five year old son and I had been having a hard day. We were constantly at odds with each other and there had been much crying all day. That evening as I was getting ready to go to a Church play practice, he asked me, "what are you in the play? The wicked old witch?"

Another son didn't think much of my cooking and every evening we had to listen to him complain about the food. One night he asked me what was for dinner and I enthusiastically replied, "Chicken Burrito Ole!"
"Oh," he replied, "I wasn't hungry anyway."

Poor Moms! Especially moms with young children. You go unappreciated for years. You do the washing, cooking, cleaning, teaching and disciplining. It's seldom that you get the thanks and praise you deserve.

But please stay with it Moms! You are doing the most important job in the world! You are raising the children that will become the next generation. You are teaching your children to be responsible, kind, honest. You won't get any thanks for a long time. But trust me, someday your children WILL come back and tell you thanks for all you have done for them. Just be patient!

Music Tip #8 Let's play recorders!

Want to introduce your child to a new musical instrument? Here's a fun easy instrument that you and your child can learn to play. It's the recorder! You can buy recorders at the dollar stores and choose from a variety of colors. Some recorders come with books, or you can get the fingering and songs off the internet.

It's best to wait until your child is 8 or 9 years old because their fingers need to be long enough to cover the holes. Start with easy songs that use the notes B A G. To correctly hold the recorder, the left hand is on top, the right hand at the bottom. The left thumb will almost always cover the hole in back, and the left fingers will cover the holes in front. If you cover the back hole plus the top hole, that is the note "B". Two holes covered in front (plus the back hole) is "A" and three holes covered in front (plus the back hole) is "G". Be sure to press down lightly when covering the holes. Your tongue should make a "T" sound when blowing.

Here's a favorite song to play: Hot Cross Buns
B A G B A G GGGG AAAA B A G

How about having a recorder orchestra for your next family get together?
Oh, and better buy some ear plugs for Dad!

ASU Music class for Tiny Tots

Here's the link for the Cuppy Cake song and lyrics we did in class today. Hope you enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Z6pWhM6TA
www.cuppycake.com/cuplyric.html

If you want to play "Do Your Ears Hang Low" on your recorder, here's how it goes. Remember to cover the hole in back plus the 1st hole in front=B, 2 holes covered in front=A, 3 holes covered in front=G

Do your ears hang low? B A G G G
Do they wobble to and fro? (no recorder notes on this line)
Can you tie them in a knot? G A B B B B B
Can you tie them in a bow? G A B A A A A
Can you throw them over your shoulder B A G G G G G G G
Like a Continental soldier? (no recorder)
Do your ears hang low? G A B A G

Have fun! Bring your recorder to class next week and play with us!

Parenting Tip #7 Joy Journal

When I was pregnant with my 6th child, I was excited, but apprehensive about what people would say. Sometimes they would be rude and say things like: "Are you trying to populate the whole world by yourself?" Or mutter, "Can you really afford to give that many children a decent life?" So I decided that if I wanted a big family, which I did, then I should be enjoying a big family and find joy in having and raising my children.

I decided to keep a Joy Journal. I would write down things that my children (and husband) did that brought me joy. Then on those days when "joy" was elusive, I could read my journal and be reminded of those better days. I kept a Joy Journal for all the years my children were growing up until they all moved away. Sometimes I wrote several times a week, and other times just once a month or I would forget for several months. But I kept at it. Then on each child's birthday, at our family birthday party with the grandparents, I would read several entries about that child that I had written that year and how he or she had brought me joy.

This has been a fun and rewarding tradition. It helped me LOOK for joyous things my children did and helped me focus on my love for them. I like to think that it helped them too.

Music Tip #7 Music and Special Needs Children

My brother and sister-in-law have 9 children. Matthew, their 7 year old has Down Syndrome. Music has helped Matthew in many areas--with speech, brushing teeth (which he used to hate), motor skills, and fears. Matthew rides the bus to school with other special needs children. He used to be really apprehensive about getting on the bus and leaving home. So the family started singing "The wheels on the bus..." and that would calm him down each morning so he could board.

Matthew and his younger brother love to dance. On Saturday nights the family will put music on from the 80's, 90's or current music and the whole family will dance and have fun. Matthew also loves to play the piano. He will sit at the piano and play whatever comes into his mind. He sits down like a concert pianist and pounds out notes, then takes a bow.

But when Matthew gets too much stimulus with music or tv, he gets hyper. There has to be a balance. His mother, Tammy, will play church songs to help calm him when he is upset about anything. Tammy writes, "I am definitely convinced that music is great therapy for any child, but absolutely helpful with children that have special needs."

Watch your children this week and see how you can use music to calm them, encourage them, teach them and just have fun with them.

Parenting Tip #6 The best age to teach

After a lecture by the late Francis Wayland Parker, a great Chicago educator, a woman asked: "How early can I begin the education of my child?”
"When will your child be born?” asked the educator.
"Born?” she gasped. "Why, he is already five years old.”
"My goodness, woman, “he cried, “don’t stand here talking to me—hurry home; already you have lost the best five years.”

What can you teach your child from birth to age five that is so important? It depends on who you ask. If you ask a Suzuki music teacher she would say you can teach a child to play an instrument as early as age 3. If you ask an educator he would say your child could be reading by now.

But here are some even more important things you can teach a young child: stability and security by responding to your baby’s cries, responsibility and orderliness by helping your toddler pick up his toys, happiness by playing with your child, love by touching and holding, self esteem by listening to your preschool try to explain something to you, respect by saying "please" and "excuse me", gratitude by saying "thank you", decision making by letting your preschooler choose the outfit to wear that day.

So don’t just sit here reading, go teach your child something!

Music Tip #6 Music Alone Shall Live

Yeah for the good old songs of our earlier years. They're called Folk Songs and Silly Songs. It's our job as parents to pass them on to the next generation. Here's some first lines of songs. How many do you know:

Do your ears hang low...
My Bonnie lies over the ocean....
In a cavern in a canyon excavating for a mine.....
Love me tender, love me true.....
Do, a deer...
God, Bless America...

The National Association for Music Education started a campaign in 1995 called Get America Singing...Again. It's aim was to establish a common song repertoire and promote community singing.menc.org/resources/view/get-america-singing-again

Folk songs bridge the generation gap as grandparents, parents and children sing the old favorites and create lasting memories. The words to my favorite musical round state the value of folk songs
All things must perish from under the sky.
Music alone shall live, music alone shall live
Music alone shall live, never to die.

ASU Music class for Tiny Tots

Yesterday was our 2nd class time. We moved locations and now have more room and AC! Yeah!
This semester we will be having guest musicians come and play their instruments for us. Today Karis's older brother, Carsten, brought his violin and played for us. It was fun to see the reaction of the babies.
We sang the song, A Ram Sam Sam, and used the parachute to keep the beat. The babies loved dancing on top of it as well as underneath it.

Parenting Tip #5 The Secret Ingredient

A woman who had a talent for baking gave a mini cooking class to a Church group and shared her famous brownie recipe. A few days later her neighbor called complaining that her brownies had not turned out like the talented baker’s had. She accused the woman of holding back her “secret ingredients”. The shocked baker asked her neighbor if she had used real butter. “Well, no, of course not, butter is expensive. I substituted margarine which is just as good.” The baker probed, “Did you use baker’s chocolate?” The neighbor replied, “everyone knows cocoa is a good substitute for baker’s chocolate.” And so it turned out that the secret ingredients were right there in plain sight; the neighbor had chosen to use substitutes and therefore could not achieve the desired results she had wished for. www.byub.org/talks/Talk.aspx?id=1847

As parents we often look for the secret ingredient that will turn our children into model children. It is so simple that sometimes we overlook it. It is so hard that sometimes we substitute other things instead. The secret ingredient is time. Giving time to your children is one of the most important ingredients in raising happy, productive children. There are many poor substitutes out there because as parents we are busy, stressed and tired. Too often we use TV, computer games, friends, soccer, etc for substitutes instead of giving quality time to our children. Quality time may be listening to your child tell about her dream, playing “Go Fish” with your son one more time, or just simply being home so your daughter can stay home and play.

Your baby is only going to be a baby for 2 short years---then you will never have that baby again. Enjoy giving time to your baby by touching, holding, laughing, playing, and being there with him. Your preschooler will be going to school soon and when she does, she will be gone for 7-8 hours out of your life and influence. Enjoy, play, listen with her now. Your teenager will only be a teenager for a few short years (did I hear clapping and whistling out there?) Listen to him, talk with-not at- him, respect him.

The secret parenting ingredient=Your time

Music Tip #5 Dads singing

Dads, you can make special memories for your children by singing them to sleep. My husband liked to sing as he would rock our children to sleep. Our youngest daughter mentioned this memory of her Dad singing to her and rocking her to sleep to her high school friends one day. All the boys said, "wow, that's really cool. I'm going to sing to my kids too, when I get married and have children."

Ammon, our 2nd oldest son said he sings a lot while he helps his children brush their teeth. "It always calms the kids and makes it easier," he said. He sings at bedtime too. Every Sunday night for the past 4-5 years he sings songs from the German hymnbook at bedtime. He says, "it puts them right to sleep--they're anxious to have the noise stop!"

Make some memories, Dad. Start singing!

Parenting Tip #4 Memorize Poetry

Brandon, one of my 3rd grade music students, stood to recite a poem. It was the first day of the month, and I let my music students share a musical talent with the class, if they choose, once a month. Technically, reciting a poem is not a musical talent, but Brandon was in need of self esteem building and besides, being one of the more "rowdy boys" in the class, I was curious to see what he would share. He stood straight and tall and launched into a well memorized, long poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Wow! My image of him changed dramatically. I had previously thought he was a little on the slow side, had no self control and I had lumped him into the "problem child" category in my mind. But now he leaped over into the "smart kid with lots of brain power" category. What made the difference? His ability to memorize a poem.

Why should children memorize poetry? It introduces them to phrases and vocabulary they might not hear in everyday language use, it instills a sense of rhythm and rhyme, it awakens a love for language and helps express emotions and thoughts in a new way. It teaches sentence structure, increases self esteem, helps one become a better writer.

If you have an infant, toddler, preschooler or elementary age child, read poetry to them. Additionally, encourage older children to memorize poems. Google "poetry and children" and you'll be at the computer for an hour! By the way, here's a snatch of a poem. Who wrote it?
Oh,I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/shel_silverstein/poems/14828

Music Tip #4 How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

I asked my married children to share ideas of how they use music in their homes. Holly, a daughter-in law, said that usually her kids tell her to STOP singing--she says she's a "tone deaf non singer". But her 3 year old, Maya, really likes her to sing songs like "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, 5 little ducks, and how much is that doggie in the window" (www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/monkeys/words.htm, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AkLE4X-bbU , www.britishcouncil.org/kids-songs-pets.htm ). Holly will sometimes change the words of the song to see if Maya will catch her, which she always does and then corrects her. Maya thinks it's funny to have her mom sing "5 little alligators jumping on the bed" or 5 little monkeys jumping on the couch". Maya also likes to have cats with purple tails sold "in the window".

Holly mentions that lots of children's songs are good for math, pattern recognition, rhyming, story telling, motor skills, etc. Thank goodness Holly hasn't stopped singing. Being a "non-singer" or not, children love to hear their parents sing and interact with them on a fun one on one basis. It sounds like love to them!