Sunday, December 13, 2009
Parenting Tip # 18 The true meaning of Christmas
Christmas time is such a busy, hectic time, that it seems hard to focus on anything at all except running here and there, buying this and that, and decorating more and more.
One year I wanted to teach my children that all our activities did tie into the "true meaning" of Christmas so I got a big poster board and divided it into 3 categories: Christ's Birthday, Love of Family, and Service to Others. We talked about how these 3 things are what Christmas is all about. Then throughout the Christmas season, we jotted down the activities we did and put them under the proper category. It was a relief to me to see that most of our activities did fall under one of these categories. It made the busyness seem worth it.
Music Tip # 18 Christmas CDs
Other traditions kind of evolve and become locked in as you pass them on to younger children or the next generation. That's what happened to a Wee Sing Christmas video that I bought years ago. Every year my children would watch it and love it, but as they got older and older, they began to watch it so they could make fun of it! Now the grandchildren have to see it each year. But wait, I forgot. The VCR doesn't work. Yeah, a reprieve this year!
Do you have some favorite Christmas CDs or movies that you watch and listen to each year? Pass them on-I'm always looking for new Christmas CDs to buy.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Parenting Tip # 17 Imagination
I LOVE watching children play and use their imaginations. I LOVE listening in on children's conversations as they play and pretend. I LOVE hearing children sing or hum as they busily play.
One year for Christmas when I had three young boys, money was tight (well to be honest, money has always been tight-especially at Christmas). Anyway, there was no money for Christmas presents. I decided to hit the thrift stores and see if I could find some dress up clothes for my boys. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. It was like a scavenger hunt going from store to store looking for items to complete 3 ensembles. I ended up with a yellow slicker, rain hat and boots for one son, a hard helmet and tools and boots for another son and a football helmet and jersey and shoulder pads for another son. They were in 7th heaven that year as they opened their gifts and immediately put on their clothes and began to pretend.

Give open ended dress ups. You don't have to buy the cutest dance tutu you can find or make. Instead give a yard of the glitziest pink fabric you can buy and watch the imagination soar.
This year for Christmas, give the gift of IMAGINATION!
Music Tip #17 Most important concert
"I was playing with a very dear friend of mine who is a violinist. We began, as we often do with Aaron Copland's Sonata, which was written during World War II and dedicated to a young friend of Copland's, a young pilot who was shot down during the war. Now we often talk to our audiences about the pieces we are going to play rather than providing them with written program notes. But in this case, because we began the concert with this piece, we decided to talk about the piece later in the program and to just come out and play the music without explanation.
Midway through the piece, an elderly man seated in a wheelchair near the front of the concert hall began to weep. This man, whom I later met, was clearly a soldier-even in his 70's, it was clear from his buzz-cut hair, square jaw and general demeanor that he had spent a good deal of his life in the military. I thought it a little bit odd that someone would be moved to tears by that particular movement of that particular piece [but]...we went on with the concert and finished the piece.
When we came out to play the next piece on the program, we decided to talk about both the first and second pieces, and we desribed the circumstances in which the Copland was written and mentioned its dedication to a downed pilot. The man in the front of the audience became so disturbed that he had to leave the auditorium. I honestly figured that we would not see him again, but he did come backstage afterwards, tears and all, to explain himself.
What he told us was this: 'During World War II I was a pilot, and I was in an aerial combat situation where one of my team's planes was hit. I watched my friend bail out, and watched his parachute open, but the Japanese planes which had engaged us returned and machine gunned across the parachute chords so as to separate the parachute from the pilot, and I watched my friend drop away into the ocean, realizing that he was lost. I have not thought about this for many years, but during that first piece of music you played, this memory returned to me so vividly that it was as though I was reliving it. I didn't understand why this was happening, why now, but then when you came out to explain that this piece of music was written to commemorate a lost pilot, it was a little more than I could handle. How does the music do that? How did it find those feelings and those memories in me?'"
Parents, music is POWERFUL! Give the gift of music to your children. Please.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Parenting Tip #16 Speaking Childrenese
“Well, no wonder the little boy looked at me with such a confused look on his face!” she replied.
Do you sometimes feel like you are speaking a different language to your children? Do they look at you in a confused way, or totally ignore you? Or go on with what they are doing as if you hadn’t spoken?
Maybe we need to learn to speak “childrenese”. The best way to learn childrenese is to understand children and know what they are capable of doing or not doing.
For example would you ask a 2 year old to “go hurry and get dressed”? Would you tell a 3 year old to share his favorite toy—and actually see him do it? How about an 8 year old? Would you expect a 4 year old to own up to doing something wrong and not blame it on someone else? Would you instruct a 5 year old to sit still for 30 minutes without moving while waiting in a doctor’s office? Would you take a 6 year old grocery shopping with you and tell her to walk quietly beside you and not touch or ask for anything? (Ha! You’ve all said that I bet! But it certainly doesn’t translate into childrenese—nor did any of the above situations.)
The next time you speak to your child and she looks at you with a confused look on her face, or just ignores you, think about what you just said. Was it age appropriate? Did you give too many instructions at once? It may take time, but soon you will become fluent in childrenese and suddenly life will become better.
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=997397a7c1d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=198bf4b13819d110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD
Music Tip #16 Dance!
But that's the only dance I danced (except for half a dance with my brother). I was too self conscious to join my nieces out on the dance floor. They were having a great time and when they started line dancing I really wanted to learn the steps and dance. But I thought how silly everyone would think I looked--an old lady out dancing with all the youth.
I missed out on a lot of fun. As the night wore on I noticed two older women about my age dancing on the sidelines. They were smiling and laughing and having a great time. I wished I could be as confident as they were so I could dance too. Oh well. I decided I would dance at home.
What a fun family activity--dancing. Put some music on and dance with your children. Dance by yourself. Dance to decrease your stress, to lose weight, to exercise, to have fun!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Parenting Tip #15 Play Dough
Here’s the basic play dough accessories: toothpicks—for poking into the dough, muffin tin—to hold pretend muffins or cookies, rolling pin, popcycle sticks or butter knife to cut the playdough with, cookie cutters, and anything else in the kitchen that looks interesting.
But don’t forget the music. Any upbeat or children's CD will do. I personally think that playing music in the background helps children play longer, more happily and helps them think creatively.
I always make my own play dough (though I hate washing the pan). It’s kind of fun to make and it’s nice and warm to play with. Here’s a site with some fun variations on making your own play dough. http://www.easy-kids-recipes.com/play-dough-recipes.html
So the next time your kids need something new and different to do, make some play dough, put on the music, and watch the creativity flow.
Music Tip #15 Singing Rounds
I like to teach rounds at school, but they're harder to sing (and make sound right) than you would think. 3rd graders have a hard time keeping their group going without getting confused unless they know the song very well. But 4th-6th can sing pretty well, after lots of practice.
Some of my new favorite rounds are "Hear the Song of the Nightingale" from the movie Madeline, "Music Alone Shall Live", "Dona Nobis" (which is really, really hard), "Scalloped Potatoes" and "Jolly Red Nose". I can't wait to teach the Tacobel Canon. I just found a recording of it here as well as the Scalloped Potatoes one.
A friend and I go hiking once a week and we love to sing as we hike. I like to sing rounds with her and should be happy with the two part harmony we make. But then I think, wow, if we had another person we could sing three parts......
Do you like to sing? Want to come hiking with us?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Parenting Tip #14 Read Aloud to your Child
Ahh, music to my ears, “You can’t stop there, Mom. Please keep reading!” Isn’t reading aloud to your child one of the most fun, warm, bonding experiences you can have? Not to mention one of the most beneficial experiences you can give your child. Research shows that children whose parents read to them become better readers. Their vocabulary increases, their language and speech development speeds up, and their listening skills are focused and ready for school.
Many of you are followers of Jim Trelease (http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/). He has championed the importance of reading aloud for years. He has lots of suggestions for books to read aloud, too.
Here has been some of my children’s favorite books that we’ve read aloud: The Wheel on the Schoolhouse, The Hobbit (my husband read the kids this one), Mandy (by Julie Andrews alias Edwards), The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles (another one by Julie Edwards), Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Summer of the Monkeys, (sniff, sniff) and the Boxcar series.
Share some of your favorites with us.
Music Tip #14 "Dad, that music is powerful"
Kayli, at age 6 could feel the Lord’s Spirit whisper truth to her. Music IS powerful! It affects our emotions. It can soothe, excite, relax, and energize.
When my daughter lived at home, she always had music playing in the background. The orchestra teacher at school, who was a colleague of mine and talked to me on the phone quite often, commented, “you always have music playing at your house. I need to do that more often.”
This daughter has since married and moved away, and I’ve noticed how quiet our house has become. I have lots and lots of CDs sitting on the shelf. But do I play them? I did one summer. I decided to go straight through all my CD’s and play every single one of them. I think I’ll do that again. Right now I’m listening to the soundtrack from Enchanted.
What are you listening to?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
ASU music class Harp Guest
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Parenting Tip #13 Overwhelmed and Stressed?
My daughter called me on the phone from
As you read this blog, you’re probably overwhelmed and stressed yourself. So what do you do when you’re in that situation? Here are a few ideas:
Scream in a pillow in your bedroom (I mean it. Try it and see if it doesn’t help!)
Cry
Call your mother/friend
Eat Chocolate
Dance, go for a walk, jog, exercise, just MOVE
Read a book and ignore everything
Lower your standards (It’s better than abusing yourself or children)
Dovetail your “To Do List” where possible
Endure and know that “this, too, shall pass”
Be grateful because at least you are alive and active
Forget being perfect. It doesn’t exist.
Stop comparing yourself with others
Remember to enjoy the journey. This is part of the journey.
What do you do when you're overwhelmed and stressed?
Music Tip #13 Music Lessons
I asked a mother of one of my piano students (who has 7 children who are at various stages of music training) to give her thoughts and ideas about music lessons and children. Here are some of Lisa’s thoughts:
What is a good age to start? Our oldest son was six. He was so hyper that a 30 minute lesson was all he could stand. I have seen younger children begin music lessons, but the successful ones are usually those families with one or two children.
What are the advantages of starting early? It becomes a part of your life and a part of your routine. We have all learned a lot about music. We have also learned about baby steps and small amounts of progress over time. I don’t think it is always that way with other things, like sports.
What other areas of life are affected by music lessons? My son has gained focus and can concentrate better from all of his practicing. He also has learned about team work from playing in the orchestra. With chair auditions, he has been first chair and also 22nd chair, so he has learned that there is always someone in front of you and always someone behind. He has learned that if you practice you will have a good outcome (usually) and there are consequences if you don’t. Another son has learned to work at something that he finds difficult and he is starting to play the piano as a stress release.
How do you keep your children interested in practicing? I think we just do it every day, like brushing our teeth or doing math problems. I have never been big on elaborate reward systems. In the beginning I would help my son practice 10 minutes before his favorite television show came on and he would get to watch it when he was finished. If he messed around, it ate into his television program. Now he practices on his own.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Parenting Tip #12 I Love You Chart
A friend stopped by and I told her my situation. She immediately said, “You should make an I Love You chart and hang it on the refrigerator.” I replied, “A what?”
“An I Love You chart,” she said. “Every time anyone in the family says I love you to another family member, they put a star on the chart.” I thought, “yeah, that’s really going to help.”
After she left, I decided to try her suggestion. I mean, it couldn’t hurt. So I h
ung a piece of blank white paper onto the refrigerator and told my little boys,“okay now, whenever you or your brothers or mommy says,
I Love You, we can put a star on the chart. Let’s see if we
can cover the whole paper before Daddy gets home in 3 weeks.”
Guess what? It was a miracle! There was little fighting.
There was hardly any crying. What there was, though,
was a lot of family members saying “I love you”. And that
chart was covered in stars before Daddy got home!
Music Tip #12 Fun Songs to download
If all the Raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops
lyrics: http://www.head-start.lane.or.us/education/activities/music/songs-silly.html#Oh%20What%20a%20Rain!
mp3 download: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_10?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=if+all+the+raindrops&x=0&y=0&sprefix=if+all+the
Skinnamarink
lyrics: http://www.datsplat.com/skinnamarink-lyrics/
mp3 download: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_7?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=skinnamarink&x=0&y=0&sprefix=skinnam
Cuppy Cake
lyrics: http://www.cuppycake.com/cuplyric.html
mp3 download: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/buddycastle
Tell Me Why
lyrics: http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/t037.html
mp3 download: http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1257141821/ref=sr_nr_n_17?ie=UTF8&rs=624868011&keywords=tell%20me%20why&bbn=624868011&rnid=624868011&rh=n%3A!624868011%2Ci%3Adigital-music%2Ck%3Atell%20me%20why%2Cn%3A624899011
Jig Jog Gee
http://books.google.com/books?id=bwLV-M69Q2sC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=lyrics+jig+jog+gee&source=bl&ots=YhmAdmxht9&sig=Kp5gvvlG59Q9BYOU2yFc5tW33qA&hl=en&ei=YnzuStDtNJSsMMrHvYQM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=lyrics%20jig%20jog%20gee&f=false




