Sowing Seeds, Note by Note

We finally got around to planting our vegetable garden today, and I couldn’t help thinking again about the relationship between growing plants and growing children. My grandparents were farmers, and probably their parents were farmers.  Growing up, my family always had a vegetable garden, and now I have my own. As I sat there in the warm dirt this morning, I felt the presence of all those ancestors who undoubtedly sat, just like me, in a plot of humid earth with a young seedling in hand.

20130602_114136

No matter how much modern society likes to value change, many of the things we do are basically the same as the way things have been done for generations. Just like gardens and children. Here are some of the simple basics and the way music fits into growing:  [Read more…]

Meaningful Moments Making Music

“Let’s sing it again, Mom.”  Music is such a part of our environment that we sometimes take its power and appeal for granted.   But for children, music is a natural way to express themselves, to become part of a family and community and to learn about the world.

Children are born music makers.  Recent brain research shows that very young infants can recognize melodies, match pitches and show pleasure when Mom or Dad sings to them.  Music is full of the very things that children need to learn best: predictable structure, opportunity for repetition and emotional and sensory stimulation that inspires engagement.  [Read more…]

Skip to content