Keep yourself involved in music.

Shout it from the rooftops! Music education is good for your smarts! Make the investment....keep it up....you won't regret it, not one minute of it.

Time Invested In Practicing Pays Off For Young Musicians, Research Shows

Time Invested In Practicing Pays Off For Young Musicians, Research Shows

Time invested, money invested....You know lessons are expensive. But, yes, keep in mind the solid investment you are making in your children for their bright future.

Then there's the parenting energy investment! You are trying to be helpful, inspiring, encouraging, positive, and..... something is missing and you're shouting at them to "GO PRACTICE!"

If you are practicing with a child right now and they are resisting then work on your relationship and keep going! In our family we've been through mountains and valleys in playing their musical instruments. For a while I was considering getting a "nag mask" so that they wouldn't hate ME when they would so rather be playing legos or reading their current book. Another time I asked my son for permission to nag him to practice.

Hmmmm. Maybe a website with a million tactics to encourage, entice, convince the kids to practice!

Good luck and keep up the practicing.

Bells are ringing!

Happy Holidays to all!

Kindermusik in Asheville

Thank you Aunt Em for this fun collage of our Monday Kindermusik Village Class (newborn to 18mo) at the Asheville Arts Center. What a great class! Moms, dads, grandparents! Always 3 classes for the price of one: Music for the babies, aerobics for the grown ups and a special this term is ballroom dancing! Well, remember, it's only a dance and it's really the fun that counts.

One of the musical elements of this day's focus is the meter of the music. That means the organization of beats (ie groups of 3 beats or 4 beats). In the song that we are moving to and I am counting there are at least 4 different organization patterns including measures of 7 beats. If babies hear this in their environment then playing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring won't be such a counting challenge when they are in their college orchestra!

Kindermusik Kids Now

What do Kindermusik kids look like when they grow up? What kind of things do they do for fun? How's this for a bunch of Kindermusik kids grown to TEENAGERS!!!!

A Child's Emerging "Self"

I can do so many things all by myself!
I can do so many things all by myself!
Can you wiggle your eyebrows, just like this?
I can wiggle my eyebrows, just like this!

Can you show your teeth just like this?
Mirror play helps toddlers work on finding out about their bodies; naming body parts like eyes and nose, figuring out that you can move your own eyebrows, understanding emotions, and working on the concept of being a separate person from their primary caregiver. That's a big job!

Can you blink your eyes?


Their emerging "self" includes a quality of self esteem as well. Being told you are beautiful by someone you love and trust early in life will affect their self esteem in a positive way. And, I believe, be something we want them to know deep down inside before that 16 year old knocks them off their feet with the words "You're so beautiful!" Wouldn't you rather they already know it.

Let mirrors be your reminder to look at yourself and affirm that you are a beautiful person and then look at your amazing children and tell them how beautiful they are!



Hello Beautiful!!!

Yes, that's you!

You are precious.

Peace,
Yvette

Our Time Kindermusik with guitar!

Here he is, the guitar guy Noah, in Kindermusik Our Time at the Asheville Arts Center! There's talent!