The Importance of Rest

“IIIIII CAAAAAAAN’T DOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIT!!!”  My seven-year old son’s face was flushed and scrunched in exasperation as he sat at the piano.  The sight-reading exercise was simple, but it required him to work through a process of decoding the rhythm, figuring out where the steps and skips were, and finally playing with slow and steady concentration. ...

Can Kids Sing In Tune?

If you have been to a children's school choral concert before, you may have heard one of the following styles of "singing:"  Shouting as loud as they can with no discernible melody.  Monotone mumbling with no discernible melody. What, they are singing?  It looks like they're just standing there waving/crying/playing with their dress. "Well, they...

Making Music with Kids at Home

So you want your kids to enjoy music and possibly study an instrument someday?  Don't wait! YOU are your child's first and best teacher.  Kids learn many important things by emulating what their parents/caregivers do.  Ever wonder why your baby wants to play with your phone and your keys instead of their baby toys?  It's...

I Don’t Hate Laurie Berkner

But I did until about a month ago.  That is my deep, dark, music teacher secret.  People magazine dubs her "The Queen of Children's music," the New York Times calls her "The Adele of the Preschool Crowd." Source  Her songs are regularly used in my local library's story hour, and the childcare center at my...

Connection and Conflict

This morning was a real struggle!  My 3 1/2 year-old daughter, Bryna, has been coming with me to my music classes for the past 2 years.  While it is challenging to wear both "Mom-Hat" and "Teacher-Hat," it has always worked well and has been a really special experience for us to share.  Except for this...

When Your Child is Constantly Fighting Practice Time and It’s Torture for Both of You

No, my post title is not very concise or catchy, but let's be real.  There is nothing cute or fun about spending money on instrumental lessons and then having to regularly battle with your child during practice sessions. No matter how much a child loves music, learning an instrument is HARD WORK.  Practicing for improvement...

A Musical Community

(Content warning: pregnancy loss) When I started my business, I chose the tagline  “Building Community Through Music and Movement”  because I know that sharing artful experiences has the power to bring people together.  I've seen several people in my classes go through difficult times: illness, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, complicated...

Musical Gift Guide 2: Books, DVDs, Music

Here is the second installment of my Musical Gift Guide!  My disclaimers for this post: I have a high bar for children's music, because I know that whatever I let them listen to could potentially become the soundtrack of my life for several years. I really, really hate screen time.  In order for a show...

Musical Gift Guide 1: Instruments and Toys

Holiday shopping season is almost here, and I wanted to share some of my favorite music-related gift ideas for little ones (and not so little ones!)  A few disclosures about where I'm coming from: I have a job that is Full of Aural Stimulation, so I am very selective about the sound-producing toys I allow...

Music Together and “Duct Tape Parenting”

I was inspired to check out the book Duct Tape Parenting by Vicki Hoefle after reading this blog post about why one family loves Music Together's non-interventionist teaching style.  Music Together teachers are trained to "accept and include" ALL children's behavior, whether it is wandering, hiding, observing, or participating.  Adults in class are encouraged to model...