Music Everyday

You’ve heard that old saying, “Music soothes the savage beast”* When it comes to music, especially singing, children are more than just soothed! Music increases a child’s language skills with rhythm and rhyme. Music pulls a group together as a community. Music helps calm children down or rev them up. Music can help with breathing and thus public speaking/oral reading. Can music make your child smarter?   Click HERE for a great website with more information.   Click HERE for a website with free classical music from many composers.

As a teacher, I’ve noticed children don’t seem to know their nursery rhymes and other early childhood songs. As Peppermint Patti I’ve tried to initiate “Patty cake” and “Eensy Weensy Spider” with little ones who look at me as if I’m insane. This makes me sad. Those classic childhood songs and fingerplays are so much fun and so important for early language development! When did parents stop teaching them to their children?

Sometimes during the school day I will play various types of music to either pep up or calm down the class. We also sing many “camp” songs together. Sometimes they’ll even teach me the songs they learned at camp over the summer! I love to learn new songs. A few years ago my student Adam taught me the Beaver Song:

Beaver 1 Beaver All let's all do the beaver call.
Beaver 2 Beaver 3 let’s all climb the beaver tree.
Beaver 4 Beaver 5 let's all do the beaver jive.
Beaver six Beaver 7 let’s all go to beaver heaven.
Beaver 8 Beaver 9 STOP!! It's Beaver time.

Singing brings us together as a community. On Fridays we always have pizza for lunch so we chant the Pizza Song:

Eat. (R)
Eat a. (R)
Eat a lotta. (R)
Eat a lotta, eat a lotta, eat a lotta pizza. (R)
No, no don’t eat the pizza! (R)
Pizza’s got a lotta hot and spicy pepperoni. (R)
Pizza’s got a lotta hot and spicy peppermoni got a lotta hot and spicy pepperoni on the top. (R)

The leader chants the line and then the group repeats (R). We start slow and each time we do it, we go faster! The students love to see how fast they can go!

Music comes in really handy.  One time when we were on a fieldtrip, we had some time to kill so I gathered all 150 third graders and led them in a sing along. It made the wait time go by so much faster. We also like to sing on the bus when we go on fieldtrips. This is sometimes thwarted by the bus driver playing CDs or some sort of Disney radio.

I can't imagine a day without music.

*FYI the actual saying is: “Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast”…from a play by William Congreve, The mourning bride, 1697. Click HERE for the internet source.

Do you have a favorite song or fingerplay you taught your child? Leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Taking the Family to the Beach

In The Cats of Mrs. Calamari, the characters go to the beach. Do you have access to the ocean from where you live? If so, the beach is a great place to take your family. Even if you’re far from the ocean, a pond, lake, or river are fun to visit, too.

Your day will be more enjoyable if you remember some important things:
• Sunscreen
• Bug repellant
• Healthy snack and meals (a cooler on wheels is handy!)
• Water and juice beverages (plastic containers, no glass!)
• Bathing suits
• Hats and a change of clothing
• Shelter—pop up cabana or umbrella for shade
• Towels (two per person and leave one set in the trunk)
• Beach chairs, blankets or quilts for sitting on
• Beach toys (shovel, pails, etc.)
• Bubbles (be considerate of others who may not want to be “bubbled”)
• Plastic bags (for wet clothing as well as packing home your trash)
• Baby powder (for helping to remove excess sand)
• Camera (don’t forget the camera bag for protection!)

Optional but fun:
• Bug net/container for catching/releasing specimens/magnifying glass
• Fish net/pail for catching/releasing specimens
• Kite/balls/Frisbees, etc. (be considerate of others and watch for power lines)

Good to know:
Not all areas allow inflatable flotation devices or facemasks/snorkels. It’s good to check these things out before you go!

A day at a shore of any kind can be a day of discovery for you and your family. Digging holes is fun! Just be sure they’re not too big—they can collapse and cause injury! Don’t forget to fill them back in when you’re done.

Be sure to end the day on a happy note. There’s nothing worse than driving home a car full of sunburned, hungry, thirsty, bug bitten, sand encrusted, tired children. After rinsing off as much sand as you can, pat dry with the extra towels you previously stowed in the trunk. Dust any residual sand off with the baby powder. That and a visit to a local ice cream, burger or clam shack makes for an enjoyable ending to a memorable family outing.

Appreciating a Job Well Done

Has your child had a great school year? Have you thanked her teacher? I’m not saying you need to rush out and buy an extravagant gift, I’m suggesting a note or card of thanks.

If you’re really grateful, write a letter stating the specific things your child’s teacher has done and send it off to the superintendent and principal. Imagine the teacher’s surprise and delight to have their bosses be made aware of their hard work!

Teachers also love receiving letters of appreciation from their students. In this week’s Pointers blog I’ve included some tips to help children write a letter of appreciation to their teacher.

Most teachers love what they do and are happiest when helping children achieve. It is so rewarding to watch a child who was struggling suddenly make a breakthrough. We call that a “light bulb moment.”

Having a hand in shaping the future generations is an awesome responsibility. Somebody’s got to do it and do it well. It’s hard work but it’s worth it and knowing somebody appreciates our efforts gives us the boost to continue.

Summer Reading for Children

Ahhh…Summer! Eight whole weeks of quality time to spend with your child! But wait, after a few days you may hear those dreaded words, “I’m bored!” What’s a parent to do? Why, head right to the library, of course!

There’s so much more at your local library than just a bunch of books. The summer reading programs at area libraries are chock full of craft activities and entertainment. Sign your child up right away, check out some books for him and get him reading!

Or if your child will be away at camp and unable to visit the library, Scholastic Books has a great website for parents http://www.scholastic.com/parents with all sorts of information about how to get kids to read and a free summer reading program http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/collection/scholastic-summer-challenge/.

A summer full of reading is win-win for you and your child. He might possibly learn reading is fun while earning prizes and you have peace of mind knowing he will probably not experience the dreaded “summer slide.” The “summer slide” is a regression in reading skills that occurs over the summer when children don’t read. This is especially dangerous for newer and weaker readers.

It is crucial that you choose “just right” books for your child. These are books that are neither too easy nor too hard but just right. Before the end of the school year, ask the teacher what book level to choose for your child. You friendly local librarian can help and there are many book lists available on the internet that can get you started as well. Scholastic has booklists, too: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/book-lists/.

So sign your child up soon! You’ll be glad you did!
How do you keep your child reading throughout the summer? Please me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!