Dear Parents,
You are the most important teacher in your child’s life. Your child is most likely going to be influenced by your attitudes about and choices of music than any other teacher. What you choose to listen to and play in your home will send a huge message about how you feel about music and its importance in your life and in the world.
If you feel overwhelmed by this, you are in good company. My purpose is to help you with that responsibility, if you want, because music is a powerful tool to help our lives be happier, healthier, and definitely more fun!
It is my opinion that happiness is homemade, and the more you interact with your child in small ways with music, the more fun it will be for both of you. For example, you can–
- play good music in the car when you’re driving places or at home when you’re doing your normal routines, like getting ready for the day, making dinner, or getting ready for bed;
- think about something you love and put down some words to describe it. Then put some notes to those words, and voilà! you have written a song with your child. These songs can be simple, but when you sing it together, it is really fun! (You can record the notes by making a Song Garden–more on that later!).
- attend live performances of good music together. This can be as simple as attending a neighbor child’s recital or a concert at your school, church, or community center.
- help your child learn an instrument. In Delicious Music, we use resonator bells, and these are a fabulous way to get started in music! They typically cost around $30, so they are not a major investment the way other instruments can be.
- sing with your child and by yourself! “A child who sings is a happy child.” Do you sing in the shower? Hooray! Then your child will hear you singing, and maybe they will start singing in the shower! Sing while you dance together in the kitchen or when you’re walking to school. And that means that both of you are happier and handling the stress in your lives in a healthy way, which means a happier home and family, more success in school and work, more pleasant interactions in the community, and look! We’re on our way to world peace! 🙂
Let me know how Delicious Music helps you and any ways you think it could help even more. If you’d like to help this program grow, please contact me!
Happy Music-making!
Mrs. Livingston 🙂
P.S. A parent is critical in protecting children from harmful music and other media. Please read my video-viewing warning for this website.