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What about Preschool Piano Lessons?

Piano / By / October 5, 2021

I often have parents in my early childhood education class ask what is the best age for a child to begin the piano. My usual response… it depends. Preschoolers learn and grow socially very quickly, but because each child is so unique, it really does depend on the child. Can the child sit still and concentrate on something for 4-5 minutes? Do they enjoy working with others? Do they listen? Are they working on fine motor skills? These are all questions I ask a parent before we begin talking about preschool piano lessons. For some children, just waiting another 6 months can make all the difference in readiness.

Can a 4 Year Old Learn Piano?

Learning to play the piano requires the ability to think about many things at once. What is the note value – long or short? What is the pitch – low or high? Where is each note located on the piano? How should the note sound – soft or loud? It’s actually pretty amazing when you stop to think about how many thoughts need to happen simultaneously for music to happen. For very young learners this can be a challenge.

Why Don’t Many Teachers Offer Preschool Piano Lessons?

Teach your child preschool piano! Every parent can play this preschool piano game, even if you never learned to play the piano yourself!

Many 4 year olds are excited to play the piano. If you are fortunate to find a teacher who specializes in teaching preschool piano you are lucky. Many piano teachers are reluctant to teach preschool piano. Teachers desire filling their teaching schedule, but do not enjoy the extra work preschool piano lessons require. Preschoolers need to move, and they need to change activities at least every 4-5 minutes. This means teachers need to prep at least 6-10 activities/lesson to fill a 30 minute lesson. These extra activities, while fun, are not necessary in regular piano teaching to children over the age of 8.

How Do I Teach My 4 Year Old Preschool Piano?

Parents have an advantage in teaching their own child preschool piano. They can provide many creative, musical learning activities for their child which will prepare them for formal lessons when they are older. Children learn extremely well when they play games. There are many games parents can play with their child which will teach the child about the piano and reinforce musical concepts. Capturing moments when a preschool child is eager and ready to play is often the opportunity a formal teacher doesn’t get.

Parents have an advantage in teaching preschool piano

Cherie Norquay

Parents have the opportunity to use a video, pick a game, sing movement songs with instruments, fill a basket with amazing musical instruments for preschoolers, etc. and can gently teach a child a lot in 3-5 minutes without the long lessons teachers require that often wear a child out. When a preschooler is having a good day, he may enjoy piano games and activities for a long length of time. But when a child is not having a great day, no amount of pressure will gain the cooperation that is desired.

One of the reasons I created this blog was to help parents find resources for music making in the home. Teaching preschool piano is kind of like teaching your child to read. No one needs a degree in education to read books to a child. A child learns to read by being read to and reading together with an adult. Music is the same. Parents can build a solid piano foundation that formal instruction can later refine by taking time to make music together, playing games together, and providing musical instruments and activities for preschool children to explore.

Preschool Piano Activities

The first game I play with every piano student is the Piano Race Game. This game explores the geography of the piano. Children learn where the low and high sounds of the piano are. They learn the music alphabet and the groups of 2 black notes and 3 black notes are identified and counted on the piano. Every child LOVES playing this game and they are especially motivated if you have some super cute moving pieces (Lego men, tiny hatchables, or mini erasers are great!) Below there is an offer to get this game for FREE! I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to begin building a library of games and resources to help you to preschool piano to your child.

Making music and playing the piano should be joyful!

Cherie Norquay

Conclusion

The most important thing to remember is that making music and playing the piano should be joyful. Great piano instruction will break apart all the components of music and help a child learn about each part individually. For the preschool child, this might mean when he learns about loud sounds, he will stomp his feet and then play a stomping sound on the piano, or when he learns about soft sounds he may tiptoe around the room and then make a tip-toe sound at the piano. Moving the body helps a young child learn and will connect music making to things they already know. These simple parts of music making are accessible for every parent to teach. Every child loves music! I hope you will enjoy building your library of musical activities and resources for teaching your child preschool piano.

race game preschool piano

Join the Music Time Kid Community and get the Piano Race Game FREE!

This is the first game I use with every new piano students and kids love to play it over and over!

20 Musical Instruments for Preschoolers

Toddler / By / July 16, 2021

As an early childhood music instructor I select and use many different musical instruments for preschoolers. I look for instruments I do not think my students will have at home because I look for real instruments and not just toys. These toys would be perfect for a music basket that comes out occasionally when you need to keep your busy preschooler occupied for a while. Perfect for work-at-home or homeschool parents with preschoolers.

This list of quality musical instruments are actual instruments I have actually purchased from Amazon. They have seen a years of heavy use by preschoolers and are still in amazing condition.

Musical Instruments that Preschoolers Love

Woven Double Jingle Caxixi Shaker – African Bottle Cap Rattle

This rattle is perfect for little hands., because the woven handle is easy to hold onto. Bottle caps inside this rattle have a happy jingle sound.

PlanToys Plan Preschool Clatter Music

This toy is such a quality piece. Preschoolers can hold the handles easily and move their hands up and down to make the clatter sound. Besides playing this instrument children love exploring the rainbow of colors.

Remo RH-2106-00 Rhythm Club Tambourine – Rhythm Kids, 6″

Remo sells quality instruments! I have had several other tambourines that have broken within minutes of play. This tambourine has lasted four years in my early childhood music classes and still looks

B. Parum Pum Pum Drum

This set comes with a variety of colorful instruments that are perfect for young hands. Many of my toddlers loved marching with the drum as it has a strap which is removable (I’m not a fan of the strap for younger children). Great quality set.

Remo Percussion 6″ Lollipop Drum

I purchased THREE of these lollipop drums because I knew the children in my class would all want to play with it at the same time! Kids love marching around with this drum. The 6 inch size is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Imaginative and of course Remo quality can’t be beat! HIGH RECOMMEND!

Oball Rainstick Rattle

This shaky rainstick ball is easy for tiny fingers to hold. This style of toy is one of the first toys babies can really do something with. The colors are great, the soft rain beads inside have a shaker sound to them. This is a nice quality instrument for babies and toddlers.

Bright Starts Rattle and Roll Buggy

The sound on this little car is very very soft, but kids just LOVE this toy. It is easy to grasp, shake, push. I highly recommend this car more because children love love to play with this car than for the musical quality of the car.

Bells and Eggs value pack

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This is one of those iffy purchases that totally delighted me. Some items on Amazon are poorly made, but this set has lasted so well that I have purchased additional sets when needed for a Preschool Christmas Program. As in anything that has smaller-ish parts, please use your judgement as to what age this set is suited for.

Battat Piccolo Carousel Bells

This bell set is amazing. Every child loves playing with it. I love that the mallet has two different heads. One is softer and gives a softer bell sound, the other side is harder and makes a louder ringing sound. At this moment Amazon doesn’t have this exact model available. I am always hesitant to recommend different products I have not tested, so I will not leave a different link here. But you may be able to find a different brand carousel bells.

24 inch Musical Scarf Set

I have been using these scarves every week for the past four years. I have washed and line dried them and the edges have stayed nice. I love that there are so many colors!

5 inch Small Natural Wood Nino Clave Pair

Wonderful size claves for small hands. I love the rounded ends and small size. Nino brand has a much nicer sound quality than other cheap brands. This is a wonderful musical instrument for preschoolers.

Little Wooden 4 inch Rasp Frog

This little frog is easy for little hands to hold. Sounds like a real frog sound.

Xylophone with great sound

This is my favorite xylophone because of the beautiful sound and it is in tune! Toddlers reach for this instrument over and over. I have had mine for 4 years and the paint colors still look fantastic with no chips.

HOHNER Kids Set of 4 Finger Cymbals Brass

Hohner Finger Cymbals have a much nicer and musical sound quality than other brands. I like these cymbals because they fit nicely on little fingers. Easy for preschoolers to hold and use.

Schylling Kids Accordion

This is probably one of the most played with musical instruments I own. I have had trouble keeping mine in perfect condition because I teach in a room with hard floors and I have had toddlers drop it. Currently there are two buttons that no longer work (after four years) but kids still love playing this instrument. I think it is facinating that you can get two different sounds from only one button (one pitch when you pull out and a different one when you push in). Bonus: A grandparent favorite!

Skip Hop Baby Musical Toys: Explore & More Accordion Hedgehog

This accordian gets a HIGH RECOMMEND not because of it’s amazing sound, but because every child absolutely adores this toy and looks to play with it week after week. The handles are easy to hold and this accordian is easy for even very little children to pull. The sound is very soft which I found a little disappointing, but for most parents, I think that might be a godsend.

Skip Hop Baby Musical Toys: Explore & More Accordion Hedgehog Shakers

Cute Fox, Owl, and Hedgehog Shaker Eggs have fun colors and different textures on the outside of each shaker. Each shaker sound is slightly different sounding from each other and quality of sound is soft for little ears. Perfect for babies.

Remo 5″ – 6″ Rhythm Club Bongo Drum

These bongos are great for small hands and kids love that there is more than one drum! Again Remo quality can’t be beat. These drums are still in perfect condition after years of play.

Wooden Cabasa Small Percussion Hand Shaker

Small size cabasa for small hands. Kids are intrigued by the beads and how they move on this instrument. I love real instruments and don’t think kids should be denied the opportunity to play real percussion instruments. Quality instrument!

disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on those links and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me continue to add helpful information to this blog.

It’s never too late to start your music basket! Not only are these musical instruments enjoyed by preschoolers, but even by Kindergarten-3rd grade students, parents, grandparents, and friends of the family love to play them. My grandkids beg to get out a basket of instruments each time they come over. My husband says it must be nice to be the coolest grandma on the planet. (Ha!)

Get your FREE Music Mini-Class!

Kids LOVE music! And they will love to clap, stomp, shake, sing and play musical instruments with Beethoven, an adorable pancake-loving sheep dog that loves making music! Get your free class today!

Create a Joyful Home Using Children’s Music

Joyful Atmosphere / By / November 30, 2021 / , , ,

Children’s Music

CHILDREN'S MUSIC

The world is a loud, noisy, and frenzied place, so it’s important to have a place where we can escape. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our homes were the refuge we desire? Unfortunately, many homes today are as loud and demanding as the outside world… demanding our energy in ways that just drain us to the breaking point: children insist on having their own way, or enjoy poking at their siblings, the water heater breaks, flooding your utility room, a package you were waiting for disappears from your doorstep, you know… real life happens. How can we change the atmosphere in our home if it’s not joyful? How can we create a more nurturing, restful sanctuary full of love, laughter and joy? Children’s music is one key to achieving this, and every parent should learn how to use children’s songs to create a joyful home.

Busy families wake up early, prep for the day ahead, rush out the door, and return home to cook, clean, do schoolwork, and more. Children seldom have a dull moment during the day. Then we rinse and repeat all week long. With such busy lives, how can we minimize the stress and nurture a more joyful atmosphere inside our homes? Is it even possible? I assure you there are ways to nurture a more joyful atmosphere in the home without adding more to your do-to list. Children’s music can simply be added as you go through the day. This blog post gives more detail about 5 Things I Want Parents to Know About This Blog.

Get your FREE Music Mini-Class

Your toddler or preschooler will love this Music Mini-Class.  Join me and Beethoven, an adorable pancake loving sheepdog as we sing, dance and play together!

What is a Joyful Home?

A home is the place where one lives. Joyful is an adjective which we desire to describe the home: feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness. A joyful home is a home where the family living inside finds great happiness enjoying one another. Laughter, giggles, happy moments, hugs, compassion and care are all a part of joyful family life. Of course there are other non-joyful moments, but overall the mood of the home is one of delight.

How does music bring joy?

This article that talks about how music is a pleasure seeking activity that most people engage in. It cites a study that claims listening to the music you love releases more dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in the brain. Because neurotransmitters are important for cognitive development, emotions and behavior, one can link music directly to brain development and happiness.

However, you don’t have to be a scientist to actually see how music brings joy to people. Here are a couple examples:

  • I teach an online toddler music class and work with children ages infant-preschool and adults. For 30 minutes, there is an enjoyable experience: singing, bouncing stuffed animals, moving to the beat, dancing, hopping, twirling scarfs, and playing instruments. I see this happiness first hand in my in-person classes.
  • Concerts are filled with listeners who are enjoying the music, friends, and family. Smiles are everywhere.
  • When I am taking care of my grandkids, I use music to gain cooperation. We sing songs to pick up toys, clear the table and even brush teeth. Music gets the job done with enthusiasm and smiles.

Why Use Children’s Music?

Not only does listening to or creating music bring joy to a child or adult. Music encourages brain, emotional, and behavioral development. Parents learn how to use children’s music to help with everyday life situations. They become equipped to can change whatever kind of moment they happen to be dealing into a more pleasant and joyful experience. Even when parents are tired, upset, or frenzied, listening to music can be a way to decompress. Music is often used in spas? Soothing, tranquil music, can really change how you feel.

How to get started creating a more joyful atmosphere

Here are just a couple ideas of how children’s music can be added to the day to make it more joyful. A parent can sing a “time to get dressed” song or offer a child a choice in something by singing “you get to choose” when they are helping their children. It adds no more time to the day, but the day can be more joyful by simply singing a song. There is wide abundance of children’s music to encourage cooperation, give choices, prepare for bedtime, learn skills, and so much more.

When taking my third child to the doctor for her 6 month old well baby visit, the doctor asked her older brother if he ever got tired of hearing his baby sister cry. He calmly said, “No, she never cries.” The doctor looked doubtingly at my son and I quickly reaffirmed his story. You see, the doctor didn’t know what I knew... music can change your inner spirit and make a home more joyful. My youngest three children rarely ever cried. We spent our days singing when we woke up, singing to get dressed, we sang a song before we ate at the table (you get the idea). My kids still remember many of the songs we sang each day.

Easy Ways to Use Children’s Music

  • Pick one time of day where you can incorporate a new song into your routine like using a song for clean up time, or getting dressed in the morning.
  • Use music as a distraction. Often when a child is focused on a negative behavior, music will instantly distract the child from the situation and turn the situation around.
  • Use music to offer choices. Children like to be offered choices. Singing a little tune to words like “would you like this one? Or would you like that one?” helps eliminate power struggles because the child has a choice and the choice is presented in a delightful way.
  • Use music to encourage cooperation. Children want to participate in being helpful and cooperative when it is presented in a fun way. It is much easier to get children to cooperate when they are joyful.
  • Use children’s music to build community and reinforce kindness. Sharing toys, caring about feelings, being gentle are examples of interacting with others. Songs that reflect care and concern for others help instill this value in children.

Tips for Success in creating musical routines

  • Print the lyrics to songs and hang them up in places that will remind you to add music to your day. For instance, place a song you’d like to sing at diaper time on the wall of your diaper changing station.
  • Teach your child some of the easy songs. For example, when it is time to clean up toys, encourage your child to sing with you until the toys are all picked up.
  • Use your phone, Google, Alexa, etc. to play a song when you need cooperation. Even if you don’t know the lyrics to a song, having a song playing that you and your child can learn together is helpful.

The Last Thing You Need to Know about Children’s Music

Life isn’t perfect. Life can be difficult. Raising children can be tiring. But maintaining joy in the home helps brings out the best in each person each day. Learning how to use children’s music can be an effective parenting tool to turn difficult situations into an instantly silly or fun experiences. Children are not picky connoisseurs of music. They delight in any kind of music that is shared with them. Don’t be self-conscious, but rather sing, move and be playful! You will see a new kind of joy emerging from your children.

15 Toddler Music and Movement Songs

Songs / By / December 12, 2021
toddler music movement songs

When I first began teaching early childhood music classes, I began the tedious task of searching for the best toddler music and movement songs. There is a sea of children’s music on Youtube, but I tend to call it the sea of mediocrity because, I am very picky about what I call good music. Good music can stand the test of time. Good music speaks to many generations just like good children’s literature. There are some amazing children’s music artists, and finding that music is important because parents need to enjoy listening to this music as well. Here are 15 movement songs I use often in my toddler music programs. Both toddlers and parents enjoy these songs!

I have other blog posts with more wonderful “get the wiggles out” songs and several blog posts about the kind of instruments many children really enjoy. The songs are even more fun when you get out a basket of instruments to play!

Toddler Movement Songs

Everybody Clap

Children love this song because they can do some many types of movement. Everybody can clap their hands, stomp their feet, play peek-a-boo, move side to side, and count to three. This song is in the TOP 5.

Bunny Hop

Hop, Hop, Hop! Children beg to hop and move to this song. They love to wiggle their ears, paws, nose, and shake their little cottontail. This is a TOP 5 song!

Toddler Online Music Class that every child loves!

Get your FREE Music Mini-Class

Your toddler or preschooler will love this Music Mini-Class.  Join me and Beethoven, an adorable pancake loving sheepdog as we sing, dance and play together!

Peekaboo

Peekaboo is a fun toddler game and this movement song is a favorite. You can play peekaboo with your hands, but often I will use a scarf so that children can cover their head, face, and/or eyes.

Hop Old Squirrel

Every child loves to use their imagination. How does a squirrel move? He can hop, tip-toe, and so much more!

Baby Shark

Baby shark is a favorite TOP 5 song! Arm motions make this song more exciting as we move from tiny sharks to bigger sharks. Kids have fun swimming and swimming away from the sharks until they are safe at last!

We’re Walking to the Drum

Let’s walk, tip-toe, stomp, and run to the drum. Kids especially love the running! Loop this song so they can do it over and over!

Gray Squirrel

Gray Squirrel loves to shake his bushy tail. I love to shake a scarf and imagine that scarf is gray squirrel’s tail. He is eager to hold a nut and wiggle his nose! This song is a wonderful, imaginative toddler movement song.

Learning to listenMove to the Beat (The Sitting Movement Song!)

Learning to listen is an important skill. Not only will kids get to move and then stop! They also get to be silly!

Shake Your Maraca

Shake, Shake, Shake and Stop. Can you shake it up high? Shake it down low? It’s so fun to shake and move. If you don’t have a maraca, find a box of mac & cheese or something else that will give a nice sha-key sound!

Play Your Instruments

I am a huge Ella Jenkins fan! Ella is now 96 years old, and she began her musical career back in the 1950s. She always taught respect, kindness, empathy, and understood that children learned by moving to music and through the stories she told through music. A hallmark in children’s music, Ella Jenkins stands the test of time.

The Toe-Tappin’, Foot-Stompin’, Egg-Shakin’ Blues

Bluesy feelin’ shaking song. If your toddler can stand and move, they can move their toes or tip-toe, but if your child isn’t steady they can touch their toes with their hands. Toes tap! Feet stomp! Shake those shakers!

One Little Finger (Sing-Along)

Children love to identify and point to the parts of their body: head, nose, chin, arms, leg, feet. You can even get silly by tickling your chin.

Move It, Move It!

Let’s move it! Twist it! Stomp it! Tip-toe it! And then stop! It’s so much to dance to this groove. I love the guitar and drums! This is a TOP 5 song!

Clap Clap Clap Your Hands Together (2014 Version)

Toddlers love to clap their hands! It’s fun to pat your knees, stomp your feet, blink your eyes and more!

The Shaker Song

Bouncy and fun! Get some shakers and move!

Build Your Toddler Music Playlist

Below you will find convenient Amazon links to the toddler movement songs I have listed. I hope this will help save you time so you can add more toddler movement music to your play list. Your toddlers will love shaking, dancing and wiggling to these songs. Get more information about toddler online music classes here.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links which means I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase any of these products.

These songs are perfect Toddler Music and Movement Songs for a Rainy Day!

Toddler Online Music Class

Toddler / By / July 3, 2021 / , , ,

Why are there on-line music classes for toddlers?

In 2020, all over the country, music classes and music lessons had to close their doors. This happened to my early childhood music classes. As soon as I cancelled my Spring music classes I had parents asking if there was a way for me to create an online toddler music class so we could still get together. It took several months of planning, recording and editing, but I finally completed my first 6 week music program for toddlers, babies, and preschoolers called “Play With Me”.

What should a toddler music class look like?

Children learn in so many different ways that incorporating many different kinds of experiences is necessary. Here are some items I strive to teach in every music class.

Basic music concepts can also be taught to kids of any age: babies, toddlers and preschoolers.  Feeling a steady beat, hearing rhythms, developing the inner ear (hearing the song in your head), instrument play, interactive games, and many other musical activities are all important in music classes.

All of the components of this kind of music program can be found in an online toddler music class.

What kind of music should kids listen to?

This is a good question. In fact, it is one of the questions that inspires me to write this blog. I am always on the search for great music for toddlers. And it is also important to me, as a parent, that kids and parents can enjoy listening to music together.. I wrote an article, 5 Things I Want Parents to Know About this Blog, that outlines why I am writing this blog. Empowering parents to use music in their daily lives, finding great quality music, and creating ways to enjoy music together are just a part of the reasons.

Classical Music

There is so much good music for parents to choose from!  One choice that is widely recommended that children listen to from birth is classical music. Classical music is very stimulating for the brain and is said to improve cognitive development.  Children especially love listening to Mozart. When my children were young I had a collection of Baby Einstein videos.  The  Mozart video was a huge favorite.  When children hear classical music,  it helps them begin their musical language and forms a foundation for when they want to learn to play instruments and take music lessons.  This music is accessible to kids of all ages and will certainly increase their ability for future music lessons.

Traditional Music

I am sure that you can remember the joy of hearing your favorite childhood songs. Memories are made in these moments, and they seem to last forever!  Classic tunes never get old, are routinely taught in preschool learning, and I include plenty of them in my music classes.  Every young child can play, explore dance and movement, and sing to classic tunes.

Here is a tiny list of music recommendations to get you going:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Mary Had A Little Lamb

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

London Bridges

Rain Rain Go Away

Just see for yourself how happy everyone is music making, and dancing!

Finding Great Children’s Music

There are many studies that show how music can help with cognitive development and academic performance in children as well! Preschool songs should be fun to listen too but they also need to teach kids things like counting, colors, alphabet letters, manners, etc.   One of my favorite artists who writes original tunes just for kiddos is Raffi– he has a lot of catchy melodies you’ll find even parents love singing his songs.  Most adults enjoy his work too because it isn’t cartoon-ish, baby-ish, or full of hype. His work tends to appeal universally.

Here is a link to one of my favorite Raffi album’s, Bananaphone.

disclaimer: this page may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.

World Music

When I teach early childhood music classes I always include music from other countries. Listening to different instruments, percussion, rhythm, musical styles, and singing allows  children to hear new sounds. It sparks new ideas children can imitate when they create and make music on their own.

I have also chosen to include world music in my online toddler music class because it just makes the music program so much richer!

Why should there be so much repetition in early childhood?

toddler online music class

The toddler brain loves repetition. Begging to read the same story a hundred times in a row? Re-watching their favorite show for hours on end? Yes, toddlers love repeating things and that’s actually good news! That is how they learn new skills like reading or math!  Changing things up every now and then can be a good idea but you want to make sure that your kids are not disappointed.  Don’t forget to sing their favorite songs each week!

When I teach my music program, I always include a lot of repetition:  Singing some of the same songs each week and only changing a few things like the song for movement and dancing, or the drumming song.

People will notice in my online toddler music class that I repeat many songs. Even the songs I change out in one week, I will bring back again later. That is because every child loves different songs and kids are so disappointed when they do not sing their favorite song. In fact that is the ONE thing they are looking forward to!

Let’s look a little closer.  How do children learn the ABC’s? Repetition. And incorporating music into learning has a synergistic effect. When learning and music are combined, it makes a way for the learning to stick. It’s easier to remember.  That’s why we teach a child to sing the alphabet instead of just reciting it.  Even at the earliest age learning the alphabet (which is pretty long!) is mastered through song.

Would you like to try an online music class?

Here is a brand new music program I know your kids would love.  This program is the result of many years of lessons and all ages love to sing, dance and play with Beethoven, an adorable, pancake-loving sheep dog, Beethoven.  Beethoven is silly and loves to sing, dance, and play musical instruments.  He will encourage your child to play fast and slow, and move move move!  This 20 minute music class touches on many musical activities you would find in my “in- person” music program where the classes are 30 minutes in length. Most toddlers participate independently, yet they love the encouragement, interaction, and praises of a caring adult!  It’s important to play with your toddler!  So enjoying the class with your kids is highly recommended. 

Parents are often delighted to find that their big kids love this class as much as a younger child!  Try it out for free below and let me know if you enjoy the class.  I am interested in creating more music programs if it is something people are looking for!  At any rate, I know the ideas in this class will be helpful for parents and you can adapt all the early childhood activities you see me demonstrate for a child of any age with your own playlist.

My favorite Toddler Movement Music can be found here!

Toddlers LOVE music! Now you can experience a free toddler online music class right in your own living room! Get some rhythm instruments, a stuffed animal and a kitchen towel and let the fun begin@

Get your FREE Music Mini-Class

Your toddler or preschooler will love this Music Mini-Class.  Join me and Beethoven, an adorable pancake loving sheepdog as we sing, dance and play together!

Child-tested and approved!

Kids LOVE Music! And they will love meeting Beethoven, an adorable pancake-eating sheep dog who loves to sing, dance and play in this FREE toddler online music mini-class!

Music Time Kids was Designed for Parents of Young Children and Here is Why

Uncategorized / By / August 23, 2020

I am tired of hearing parents complain about their children. Some of the most common complaints include: My child isn’t cooperating. I constantly have power struggles over what clothes my child wants to wear. My child won’t eat the food I cook. He only wants ice cream. My child isn’t going to bed and staying there. When I hear these complaints, parents are voicing frustration. They do not know what to do to get their children to cooperate. And these parents are lacking resources that can help them be more successful. However, if parents add wonderful parenting tips to their arsenal, they eventually end up with the tools they are looking for to create more joy in the home, children who are more content, and families who enjoy spending time together.

Many resources I find on-line are full of hype, not age appropriate, or nurturing to the spirit. In finding very little content I think is joy directed, educational, and encouraging, I decided to create that resource myself.

Music Time Kids was Designed for Parents of Young Children

I know first hand how much help parents of young children need. I raised five children of my own and now my children are having babies. You can only learn bit by bit, finding answers to questions and problems each day.

I hope my readers will find the information in this blog helpful. I plan to share the stories and lessons I have learned over 27 years of parenting. There are no shortcuts on the parenting journey, but there are definitely things I wished I knew when I was younger.

I hope you find this resource helpful as I share my stories, music that I have created, favorite children’s artists, products I believe are quality and educational, and programs and classes that are valuable and educational.

5 Things I Want Parents to Know about This Blog

Joyful Atmosphere / By / August 29, 2021

My blog exists to help parents discover how music can increase a joyful atmosphere in the home, and through music parents will be equipping their children for academic success, as well as teaching and improving social behavior. Music can turn the grumps into giggles, tantrums into contentment, teach school readiness skills, and so much more.

And let’s just acknowledge the elephant in the room, Kids LOVE music! Parents underestimate the power music has to transform the cooperation of their child, the brain development early childhood music can ignite, or the educational skills that can be joyfully learned.

Please join me as I share ways you can increase the joy, cooperation, and brain development of your child by incorporating music into your everyday life.

1. Empower parents with confidence to use music in raising children.

Parenting is a journey, and when we begin this journey there is so much to know. It can be overwhelming to attempt to know everything and have the best parenting skills before we even begin this journey. Never fear… parenting is a long journey and we can acquire the skills we need as we need them: reading articles, going to classes or workshops, watching videos, and more will teach us as we parent. As a parent of five children ages 28 -15, and a grandma to three (soon to be 4) little grandchildren, I have grown over the years learning new skills for the circumstances I find myself facing each day. And there is one thing that I have discovered… music matters. It’s like the song “A Spoonful of Sugar” that says a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Well, a spoonful of music helps with just about everything!

2. Provide easy to follow songs and courses to teach age appropriate skills.

Learning little bits of parenting at a time makes parenting growth more manageable. I am building online content for families that will help parents in many situations. Are you teaching your child about colors? Are you teaching them to be kind? Are you teaching your child to jump? Through music parents will learn helpful tips to teach age appropriate skills with music that benefit all young children.

3. Recommend only the best music, videos, and music products

I am extremely picky when it comes to children’s instruments and toys. Many times I have made purchases that have been extremely disappointing because a toy breaks the same day is was received as a gift, or I discover that the item was defective and unsafe for children under age 3. Because I teach in-person music classes to young children I have discovered many wonderful musical instruments, books, and music that I highly recommend. These are items that I know all children and parents would benefit from having in their homes. It is a pleasure for me to share my experience with these quality items with you so you know each item I recommend will be a satisfying addition to your home.

4. Through music parents can instill confidence and joy in their children

Children become confident when they learn to do things well. Have you ever noticed that children love repetition? Repetition is part of the learning experience… allowing children the time they need to master something and then develop the confidence that they have learned something. Demonstrating what they have learned builds confidence. Joy and confidence are not synonymous, but confidence can bring joy to a child when he is happy with his accomplishments. Music also bringsjoy to any situation. When a parent can approach chores, morning routines, getting ready for bedtime, etc. with a joyful song, the activity is just more fun and delightful to complete. So you see… through music parents can make a big difference in their lives and bring more joy into their homes.

5. Write a Weekly Blog Post to Help Parents on Their Journey

There are so many way to apply music to everyday life. Do you have toddlers at home and you are trying to work from home? Are looking for ways to help your busy preschooler play independently while you homeschool an older child? Are you looking for an enrichment activity you can enjoy at home because face-to-face classes are cancelled? Do you want to learn a new lullaby song, or clean up song, or let’s work together song, or a rainy day “let’s get the wiggles out” playlist? Do you want to know how you can ignite your baby’s brain development? I could probably write a weekly blog post for the rest of my life and not cover everything, but my desire is to help you on your journey right now! So if you have a topic you want me to write about, please let a comment below.

Conclusion

Parenting is a journey of discovering… discovering how to teach our children… discovering how to nurture our children…and discovering how we can bring joy to our children. None of us is perfect, and children certainly have a personality and mind of their own. But let’s discover together! Through music parents can enrich and nurture their family’s relationships. Music can and certainly does bring more joy to our everydayl lives. Join me on this musical journey!

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