Just back from presenting my workshop "We All Sing with the Same Voice". About a 1,000 teachers and other leaders in education attended the CA Teaching Association's annual regional conference in Northern CA. this weekend. What an excellent opportunity to re-charge the spirit and catch up on the latest ideas, tools, and techniques for providing children with the best possible classroom experiences.
I was delighted to meet with fellow teachers and offer them ideas and material for incorporating more music---specifically group singing---into the daily round. What greater gift can we give a child than to foster a life-long love and appreciation for our most natural and human of expressions: giving voice to the joy of music with which we're each born?
Based on the comments from teachers, both at the conference and after their return to the classroom, singing with their students greatly enhances the learning environment, the receptivity of the kids, and the energy of the whole class.
One expert in the field I quoted most often was Dr. John M. Ortiz, author of Nurturing Your Child with Music. I highly recommend his book for an abundance of ideas on including music in your "daily dance of life".
The message I most wanted to impart was this: That we are each and all of us singers; that there is no such thing as a bad singer; and to not give our children the notion that there is even such a thing as a bad singer.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
My first KEET TV video!
How can you make more time for music in your children's daily lives?
Asked by our local PBS station's "Ready to Learn" director to share some ideas on this topic, I've just made a video, with a professional video producer, (aka my husband) that is the pilot for our new series called "My Everyday Music". Here's some of what I shared:
"We are all natural music-makers and music is meant to be a part of our daily lives. Children naturally love singing and discovering new ways to have fun with words, sound, rhythm and movement.
If you don’t consider yourself a singer, think again. Now is the time to give yourself back the gift of singing. If you can talk, you can sing. Sing with your child every chance you get. Let them know that everyone is a singer, and that there’s no such thing as a bad singer. Sing your child’s name, sing simple phrases, sing that you love them!
Instead of reading a book, try singing it! You don’t need any special training to make music. There are lots of books with many ideas for having fun exploring music with your child. Find them at your local library or favorite bookstore."
For more ideas go to my website at lisamonetmusic.com
Happy singing together!
Lisa
Asked by our local PBS station's "Ready to Learn" director to share some ideas on this topic, I've just made a video, with a professional video producer, (aka my husband) that is the pilot for our new series called "My Everyday Music". Here's some of what I shared:
"We are all natural music-makers and music is meant to be a part of our daily lives. Children naturally love singing and discovering new ways to have fun with words, sound, rhythm and movement.
If you don’t consider yourself a singer, think again. Now is the time to give yourself back the gift of singing. If you can talk, you can sing. Sing with your child every chance you get. Let them know that everyone is a singer, and that there’s no such thing as a bad singer. Sing your child’s name, sing simple phrases, sing that you love them!
Instead of reading a book, try singing it! You don’t need any special training to make music. There are lots of books with many ideas for having fun exploring music with your child. Find them at your local library or favorite bookstore."
For more ideas go to my website at lisamonetmusic.com
Happy singing together!
Lisa
Saturday, January 16, 2010
"Sing in the New Year!"
Performing at KEET's "Sing in the New Year" event @ Main Library in Eureka. Would love to see you there! http://co.humboldt.ca.us/library/
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Clean Slate
At organizebythemonth.com via Twitter's @jlscissors, I found some great tips to help me in my resolution to be clutter-free:
"I love January...it’s a new year and another chance for a new beginning. That’s what New Year’s Resolutions are all about. A clean slate to try again to make our lives better. It’s another chance to get it right this time.
...one resolution is to have my paperwork more organized and get rid of more paper clutter....
So what are your New Years Resolutions? If organizing your home is one of them then stick around for lots of tips to help you move forward."
(Another resolution is to find out how to add internet links here on my blog!)
"I love January...it’s a new year and another chance for a new beginning. That’s what New Year’s Resolutions are all about. A clean slate to try again to make our lives better. It’s another chance to get it right this time.
...one resolution is to have my paperwork more organized and get rid of more paper clutter....
So what are your New Years Resolutions? If organizing your home is one of them then stick around for lots of tips to help you move forward."
(Another resolution is to find out how to add internet links here on my blog!)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
New Year's Motivation
I have found two other blogs that got me super-charged for starting my new year. The captions that caught my eye were:
1. "My inner cat" at Blisschick.net This cat-loving blogger, observing her cats who aren't in the least prompted by what to do/not do, or by thinking there might be a better time to do it, resolves to not question her desires or dreams but instead go forward as the impulse moves her. Signing up for ballroom dance classes was something she'd been planning to do for years.
2. "Planning your year" at http://ow.ly/Rmnd. With a 7-Step Goal Setting Model, speaker Brian Tracy writes: "Resolve today to make 2010 the very best year of your life. Set goals, make plans, take actions and achieve more in the coming year than perhaps you have ever accomplished in any one single year before."
What are you planning? What are your dearest wishes? What can you do to keep on track toward reaching your goals?
From taking those first dance steps to mapping out a whole year in business,
this is a great time to get specific, put it in writing, and take action.
1. "My inner cat" at Blisschick.net This cat-loving blogger, observing her cats who aren't in the least prompted by what to do/not do, or by thinking there might be a better time to do it, resolves to not question her desires or dreams but instead go forward as the impulse moves her. Signing up for ballroom dance classes was something she'd been planning to do for years.
2. "Planning your year" at http://ow.ly/Rmnd. With a 7-Step Goal Setting Model, speaker Brian Tracy writes: "Resolve today to make 2010 the very best year of your life. Set goals, make plans, take actions and achieve more in the coming year than perhaps you have ever accomplished in any one single year before."
What are you planning? What are your dearest wishes? What can you do to keep on track toward reaching your goals?
From taking those first dance steps to mapping out a whole year in business,
this is a great time to get specific, put it in writing, and take action.