Music and Culture

Marueen Conlin (www.happynotesmusic.com)

Imitating animal sounds helps a child to explore the different pitch of their own voice. The popular children’s standard “Old MacDonald” encourages children to mimic the sounds of animals therefore exploring the sound of their own voice in a fun and musical way as the cows moo, the ducks quack and the sheep go Bah! 

One of my favorite fun activities is to sing the song “Wheels on The Bus’ but have all the animals heading to Old MacDonald’s farm on the old yellow schoolbus as children sing:

The cow on the bus goes moo, moo, moo, moo, moo, moo, moo, moo, moo
The cow on the bus goes moo, moo, moo, on his way to the farm.
The driver on the bus says mooooove on back, moooove on back, moooove on back, the driver on the bus says  moooove on back, talking to the cow.

The sheep on the bus goes baa, baa, baa, baa, baa, baa, baa, baa, baa,
The sheep on the bus goes, baa, baa, baa on his way to the farm
The driver on the bus says moooove on baaaaack, moooove on baaaaack, moooove on baaack, the driver on the bus says moooove on baaack, talking to the sheep.

Can you think of any other play on words using the animal sounds? Maybe the horn can go oink, oink, oink instead of beep, beep, beep.  Or all the animals on the bus have attracted a few flies so children can sing: Sho fly sho, sho fly, sho, sho, fly, sho, on their way to the farm.

Maureen Conlin is an early childhood music entertainer/educator from Phoenix, Arizona. She is a writer, lyricist and composer who is inspired by her young audiences. Maureen loves to create, explore, experience and have fun sharing her passion for writing and music. Maureen is the owner of www.happynotesmusic.com and has four music CD’s, provides workshops for parents and early childhood educators and contributes to different children’s publications.

Independence!

Q. What can I do to keep my child from clinging to me and to foster her independence?

A. As strange as this may sound, be a detective during each time it happens. Then help your child through each individual situation.

Be a detective. Every time the problem happens, do your best to figure out what is disturbing or unpleasant for your child in the particular situation. If you can, do whatever you can to remove the problem. In most cases, staying with your child until he/she feels comfortable enough to join the group or play on his/her own will make all the difference in the world. Here are some common possible situations.

• A big family gathering
• A park or playground
• A children’s party

Good Green Fun!

Here is a fun green game from Make Your Own Preschool Games that will help build your child’s physical skills.

Moving and Dancing to the Music, p.62

Objective: To teach your child to get exercise and fun from music.

About the Game: Dance music is readily available on the radio.

How to Play: Turn the radio on to music with a good beat. Then have fun dancing. Feel free to copy each other, do different steps, or enjoy each other as dance partners.

Dr. Sally
For parenting insight…
www.drsallyparenting.com

Mosaic Collages From Torn Magazine Pages!

Materials Needed:

White, heavy, construction paper
Pencil
Magazines
Glue Stick

This is a great project for older kids this summer. Have your child draw a basic picture onto a large piece of heavy construction paper. The image should be simple and drawn like a coloring book page - outlines only, without a lot of details.

Look through magazines and tear out pages that have the colors you need for your picture. Try not to use colors that have type on top of it. Tear the color you need into small pieces about the size of a quarter. Glue the small colored pieces into each section of your picture - making sure the pieces slightly overlap each other.

The results are amazing. This project combines collage techniques by overlaying pieces with mosaic techniques by using small pieces to create a wonderful picture.

Melody Smith - Artist & Owner of Blackbird Music & Art Center - Queen Creek, Arizona
http://www.blackbirdcenter.com/

Melody is originally from California and received her Art Degree from California State University of Northridge. She spent the majority of her career as an Art Director and a Designer for a variety of corporations. Her freelance work includes Art Directing the L.A. Marathon, work with Mercedes Benz, the LA Philharmonic and everything in between from restaurant designs to high tech gear to high end car products for H2 Hummer, Miata, PT Cruiser and more. Her design work allowed her to travel throughout the United States and Europe which further enhanced her career in art. While being skilled in computer graphics, Melody is also a fine artist who likes to work in Watercolors, Acrylics, Oil Pastels and Colored Pencils. She insists that her career in computer graphics was only possible by learning the core basics of art, including drawing, painting and color theory. Without that knowledge, and expereince, it would have been very difficult. In the last 4 years, Melody received her teaching credentials in Art for grades K-12 and has taught every grade level as well as art for Special Needs children. Melody always tells her students that learning art is much like learning an instrument. You are not born being a rockin’ guitar player, it takes practice and so does art! Even if you don’t like art, Melody will figure out what your best medium is and explore your hidden talents. You can make art a successful career or a wonderful hobby that will last throughout your lifetime!