Musical presents from Santa?

How can Santa help with your child's the musical development? He could give:

- musical instruments
- rhyming or singing books
- recorded music
- puppets.

In this post I'll look at some ideas for musical instruments.

Please, please check the sound produced by the instrument. Is it a rich, interesting, satisfying sound, or is it a tinny, grating or electronic sound? Is the sound authentic? If it is a tuned instrument, such as a xylophone, is the pitch correct? Some of them are really woeful, so be careful.

Ideas for presents include:

- slide whistle
- kazoo (good for encouraging them to vocalise)
- maracas
- African percussion instruments
- claves (tapping sticks)
- guiro
- finger cymbals
- drum (authentic)
- bells (choking hazard)
- castanets (the wooden ones make the best sound but the plastic ones don't get chewed!)

For older kids (6-7 years plus):
- marimba
- recorder
- ukelele

I believe the sound quality should not be less just because the instrument is for a child. As a general rule, I avoid anything that needs to be plugged in or needs batteries. The rellies will probably provide enough of those kinds of noise-making devices without Santa adding to the problem!

For nice sounding instruments, the local music shop is often a better bet than the toy shop.

Is This Love

Here's a clip from Isingonthecake's recent gig at the Friend in Hand Pub in Glebe.



Arrangement by Stuart Davis.

Silver Bells

Love the PS22 Chorus - absolute magic. Merry Christmas.

Womb for Learning

According to the QI elves, babies can recognise tunes they have heard in the womb.  I went to a lot of choir rehearsals for Ising On the Cake when I was pregnant, so this means my kids know a lot of 60's and 70's numbers.  But maybe just the alto part.

During one such rehearsal, when I was very pregnant, there were two little bumps on either side of my tummy.  Elbows, perhaps, someone suggested.  Maybe the baby had his fingers in his ears!

Our annual end-of-year bash

 

Very limited tickets - email kerryn.cooper@gmail.com

Update: we raised $4276 for the orphanages.

latest gig for Ising On the Cake - Glebe

"Isingonthecake" busking at Eveleigh Markets

Here's a vid of us at the food markets, busking to raise money for the Cambodia Children's Trust (that's what Stuart has taped to his back).  It was a little vocally taxing to sing above the noise of the markets, but great fun.



Lots of kids came to watch and it was funny to see their reactions.  The kid in the blue cap looked completely mesmerised, as if he'd never seen anything like us before.  He followed us around to all the different spots.  Another little girl really got into it, dancing around.

We raised $415 for the Trust.

Early counting - start with your baby!

In my primary teaching studies, I'm constantly gobsmacked by the amount that children learn before they ever see the inside of a classroom.  So often we seem to take this learning for granted, and only notice it when it's not there.

Today we were shown a video of a young school-aged child who did not yet know how to count.  He knew the names of some numbers, but he didn't know that numbers always come in the same order, and he didn't know that when you count, you point to each item as you say the next number, counting each item only once.

Counting is a fundamental skill - kids have to know how to do this before they will be able to move on to other maths operations. For adults, counting is so automatic that we sometimes forget that our kids need to learn it.  I'm not saying your baby needs to be a maths wizz, but it's great if they know how to count up to 10 when they start school.



How can you help your little one start to count?

• Model the counting behaviour when the situation arises.
• Count everyday items at the shops, in their toybox, on their dinner plate.  Count the steps as you go up or down.
• Start with small amounts, eg the numbers from 1 to 3 or 1 to 5.
• Get them to join in and make it fun.  Maintain an attitude of play. Of course, you know I'm going to say that music can play a huge part in helping young children start counting. 

Some examples of number songs and rhymes for the very young:

• 3 Pink Jellyfish
• 5 Little Ducks
• 2 Little Dickie Birds
• 3 Cheeky Monkeys
• Round and Round the Garden
• Here is the Beehive
• Jean, Jean, Dressed in Green
• Five Currant Buns

The list goes on.  For preschoolers, you can start using songs that deal with the numbers up to 10.  For example:

• This Old Man
• 10 Green Bottles
• Going Over the Sea
• 10 Little Fingers
• 1,2,3,4,5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive.

Some of these songs (eg 3 Pink Jellyfish) actually encourage both forwards and backwards counting.  As usual, there is so much going on when we sing a simple traditional song.  They are choc-full of incredible learning opportunities. Happy counting!