Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The Music of Childhood.

What does childhood sound like in your home?

well besides the giggles, screams, screeches, whines or crying.... because we've all experienced those sounds as well.

Does the rhythm of your day have a soundtrack?

In our home we are striving to be as screen free as possible in regards to Reagan. We're not perfect but it's a goal. It helps that we do not own a television set which frequently comes as a shock to people. Yep, we gave it away. Now we do have computers and a Nook tablet and she has discovered the joys of Wild Kratts and Dragon Tales and like every other small girl on the planet she is walking around singing the Frozen sound track on repeat but we try to keep that at a minimum. Ideally we would have it at once a week (or not at all) but some weeks are better than others.

Not having a television set does not mean our house is silent...or even quiet. Our household residents include a 3 year old and a rather vocal parrot. If you team that up with our abundance of musical instruments the sound in our house can range from fun and whimsical to down right chaotic.

What I have found that helps our daily rhythm is music. I thought on how in an adult music can have a powerful impact on our emotions and I figured the same would hold true for the wee ones as well.

Using Spotify (a free streaming radio thing on the internet) I complied a playlist for our day that I titled Reagan Radio. I included our favorite artists such as Kira Willey, Elizabeth Mitchell, Bob and Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson and Jerry Garcia. All of those artist have folksy kids albums that are a lot of fun. Now before you think I'm some sort of super mom who only exposes her daughter to quality, age appropriate music keep in mind she also knows Rhianna's entire hook on Eminem's Monster track.  Thanks teenagers at church :) Got to get variety in there somewhere. Also her favorite song is currently Avecii's Hey Brother...which she sings to Sami our parrot.

We play music most of the day but especially in the morning while she (is supposed to) engages in "free play". Typically she spends this time making art but occasionally she will build blocks or take care of her babies. I think that the right music promotes a peaceful and enriching experience for this sort of activity.

In the afternoon our soundtrack typically switches to spiritual songs and Broadway soundtracks which help focus her mind on the Lord AND train her to be a theater geek!

And of course there is no shortage of self made music around here between made up songs we sing to many impromptu jam sessions where daddy and Reggie typically debate over who gets to play the ukulele. Good times for sure. This is what our music set up looks like. It's always out and ready to go. Most was either gifts or acquired relatively inexpensively.


We also have a small purple guitar not picture because it needs repairs and a piano.

What are the ways you use music in the rhythm of your day? What are some of you and your childrens' favorite songs? Let's discuss!

1 comments :

  1. I love this Crys! Just now discovered that you have a blog.

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