Studio3Music Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Miss Colleen’

Nov
29

Brain Rules for Baby: Safety = Learning

Brain Rules for Baby (subtitled How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five) is John Medina’s follow-up to his bestselling Brain Rules. I found it to be an absolutely delightful read, full of parenting and even grand-parenting altering info!

This Seattleite and UW professor opens his book by debunking a few of the parenting myths we have come to believe. Taking on these preconceptions and misconceptions, Dr. Medina uses the latest in research (only peer-reviewed and successfully replicated) to fill the next nearly 300 pages with specific strategies towards raising a smart and happy child.

One thought-provoking and foundational insight having particular application to our Kindermusik classes is Medina’s proposition that the fundamental job of the baby’s brain is not to learn, but to survive! “We do not survive so that we can learn. We learn so that we can survive.”

Hence, our fundamental job as parents and teachers is not so much to provide a steady stream of baby educational dvds, flashcards or early childhood French lessons, as it is to provide an environment of safety where learning can happen. When the brain feels safe its busy neurons are free to complete the thousands of connections needed to fully wire the brain….but not until!

So what are some of the things that affect the safety level of our children?

*Attachment – From the birth canal babies are looking for attachments, their brains acutely attentive to the care being received. If essential needs are being met and healthy bonding (lots of touch and “face” time!) is occurring there is a positive outcome, if not, there is another outcome.

*Stress levels – A stressful environment (angry or emotionally violent, exhibiting relational/marital conflict) signals to baby a lack of safety. Dr Medina does a fantastic job of pinpointing and addressing particularly prenatal stress and marital conflict. He provides solid insights to bring about change to both areas.

In our Kindermusik classes our first and primary goal is to signal “this is a safe environment” to all children. From the welcome song where one discovers he or she not only “belongs” to this community, but is recognized as a valued individual, to the snuggle time where we turn back to receive the gentle care of a loved one, we sing and dance and snuggle our way to a place where learning can thrive and happy neurons connect at an alarming rate!

Take a moment for this online parenting quiz and discover what parenting myths you may be holding dear!

-posted by Miss Colleen, who suddenly realizes how grateful she is to have been born into a nearly television free world….Ah, the benefits of age!

Tags: babies, brain, kindermusik, learning, Miss Colleen

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May
12

Peter’s Story

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things We Love, Village

He was in our Village class for such a short time….I’ll call him Peter. Just a few weeks to enjoy the waning days of Rhythm of Our Day and a little Busy Days, but in that short time we saw a flower open.

I remember his first visit to our class. Peter brought Mommy, Daddy, and Auntie with him and all were intently focused on Peter; his every move mattered. Any indication of pleasure or displeasure a one year old could convey was noted and evaluated. There were tears as he clung to Mommy, not knowing what to make of the wiggling bunch of bouncers and shakers surrounding him. “Peter doesn’t usually hear English spoken in his home.” But there were many hands to console….six to be exact! “I think we’d like to join this class…at least for a little while. They are only here for a short time,” said Auntie.

Only Mommy & Daddy came along next week to shore up little Peter. Fewer tears, but still well sheltered by slightly anxious parents, Peter’s fearful gaze seldom came my way. Mommy and Daddy quietly tapped his tiny hand keeping the steady beat he was not ready to feel.

Week 4: Peter brought only Mommy this week. Timid hands reached outside the cozy confines of Mommy’s legs to pick up a bright red shaker. Mommy and Peter stayed around after class to enjoy the chatter of their cohorts.

Today: Peter sat happily in his white plastic carriage…which looked remarkably like a Target laundry basket. Even a ride to the “Doctors office” wasn’t so bad if all your friends were going, too! The sudden stops for red lights created a palpable tension in the circle and even Peter’s gaze turned towards me in anticipation. Snug in his green towel, he peered out at those around him as if he had been doing this forever….well, for at least 3 weeks. Time to dance! I stood opposite Peter and Mommy. We swayed happily to Mama Paquita, do-si-doed a sly peek-a-boo, and as we met in the middle to say “hello”, Peter giggled and gave me the biggest smile ever!

It’s a friendly and chatty class who linger long, but Mommy and Peter were the last to leave today. Mommy quietly and shyly said, “This is our last class, Miss Colleen. We will be moving far away next week. I just want you to know Peter is much different child now. He loves class. He loves you. Thank you for my child happy now.”

-posted by Miss Colleen, who is happy, too.

Tags: babies, kindermusik, learning, Miss Colleen

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Mar
2

Through a Nana’s Eyes

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, parenting

It’s no wonder Grandmothers are afforded such a high level of respect in so many cultures: we are survivors! We have borne children, raised them to adulthood and now stand ready to assist a whole new batch of babies. Our hair a little grayer (not that anyone else will actually KNOW that fact), our gait a little slower, and perhaps our speech a bit more selective, having learned a thing or two along the way….hopefully!

Each week I gather with a group of grandmothers much as I gathered with other moms when my children were young. Oh, the special companionship we share! We compare stories and pictures, laugh until we cry, cry until we laugh. We celebrate remembered successes and occasionally can’t resist commiserating over the things we wished we’d done differently. But in general, we relish the richness a new generation of babies brings to our lives.

Being one of the newer members of the Studio3 teaching team, I also have the special privilege of being the oldest and the one with the most (make that “only”!) grandchildren. I could never have imagined even two years ago that my days would be spent so delightfully singing and skipping, hopping and bouncing, dancing and snuggling with little ones while learning a plethora of nursery rhymes, not to mention dozens of dances, silly songs and stories. I feel I’ve been granted a rare and wonderful privilege.

Nana Colleen and some of her grandbabies

But, of course, the best part is the children….and we Nanas and Papas see them very differently than Mommies and Daddies. Grandparent’s eyes are somehow different than parent’s eyes, probably because they are old and practiced. We have seen how very quickly a little one pulls his way up to wobbly knees, quickly followed by toddling feet that all too soon make way for bicycle pedals. Babies are not babies for long. Toddlers are not toddlers for long. Children are not children for long.

In the midst of the morphing the moments seem to stretch on forever! Will they never sleep through the night? Will he ever use a spoon? Are diapers forever? (Well, that Depends, I guess!) It’s hard to take the long view when the short view involves such intensity.

I guess that’s one of the rewards of grandparenting. We have seen the long view and discovered that it arrives all too soon! I share with you a little poem someone took the time to embroider and frame as a gift for me when I was a young mom, in hopes you will pay it more heed than regrettably I, especially the last stanza. Credited to Ruth Hamilton, it first appeared in the Ladies Home Journal in 1938 (before even MY time!).

Babies Don’t Keep
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

-posted by Miss Colleen, who is fairly certain we’ll never bounce or peekaboo to Ms. Hamilton’s ditty, but wishes with all her heart that every child’s grandparent would feel welcome to come along with their grandchild to Kindermusik.

Tags: Grandparents, Miss Colleen

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Jun
26

Parenthood and Perseverance

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, parenting

In a day of quick fixes, fast food, instant information and trophies earned by merely showing up, perseverance seems an old-fashioned virtue. And, indeed, who can value perseverance when time in its most abbreviated form is often the best loved commodity of the two?!

Few have so dramatically demonstrated the worthy quality of perseverance as Derek Redmond in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Enduring at least 13 operations on his Achilles tendon, Derek overcame much to appear in the 250 meter race that day, and many believe the world never saw his full potential on the track. But what they did see that day was the love, the commitment and the perseverance of a parent/child team as Derek and his father hobbled across the finish line following a serious mid race hamstring injury. Subsequently, Derek turned his skills and energies to coaching and motivational leadership, preparing a new British team to bring home the medals in the 2012 Olympics.

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other”, noted the 19^th century American priest, Walter Elliott. Parenthood, however, IS a long race full of many short races with ever changing scenarios and roles. Just when our newborn falls into a regular napping or feeding pattern, it changes. Potty training a toddler seems eternal. Will our child ever use silverware or master the times table? Suddenly it’s the periodic table…and, oh no, they’re driving!

As it is with most character development, our role as parents is usually best accomplished through modeling. Our children need to see US persevering to accomplish a goal, persevering through a difficulty, a loss or a fear. When we have developed or ARE developing a particular character quality ourselves, we are best able to pass it along to our children.

We have limitless opportunities to strengthen our personal perseverance, as well as our child’s, to hang in there rather than throw in the towel, to demonstrate the value of encouraging, committed relationships, to choose to go on after defeat or failure, to go one mile more. And with every small step forward comes the opportunity to celebrate. Cheer the victories by the moment, the hour, the day, the week! Exercised with a generous amount of patience, supplemented by healthy and encouraging friendships, honest feedback, and wrapped in unconditional love, the quality of perseverance can become a core strength of every family.

So, eyes open! The opportunities are all around you. Watch for ways to stretch personally, and for that place where your child is learning something new, adding to a previous accomplishment, refining a behavior, overcoming a difficulty. The character quality of perseverance will not only aid both of you in maximizing your unique gifts, becoming all you were designed to be, but it will also carry you successfully through most of life’s rough waters.

-posted by Miss Colleen, who is grateful for both a father and a husband who modeled perseverance in spades! “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill

Tags: Miss Colleen, parenting

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Jan
15

It Takes all Kinds

Posted in Child Development, parenting

During his adolescent years, our son would gladly have been sustained by a daily diet of chips and salsa, ironically scorning anything that resembled a tomato or an onion! But how could I let him miss the buttery texture of an avocado, the heat of the jalapeno, the sharp cheddar or spicy chorizo that would all contribute to the pleasure of his meager preference….and complete the sagging food pyramid??

Likewise, a simple diet of joyful nursery songs and rhymes serve to open the mind and heart to the beauty of melody and the lilt of phrase, but once opened, the mind and heart gladly welcomes a wide variety of musical styles and genres. The raggedy style of Joplin, the delightful patterns of Mozart and the brooding Beethoven, the haunting sea shanties and the comfortable English folk song, the alluring rhythms of the islands and the fascinating instruments of the East all await discovery!

Of course, we do not serve them all up at once. Little by little, as adding apple to cereal, we whet the appetite for new sounds, new musical experiences. The treasures of Mozart bring a pleasurable and calming atmosphere to the nursery when quietly played in the background. Folk songs add delight to baby massage or snuggle times. And what is more delightful than a family dance session to the Caribbean steel drum!?

As with all healthy experiences, intentionality is the key. It has to “matter” enough to someone in charge to make it happen. Someone has to sing the new song, turn on the IPOD, buy the ticket, sign up for the class, change the disc, turn OFF the television; small decisions with cumulative effects! Decisions that will remove us from our “fall-back” option – surrounding our children with OUR sound preferences, forgetting that billions of baby neural receptors are gladly awaiting a plethora of stimuli!

A full-grown Bellevue banker today, my son still prefers chips and salsa above all other foods, but his recent purchases include tickets to Death Cab for Cutie, the Seattle Symphony, Ozomatli, U2 and White Christmas…Oh, and on rare occasion he plays a lovely Bach Cello Suite. (What’s an “Ozomatli”?)

-posted by Miss Colleen, who loves that grandchildren provide us so many redemptive opportunities!!