Studio3Music Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Miss Jesikah’

Jul
11

A July Play Date Tradition

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things to do, Things We Love

We started a new tradition in our home last July when my daughter was 12 months…Play Dates. We experienced this new first with many other families last year as we traveled to Soundbridge for a morning immersing in the musical fun and exploration only Kindermusik can provide.

My daughter, a Kindermusik veteran since the womb, had a blast! She sang, danced and socialized with the other children in class as if they were familiar friends. The magic of the class was so great that to this day, one year later, her favorite book and CD she received from her time with Teacher Aaron is still her personal favorite. As a Kindermusik mom going on 5.5 years and a Kindermusik Educator, I have a lot of CD’s and books in my house yet, she continually wants to read and sing her Play Dates favorite.

Following our musical adventure with Teacher Aaron, my daughter with much glee explored Soundbridge. What an amazing place! Children of any age are encouraged to play with instruments and make as much joyful noise as they please! The xylophone and keyboard were her personal favorites.

For $15, it was truly a bargain. Not only did we get a 45 minute Kindermusik class, 30 minutes to explore Soundbridge, 15 minutes of musical story time, but also a book and CD so the memories and fun could continue in the car, at home, at grandma’s and so many more places!

You can check out our Play Dates featured for this July, and even register online. Even if you do not live in Seattle, I guarantee it is worth the trip to downtown. You can even make a Seattle day of it! Pikes Place Market is just around the corner, as well as the Seattle Aquarium; or hop on over to the zoo to round out the afternoon.

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who is looking forward to a new magical experience with Teacher Aaron this July in “Tub Tunes”, one of the Play Dates featuring ducks and bubbles.

Tags: kindermusik, Miss Jesikah, music, toddlers

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Jun
7

The Great 5 pm Battle

Posted in Child Development, parenting

Every evening with good weather creates a predictable scene in our neighborhood. About 5pm, the kids start pouring out of their homes with balls, bats, light sabers and Pokémon cards in tow. They all gather in front of my place for 1-1.5 hours of fun before being called in for dinner.

My boys are finally old enough to run out and join the kids without constant adult supervision. Although I can see them and hear them, I still struggled with letting them go. I soon found that I know exactly what is happening, as they and many of the other kids have pulled me into the not-so-pleasant side of childhood playtime.

As I am the closest adult, I soon realized that I was somehow involuntarily nominated as the playground monitor. While all the other parents were happily making dinner without interruption, I was making dinner while mediating all the squabbles. I began seriously resenting 5pm. As soon as I resolved one problem, another would appear on my porch.

One day, after attempting to make a simple dinner for 1.5 hours (no joke) I finally gave up the idea and gathered the neighborhood kids around me. I asked when they thought tattling was ok. They said, “when someone hurts you, isn’t playing fairly, not letting me have a turn”. Sound familiar? I agreed with each of them that those are indeed difficult situations, and it is easier to talk to someone else than to the person who hurts us.

In my home I have a no tattling policy. My kids, of course, still tattle, but I continue to turn them toward each other to talk. They need to learn to work it out. They eventually will grow up, have their own lives, their own jobs and hopefully their own families. Conflict management is a huge part of what we do each and every day.

When one of my children declares that their brother hurt their feelings I always respond, “I’m sorry your feelings are hurt. Did you talk to your brother about it?” The answer is usually, “no”. I then remind them that they can “tell on their brother” only if he refuses to listen to you and you are unable to work out a solution.

I try not to intervene, as I know they need to learn this important life skill. Believe me, I have my “I can’t take it anymore moments” and become the peace keeper, but I too am learning the benefits of allowing them to figure out a solution for themselves. If only Jedi mind tricks really worked! I could slowly wave my hand in front of them and say “you will get along, you will always play nicely, you will always share, you will….”

While the neighborhood kids were still all gathered I told them that I was honored that they trust me to help them work their fights out, but since they are all old enough to know what is right, appropriate and expected behavior that they are also old enough to work out their problems with each other. I then laid out my “no tattling policy”:

You may come and tell if someone is purposefully harming you. Accidents hurt, but are not tattle-worthy.
You may come and tell if someone is purposefully harming themselves…like waiting too long on purpose to move out of the way when a car approaches (yes, some of the neighborhood kids have tried to see if they can use The Force to stop a moving vehicle).
You may come and tell if someone is doing something or talking about something completely inappropriate. Such as, it is completely rude (and inappropriate) to knock on people’s doors and hide as a trick.
You may come and tell if you tried to work out a solution but are still disagreeing and need a little extra help. Even grown-ups need arbitrators at times.
“Tattling” is to protect and preserve, not to harm or to try and get another in trouble as payback.

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who is finally winning the war on 5pm, although she still thinks being able to use Jedi mind tricks would speed up the process.

Tags: Miss Jesikah, parenting, preschoolers

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Feb
26

I need a time out!

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, parenting

I threw in the proverbial towel. My children looked at me with wide eyes wanting to know why mommy suddenly quit. I started to realize how foolish my declaration sounded, so in a calmer voice I informed my kids that mommy simply needed a time out. Again, the looks.

My oldest finally asked, “What did you do?” I had no idea what he was asking. “I’m not sure I understand you, sweetie. Can you ask me in a different way”? His younger brother looked at him as if the wisdom of the world rested on his seven year old shoulders. “I mean, why are you in trouble? We get time outs when we make bad choices. What did you do?”

I was upset that I had spent the entire day cleaning my house, rearing my children and then topped it off by making a pleasing meal only to have nothing to show for at the end of the day. For a minute I was yearning for the old life, the life where I was on top and in control and not at the whim of three little ones.

As soon as I had the bathroom clean and moved on to my next task my five year old had the sudden thought that finger painting on the mirror with toothpaste would be a grand use of time and exploration. He also followed me around all day negotiating all the boundary lines I had put into place.

My 18 month old daughter found a green crayon that had rolled underneath the couch and decided to do her version of a Van Gogh on our slider window. I discovered her when coming out of the laundry room looking at me sheepishly with green shavings around her mouth. We won’t even go there!

My oldest spilled milk all over our carpet in the dining room while pouring a glass (more like a tableful!) I spent the rest of the evening dealing with children who refused to eat a perfectly good dinner but at the same time didn’t want to go to bed hungry. Oh, I could not wait for them to go to bed!

My son’s question made me realize that I was focusing on the accomplishment, needing to see immediate results in order to justify what I do each day. Somehow I got into a place where I needed instant gratification in order to feel like a good mother and wife. I did not feel like I had done anything but battle since I woke up.

My mom use to always tell me that what I feel is real, it is indeed my reality but is not always based on truth and that in fact, the two rarely get along with each other. As always, my mom’s words of wisdom were so right.

Although I felt I did not accomplish anything, the truth is I accomplish more in one day than what I can immediately see. I shape, form and fasten the characters of three precious children each and every day. They do not realize this now, but one day they will. My children are currently a raw resource in the process of becoming a grand piece of art and I am the artist.

- posted by Miss Jesikah, who is still trying to figure out what makes crayons so tasty and dinner yucky!

Tags: Miss Jesikah, parenting

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Dec
14

A Prescription for Frustration

Posted in Child Development, parenting

There is a 15 month old in my house. She has gone from being a little baby to looking, speaking, and acting like a little person…a very busy and often frustrated little person!

She has opinions about everything! She comments on the meals as if she is a very important restaurant critic. She has a lot to say about my waitressing skills, as I never bring the food fast enough. Then, there is the ever-present frustration with “work.” She stacks, sorts, and reads all day only to be perturbed when a certain shape refuses to go through its appropriate hole. She “quits” several times each day. It’s a good thing her manager (that would be me) knows and appreciates who she is and what she does.

At the moment my micromanagement is acceptable. But, there are times when she feels it is her place to tell me how to run the business of home. When her social life is experiencing a sudden dip, she simply wants space and for people to leave her toys and food alone. She’ll share and talk with you IF she wants to; why is that so hard to understand?

I had forgotten the joys of a budding toddler and how a good dose of humor truly makes this phase so much more enjoyable. Truly! When Violette starts talking to me in her baby jargon, rattling on with sounds, expressions, and body language to further drive home her point, I can’t help but laugh.

Although we have read books from her infancy, during the last couple of months books have become much more precious to her. Presently, they are her favorite toys.

She knows Wiggle Waggle Loop-de-Loo from our Summer Kindermusik Playdate by heart. She even knows the motions and facial expressions I added. When she is having an “expressive” moment, declaring her feelings in an angry sonnet, I simply say in a sing-song voice, “Who will do this dance with me, wiggle waggle loop-de-loo?” She immediately quiets, runs to the book basket and grabs her favorite book. She starts laughing, swaying side-to-side and “speaking” the words with me, flipping each page as I finish.

Although nothing can ever compare to Wiggle Waggle Loop-de-Loo, she also favors Feathers and This Is My Dance, this semester’s Village books. In fact, This is My Dance has the honor of helping her form one of her first words – bear.

(My children didn’t have traditional first words. My oldest said “fish” before mommy and the second child said “cookie” before mommy. He is still always hungry! And for Violette, it was “bear.” While stringing sounds together when happy, sad or frustrated, “bear” slips in there every once in awhile.)

Using books to help distract or calm your transitional toddler provides a very good learning opportunity. As you help to develop budding language skills, you also teach another important skill – how to calm down and redirect those very strong opinions. In a sense, it is a toddler’s version of counting to 10. (We grown-ups call this “self-regulation”.)

I find that after a meltdown, if Violette and I read a book or two, she is much happier and able to function better in her little world. I know I always function better after a much-needed time out to process and redirect my thoughts! A good book always provides that lovely escape from reality.

- posted by Miss Jesikah who looks forward to a good book at the end of each day.

Tags: books, Miss Jesikah, parenting, toddlers

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Nov
2

Spice it up with Chai!

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things to do

In my home, everything is spiced up or infused with herbs grown in my garden. Since my husband and I are foodies, we typically find new, fun and different ways to turn an everyday meal into an experience. I also enjoy making many things from scratch – from homemade instant oatmeal mixes, to my own marinades. We even can our own fruit and jellies every year.

This time of year, I begin craving the spices so reminiscent of fall bakin. However, because I’m a foodie, I desire something more than just a standard pumpkin spice mix. After playing around a bit, I created a Chai Spice blend that gives a nice exotic kick to any recipe! Mix this together and then add to just about anything from pies, hot chocolate mix (very yummy!), waffles/pancakes, cake mixes, cookies, zucchini bread, oatmeal, applesauce and so much more.

Chai Spice Blend:
2-3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon (I like lots of cinnamon)
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of ground cardamom
½ teaspoon of ground coriander
¼ teaspoon of ground white or black pepper (optional for those that like tons of heat)

Chai spice is far stronger than a regular pumpkin spice mix so be sure to play round and find out what strength you like in each of your recipes. Some people prefer the mix without coriander, but I enjoy the flavor it lends to food. In fact, Chai is designed to be personalized so if you are not a huge fan of cloves, lower the amount called for in the recipe. Love ginger? Increase the amount for that lovely sweet kick it creates.

My rule of thumb is if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of cinnamon then I use 1 teaspoon of my Chai spice blend. I use an equal amount of Chai spice blend for pumpkin spice mix when making pies.

Here is one of my very favorite recipes for Chai spice; the one that started it all in our home and created the Chai spice blend used above. In fact, the word “Chai” simply means “tea” in South Asia, but to us in the States, it usually is associated with a frothy and spicy tea made popular by coffee stands everywhere. Enjoy!

Chai Tea Latte Mix:
1 Cup – nonfat dry milk powder
1 Cup – powered non-dairy creamer
1 Cup – French vanilla flavored powered non-dairy creamer
2 ½ Cups – white sugar
1 ½ Cups – unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons – ground ginger
2 teaspoons – ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon – ground cloves
1 teaspoon – ground cardamom
½ teaspoon – ground coriander
¼ – ½ teaspoon – ground white or black pepper (if you like things with heat)

• In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and perhaps black pepper. In a blender or food processor, blend in 1 cup at a time until mixture is the consistency of fine powder.

• To serve, stir in 2-5 heaping tablespoons of Chai Tea Latte Mix into a mug of hot water. Start out with 2 tablespoons and continue to add until you reach a spice level you enjoy. To make it extra creamy, use hot milk. Mixed into warm eggnog makes a great holiday drink to serve your friends and family, too! Add a couple tablespoons to cocoa mixes to create a very elegant spicy hot chocolate

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who is currently sipping some Chai Tea while sitting before a lovely fire enjoying a good book….a great way to begin a Fall evening!