Every year as the end of school year approaches, the trees blossom and the days grow longer. I start to anticipate summer. I start listening for signs. The birds start returning with their daily music, creating a morning symphony to begin the day right. I hear the laughter of children playing outside and the sound of basketballs as they hit the pavement. I hear the mowers, leaf blowers, and water sprinklers. There’s always something to hear when the quiet of winter disappears and spring is on its way.
My daughter, although having experienced a few summers by now at the age of two and a half, is newly discovering these seasonal changes and the sounds of summer approaching. She’s figured out that when mom says it’s warm, it’s okay to go outside and play. As I watch her playing, the excitement of the discovering all the sounds is heartwarming. She says, “Mom, I hear the birdies!” or “What’s that sound, Mama?” or “Mom, I hear a motorcycle!”
I feel like her time in Kindermusik has made a great impact on how she interacts with the world around her. She’s been taught over the last two years how to listen, explore, discover, and observe. Every week in class she’s learned to hone her listening skills and decipher new sounds. She knows to rub her ears, listen, and to ask “What is that?” The teacher then follows up with a picture, name, and sometimes even an object to connect with the sound (puppet, stuffed animal, toy, etc.). This is how connections are made and how a child learns to process sounds in the world. Just like in class, she hears the sounds outside and looks for an object to which she can connect the sound and asks for its name. Further, I have been enlightened and shown ways, as a parent, how best to fuel this discovery process: not just always to “tell her” things but to observe her interests, comment on them, and to ask questions to expand her own discovery; (this is a process called scaffolding they help us with in class).
Kindermusik is so much more than music! Each class helps children, and parents, make connections to each other, and to the world around them. It gives us the tools to make us better students and to better understand how sounds connect us to the world outside.
It’s funny how entertaining the toddler years can be. Some days as mom you are worn thin from the blooming personality of the toddler that once filled your time with cuddles and cooing. Now the cuddles have turned into other forms of love, such as the sweet gesture of giving you their favorite stuffed animal to sleep with or when they give you one of those wet toddler kisses. I spend my days chasing, playing, cleaning messes, entertaining, and sometimes calming her frustrations. Those days can be long and tiring, but they are so, so worth it. Why? Because I know that, to her, these moments matter and will eventually be what she defines as her childhood. She’ll remember how we played, how her mom could make funny faces and characters, how I taught her to be organized and clean, and I had the patience and tenderness to help her calm down from frustration.
Sometimes when I think of how busy our days get I want to slow them down or take something away. Usually, I cut out some of the unnecessary errands or decide to leave some cleaning for later. When I think of our play dates, library outings, museum visits, and especially our time spent at Kindermusik, those activities never get axed. To me they are our most important activities. My daughter won’t remember going to the store to buy carrots or how I had to mop the floors so they’ll shine. She will remember the moments and activities that made her feel and experience quality “together” time with me. She will remember how she felt when I swang her for the fourth time in class while we did the hello song because all the kids chose that as their way to say hello. She will remember “driving” around the room to a song as we used paper plate steering wheels in class. She will remember how the cold, gooey paint felt on her hands as she smeared it on the glass wall at the museum and how mom could paint the best stick figure families.
Life with toddlers is hard. Some days you just want to sleep or get away from the craziness, until that little hand reaches for yours and says, “Mom will you play with me?” Then you realize, these days are how we make timeless memories. These days are what your little one will one day call her childhood, and those rituals will be passed on to her children. So, take some of the everyday tasks off your list, lighten your load, and go sing and play!
