music and recipes

Dear Dewdrop and Rosebud families,

      It was wonderful to experience our first Rosebud class on Friday.  As the returning parents have noticed, I have moved furniture around in the classroom and am bringing different elements to the morning.  My hope is with time that you and your child find the classroom and its rhythm nourishing.  I have procured a comfy chair for nursing moms and playful children that seems just right for the way I teach.  Thank you to everyone who had begun a search for a rocking chair.

There have been requests for songs I sing throughout the morning.  Here are lyrics to many of them.   Do not feel you need sing any of these songs at home.  My hope is to inspire you to sing with your child, whether these songs, the Beatles, or Johnny Cash.  Although no studies have shown that the Mozart Effect actually has any benefit for children (it does help the sellers of cds and other products), I would posit that the "Mom or Dad singing as best she or he can" effect will have wonderful benefits for you and your child.   I sometimes think that once I become a better singer, I will be able to sing less.  For now, I find singing throughout the morning helps keep my voice ready for our puppet show and circle time.  I also find that it helps many of our toddlers flow into the room without feeling overly exposed as they might if all the adults were silent.  Balance is always needed, and sometimes silence or quiet seem very healthy for a group of young children.  

Some of the finger games, songs, and verses I use come from Wilma Ellersiek.  Ellersiek was a teacher of drama, rhythm, and music in Germany.  When she became concerned with the trend toward early academics in the 50s (most German schools went back toward play as the center of early childhood curriculum after this, but now I hear that many European schools feel the push to follow the American model of more academics early even though research shows the value of play and movement in the early years), Ellersiek began creating a series of songs and games to provide balance for children and parents.  Some of these games and songs are tender; some are silly and full of nonsense.  All are overflowing with joy and love.  Over the years, I use more and more of these games and songs in my teaching because they have always seemed to be the favorites of the infants, toddlers, and nursery children I interact with.  The collection of traditional rhymes and songs we might know from a childhood in America or elsewhere are also wonderful.  If you want to learn more about Wilma Ellersiek, here is a review of her first book of songs and games.

With warmth and light,

William Dolde

p.s.  Thank you for bringing vegetables to add to our soup.