Jumpin' With Cindy Music Blog

Sneaky Statues... More Than Just a Game!

2011-12-16T00:01:00.009-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

I was recently watching a group of kindergarten aged children playing a game of Sneaky Statues and I had somewhat of an epiphany. First, the way you play Sneaky Statues is like this: one person is "it" and is in the center of the circle while other children move about as the child who is "it" has his back to them. You need to complete your movement without the "it" child seeing you, otherwise you are out of the game. It is interesting how much you can learn about a child while watching him play this game. Some children will cautiously move a few inches, making sure that they are never seen, but also are barely moving at all. Other children will confidently zig and twirl about, knowing that there is a greater risk of being seen and less chance of winning the game. But, what really got me thinking was the sideline coaching of the children's teacher, DCTA instructor Lindsay Taylor, with her repeated comment of, "make a bold choice!"

This phrase is really the key to any kind of performing, and here, these children, being only 5 and 6 years old, were learning this very important lesson. You must have the confidence and vision to make a bold choice if you will succeed in any kind of performance discipline. At the risk of making a bit of a cheesy analogy, how often have we heard Randy Jackson's critique of an American Idol contender with the comment, "You just gotta make the song your own?" Playing it safe and singing a song the way it has been sung hundreds of times before may provide for a safer environment for the performer, but is less likely to be seen as meaningful to the audience. Bold choices will make the difference between a technically strong performance and one which will make the audience laugh or cry, to feel something they may not have felt before.

Last fall, I had the experience of taking an adult public speaking class from Ms. Taylor. Our breathing, phrasing, and eye contact were all things we worked on. And developing confidence was also a key component. In one exercize, we were asked to draw another person in class. You could hear the comments muttered under the breaths of each of the students as we struggled to not embarass ourselves with our drawing skills. Of course, the purpose of this exercize was not to provide us with any actual drawing skills, but was rather to make the point that we all were filled with self-doubt while we drew our pictures. Rather than confidently drawing our classmate, we mumbled and stammered, "I can't do this", "I have never been able to draw", and so on and so on...

My head filled with memories of my 7th grade art teacher tearing up my drawing of a tree at the front of the classroom and tossing it into the trash can. This experience has made a lasting impression on me, one which I obviously remember decades later. As traumatic as that was for me, it is likely that each member of the class had something similar in their childhood which evoked the same sense of failure inside of them.

It is something that even professional actors struggle with. The core of all acting is in making a choice. Children have a better ability to stay in the moment and are less likely to judge themselves, as opposed to their older counterparts. "Hanging on to that inner spirit which we see in young children" is a goal for the seasoned actor, says Ms. Taylor. "It's all about hanging on to believing in yourself."

Theater classes for young children promote this kind of thinking. In the game Magic Rocks, children are asked to turn into different kinds of objects. Here again, the children are called upon to make a bold choice, "without judging themselves, letting go of whether something is right or wrong." They may be asked to move like an old shoe or a drop of rain. This is a time for letting go of any particular expectations and encouraging the child to use his mind and imagination.

We all need to be reminded to let go of that self-doubt inside of us. Go out into the world each day with confidence and make that bold choice in everything you do!!

If you would like more info on the awesome classes at the Denver Center Theatre Academy, here is the link: http://denvercenter.org/education/education-main.aspx

Overcoming Fear

2011-12-14T22:00:00.005-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

One of the greatest benefits of arts training (whether music, drama, dance, or any other artistic discipline) is the opportunity to take risks and overcoming our fear. I have had the great pleasure of teaching with the Denver Center Theatre Academy as part of an array of multi-talented teachers, most of whom are professional actors. This seemingly simple task of joining the faculty of the DCTA was, for me, an act of great courage, one in which I took a huge risk.

My educational training is in the area of Early Childhood Education and my professional background as a musician is in the area of folk music. When I first approached the DCTA about the possibility of adding a musician to their children's drama faculty, the idea intrigued them! So, after much brainstorming of what new influences and skills a long-time folk musician could bring to their table, I soon found my niche with this top notch organization.

I was very much out of my comfort zone and yet, this journey into new territory was thrilling. My greatest qualities as a teacher are the abilities to think on my feet and especially, to think outside the box. Being called upon each week to come up with something completely new could be daunting for some, but was a welcomed challenge to me. My creativity had never been at a higher level. And, I was teaming with some of the best arts educators in the country!

My learning curve in the area of theater education has been dramatic and I have always strived to continue challenging myself to learn more about the craft of acting. During the past 13 years, I have struggled through several acting classes. Clearly, my strengths seem to serve me better as a musician and songwriter. My monologue for a beginning acting class was equally painful for those in the audience as for me myself, and I seem to have no natural aptitude for acting at all. In another class, the teacher teasingly asked me to perform my monologue from the piano bench, and in doing so, I actually did much better! These experiences have been frustrating at best. But, in learning more about the nuts and bolts of acting, I have learned so much that has helped me to be a better teacher and to offer even more to my students whom I work with at the DCTA.

Stretching ourselves as far as we can may seem grueling and perhaps even a waste of time. The result for me was to once again come to the realization that I will never be a great actress. Yet, there is so much that I have also gained, some things which have nothing to do with acting at all. I remember once auditioning for a folk festival in which only a dozen or so musicians would be accepted out of the 100 acts showing up for auditions. After I performed, I told a friend that I had felt really great about my work that day, and that if I wasn't selected it was likely because they had not needed a "Joni Mitchell singing, dulcimer player" as myself. It wouldn't be because I had an off day and didn't do my best. My friend responded by saying, "To me, that just sounds like an excuse to justify failure."

Some people will always play it safe and never put themselves out there in a situation where they do risk failure. But then, we would be spending our lives never growing or finding joy and fullfillment in the pursuit of new accomplishments. All artists, whether they are actors, musicians, dancers, or painters will forever take these kinds of risks with each new work that they create. In creating something new and different, there are no guarantees what the response will be to that work. And, that is the challenge and joy of creating new works!

Arts education is an avenue, for children and adults alike, to begin taking these kinds of risks through classroom experiences and performing. If you are interested in pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, check out the new winter classes at the DCTA. Here is the link: http://denvercenter.org/education/education-main.aspx

Check back later this week for more about how arts education can help your child in taking risks. I will be featuring Lindsay Taylor of the DCTA. See you then!

Music Classes For the Little Tykes

2011-11-20T22:11:00.007-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

I love advocating for arts programs for children and this month I had a great opportunity to do just that. The previous month I was interviewed by a writer from Colorado Parent Magazine for a story focussing on the importance of music classes for young children: my favorite subject!! So I spent a good half hour discussing all of the finer points of selecting the right class for your little one, finding the best teacher for a budding piano student, all the way down to keeping a child motivated when they grow discouraged and want to throw in the towel on their musical pursuits. It is impossible to know which, if any, of my comments from such a lengthy conversation would actually make it into the article.

To my delight, as I anxiously opened this November's issue, I found a wonderful story recapping many of my thoughts and philosophies about music education for kids, along with more advice from some esteemed music educators in the Denver area. This article, The Harmony of Kids and Music by Julie Christensen, is jam packed with information regarding the "why is it important" side of arts education, along with suggestions for which types of classes are available and recommended for different aged children.

Follow this link to read the entire article: http://flashedition.com/publication/?i&l=1&m=2663&p&id=2159 Go to pages 24-26.

I have written many blogs relating to musical classes and training for young children. But, I was especially reminded of one story I wrote in my blog, Choosing the Right Music Teacher For Your Child, which I published back in September 2009. One of the topics featured in that blog was finding the best teacher for your child's age group. After discussing such issues as a teacher's training, personal preferences, and experience with a particular age group, I recalled a memory of working with a kindergartener who was an amazingly enthusiastic piano student:

I was giving a private piano lesson to a 6 yr old and we were discussing how line notes skip the notes in between (thumb, middleman, pinkie) and the same for space notes (pointer, ringman, etc). My student stopped me and said, "I like skipping, but I really like galloping. But my very, very favorite part of PE is the chicken dance!"

Now as frustrating as this may be for a teacher, I know that this is actually a perfectly normal train of thought for a kindergartener. And I had the experience and capabilities of getting my student back from "skipping, galloping, chicken dance" to "thumbkin, middleman, pinkie" once again.

Another teacher may have been thrown by this experience, but it brought a smile to my face and great joy to my day! My student's shortcomings in her attention span were more than made up by her enthusiasm and perseverance.

To read this entire blog, go to: http://jumpinwithcindy.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-right-music-teacher-for-your.html

And, it is because of experiences like this, that I so love being a music educator. What a gift to be able to equip and empower our next generation of budding musicians!!

Jacques d'Amboise: Changing Children's Lives

2011-09-28T23:53:00.007-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

I first became aware of the amazing work of Jacques d'Amboise and his National Dance Institute nearly two decades ago. While I was teaching at the Swallow Hill Music School back in the mid-90's, a colleague of mine was raving about a workshop being presented in Pueblo, CO the following week and led by Mr. d'Amboise himself. It would be "life changing", she said. After learning more about Jacques d'Amboise and the work he had been doing, not just in the U.S., but around the world, I too became inspired by this man and his mission to provide all children the opportunity to "experience the joy and power of the arts." NDI describes their goals as "to engage and inspire youth to achieve their highest potential, using dance as a catalyst." And, it has indeed changed the lives of millions of children!

This past year Mr. d'Amboise wrote a book called "I Was A Dancer". It is filled with wonderful stories of his childhood in Washington Heights, NY, of his days as a dancer with the New York City Ballet, and of his marriage of 53 years to his beloved Carrie. He tells of his work with many in the dance world such as Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine. He shares stories about his children: George, Christopher, Charlotte, and Catherine, and even includes a photo of his children's former caregiver, Diane Smarr, whom he describes in the book as "sent by the gods to enrich and transform our lives."

Of course, my favorite parts of his book involve his work with children and his creation of the National Dance Institute. He tells of how people come up to him in all kinds of places, whether in a restaurant, an airport, or on the street with comments of how their child was influenced by being involved with the NDI. One story which he shared especially hit home for me.

He recalled of being on a northbound train near SoHo when he noticed a "ferocious toughie" who was staring at him. Others on the train had moved away from the menacing looking young man who soon began speaking to Mr. d'Amboise. The young man told of how he had been a tomato in a show involving dancing vegetables. Immediately they began reminscing about this experience and the young man was quite impressed that his former teacher had remembered him so many years later. The man went on to say that he was no longer dancing, but was now a musician, then thanked him as the train approached his stop.

While reading this story, I began thinking about all of the children I have had the great pleasure of working with for the past three decades. In our fast paced society we live in today, it is easy to lose touch with those we have worked with years before and we often never see how our influence may have touched their life.

But, I then remembered a young girl who I had worked with long ago. She had attended a school where I taught and many of the children there had suffered some form of abuse or neglect. This little girl was filled with rage and often threw her lunch plate across the room, sometimes at the heads of the other children. It was heartbreaking to think of what she had endured in her life to cause such anger in such a young child. I lost touch with her over the years, but she was always one of those children who I thought about often and wondered what had become of her life.

One afternoon, while attending a performance of the Messiah, I noticed her name in my program as a violinist in the student orchestra. Upon asking others in the audience who knew this young woman, she was considered a bit of a prodigy and had been accepted by our state university as a music student where she would be recieve a full scholarship the following year. My heart filled with joy knowing that this young woman had found a passion in her life. And I could see in her eyes, as she played Handel's masterpiece, a confidence not there so many years before. Here, indeed, was another example of how the arts can truly change someone's life!

I highly recommend the book I Was A Dancer by Jacques d'Amboise. Here is the link to read more about it: http://www.amazon.com/I-Was-A-Dancer-Jacques-DAmboise/dp/1400042348 You will find an array of interesting behind-the-scenes stories of the world of ballet, but more importantly, you will learn of the many ways Mr. d'Amboise has empowered children to strive for excellence in their lives. You may find yourself inspired to influence a child whom you know. And perhaps, that child's life will be changed for the better because of it!!

To find more about the NDI, here is the link: http://nationaldance.org/

Tribute to my sister, Carole Glenn

2011-09-13T02:00:00.039-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Today is a very special day for me. It is my birthday... but that is not the most important part of today's significance. My youngest sister, Carole, was born on my 11th birthday and we shared this birthday for 45 years. September 13 has been a popular day in my family as I also have a nephew, Geoffrey Deter, who was born on 9/13 as well.

Sadly, last December, Carole died after fighting cancer. She was an amazing person: a devoted wife and mother, a dedicated teacher, a loving sister, and friend to many.

Her humor was what set her apart from the pact. A favorite memory we have of Carole is her tradition of gathering the children or young adults from our family during the Thanksgiving holiday and going to homes in the area who had already decorated their yard with Christmas lights. They would all gather round in some unsuspecting neighbor's yard, posing while someone took a group shot of them with a digital camera. What fun they had showing off all the photos to the rest of our extended family upon their return!

You are likely wondering why I am putting this story in a blog regarding arts education. Well, there is a reason; an important one. Everyone deals with the grief of a family member or close friend in a different way. And for me, knowing that my birthday was coming and I wouldn't be sharing it with my sister had made me very sad. So, I did what was not unexpected for the creative, singer/songwriter that I am. I wrote a song for my sister. There isn't a recording of it yet as I can't seem to get through much of the song without crying. But, I wanted to publish the lyrics today, with the promise of posting a link to the recording soon.

Here is my song for my dear sister Carole, titled Happy Birthday To My Angel. I hope you like it, and perhaps through this song, you can get a glimpse of how extraordinary my sister was. And, how through the legacy of her two children, her spirit will live on forever!

Happy Birthday To My Angel

by Cindy Wilkinson

When I was just a child, many years ago

It happened on my birthday, I was 11 years old

A baby born that day, a sister there for me

No more glorious birthday gift could ever be.

Happy Birthday, to the angel in my life,

Bringing joy and laughter as you fill my heart, my life.

Happy Birthday, to my angel shining bright,

Showering your love for all to see.

God made a miracle in you,

I feel your love and your light shining through.

God sent a glorious gift to me, in you.

You grew into a mother and a wife

Cherishing your children, your husband, and your life.

And although I know this sounds a bit cliche,

You've spent your years making this world a better place.

Happy Birthday, to the angel in my life,

Bringing joy and laughter as you fill our hearts, our lives.

Happy Birthday, to our angel shining bright,

showering your love for all to see.

God made a miracle in you,

I feel your your love and your light shine through.

God sent a glorious gift to me, in you.

My heart it broke in two, when I heard the words that you

were leaving this world all too soon.

And, no amount of crying could change that you were dying

Oh God, I beg, I plead, I pray for strength, please give me strength

To say good-bye to you, say good-bye to you.

Today I spend my birthday here alone

Feeling only sadness, my joy has gone.

Then I look into your children's eyes and see what you have left behind

And I feel you here in me, your love within us, and your light we see.

Happy Birthday, to the angel in my life,

Bringing joy and laughter as you fill our hearts, our lives.

Happy Birthday, to my angel shining bright,

Showering your love for all to see.

God made a miracle in you,

I feel your love and your light shining through.

God sent a glorious gift to me...

Happy Birthday... to my angel watching over me.

Jumpin' Activities to Promote Fitness

2011-08-17T22:24:00.004-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson

Any child who has ever had me as a teacher or heard one of my children's CDs knows that I am a firm believer in the power of jumping! In my two previous blogs, we learned about how hip hop dance and appalachian clogging can provide children with some much needed physical exercise. Now, we will explore some great movement activities using my two kid's CDs: Jumpin' Up to the Moon and Jumpin' On Down the Road. (At the end of this blog will be info on where to find and purchase these CDs and featured songs). Jumping and other forms of movement such as twirling, stomping, and even wiggling, can help little ones develop their large motor skills. And, as Lawrence Curry discussed in my hip hop blog, waking up different body parts is an important part of fitness. So, read on to find some fun activities to entertain your child while also providing a kid's sized cardio workout!!

Children LOVE jumping!! One of the really fun things you can do with a jumping activity is to divide it into two parts: a sleeping part and an awake part(jumping part). I use this progression for two of my songs: the Jumping on the Bed song and the Jumping Sheep. This activity is a hit with children who are as young as toddlers and is still fun for kindergarten aged kids. To do this activity, have the children start by getting in sleeping position. Then, let them know their cue for the jumping part. In the Jumping on the Bed song, the cue is "Oh, No". In the Jumping Sheep it is "The sheep are jumping". Both of these songs just progress back and forth from sleeping to jumping throughout the song. Children find this to be very humorous! It not only provides a physical outlet for kids, but also promotes listening skills. This activity has been a long-time favorite of my music students and your child will likely love it too!

Another fun activity is Everybody Dance. In this song, children follow the directions to different verses such as "everybody's gonna jump" or "everybody's gonna twirl". The children will get to practice different kinds of movements other than just jumping and use all the parts of his or her body. The final verse is "everybody dance" which provides the participants a chance to use their imaginations and creativity to move about in whatever way they like.

If you are looking for a great hello song, Say Hello is tons of fun. The first part of the song sings to a particular person or group such as, "hello to my friends" or "hello to my family". Then, when you hear the words, "jump up high and touch the sky", the members of that group can do just that. Jump up high and touch the sky! When using this as a hello activity for circle time, or just as a fun activity with a few kids, you may choose to sing each of the children's names. For example, sing "Hello to Timmy". Then when Timmy hears the "jump up high" part, it is his turn to do that action. In my experience, kids seldom tire of this song and you could keep it as your welcome song on a regular basis.

Finally, here are a couple of less structured songs to do with your little ones. The Wiggle Worms is a fun song where your child can shake his booty as well as other parts of his body (ears, nose, tummy, toes). And, my Jumping Beans song, which was featured on the Best of Westword award winning CD WHEEEEE!! features, you guessed it... even more jumping! Once you hear it, your child will quickly figure out the actions to this hilarious song.

Here are the links to these awesome songs: For Jumping on the Bed, Jumping Beans, & Wiggle Worms go to my Jumpin' Up to the Moon CD at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wilkinsonc1 For Jumping Sheep & Everybody Dance go to my Jumpin' On Down the Road CD which is available either as a CD or downloadable singles at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wilkinsonc2 or http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jumpin-on-down-the-road/id387749422

I hope you and your little one have fun with these songs! And, most importantly, keep on jumpin'!!

Clogging for Kids

2011-07-01T19:55:00.004-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson

This blog continues the series of finding new ways for keeping our children fit. Today we will learn about creating our own clogging board to use in your home and also, how to create your own tap/clogging shoes to use with this fun activity. For those of you not familiar with clogging, it is a folk dance in which the dancer makes rhythmic patterns by striking his toe, his heel, or both on a wooden floor. Clogging orignated in African-American dance, European dance, and even with the native American tribe, the Cherokee. It is great exercize and tons of fun!!

There are clogging classes available in nearly every part of the country. But, to get you started, here is a video which teaches the basics of this dance. Once you click on the link, you can link to specific techniques that you would like to learn. http://www.monkeysee.com/search?term=how+to+clog When I was a beginner clogger, the first pattern I learned was "shuffle-step (right foot), shuffle-step (left foot), shuffle-step (right foot), step (left foot), step (right foot). Then repeat again starting on the left foot." If you get the melody of the Lone Ranger in your head, this will really help.

To get set up for this activity, you first need two things: the proper shoes to create a rhythmic sound as you dance and a board to dance on. You can check out what inexpensive sheets are available at Home Depot or other building supply stores. It is important that you find something smooth and that your shoes will slide over it's surface. Some suggestions I would make are very thin sheets of hardboard or fiberboard (used for wall paneling). If you want something more authentic, you can go with a thicker sheet of wood and even elevate it up on blocks or bricks to get a really cool sound. When using the thin sheets, you can just place the sheet right on the floor, even on carpet. This is a great solution for those who may not have space in their home for a mini-dance studio, anywhere will work!

When finding the right shoes, you can definitely use tap shoes if you have some. If not, I use a simple pair of flat boots with hard soles to dance in; just make sure that they can slide about and will not stick to board, (not rubber soled shoes). Another thing you can use is any flat shoe or boot, then attaching a washer to the bottom of each shoe (using an elastic strap to attach), thus creating the cool sound as you dance. Here is a link to a website giving directions to making these shoes: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/terrific-tap-shoes-672503/

Now that you have your clogging board and shoes, you are ready to dance!! Here is a link to some traditional cloggers dancing. It is really a great dance, and did you know? It is the state dance of both North Carolina and Kentucky!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yKno6YYfek&NR=/traditional You may want to put on a CD of bluegrass music for your first try of clogging. But any kind of music is great. Let your child try out different kinds of rhythms with different kinds of music.

If you are working with that especially fearless dancer, then you may want to try a more aggressive approach. A few years ago, there was a clogging group performing on America's Got Talent. They were totally awesome! Here is an amazing video of their performance to inspire your child to get up and moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpjXY8WKmQA The most important thing is for your child to explore creating rhythms in a new way. He or she may even want to try using their clogging moves to a popular hip hop song.

So, go out to your local hardware store and get equipped for introducing clogging to that young dancer in your family. I have used this activity for assemblies with all ages of kids, preschool through tweens, and it is always a hit. It is something which will entertain your child while providing him a great cardio workout at the same time. See you again soon for more ways to keep your child fit!!

Get Your Child Moving with Hip Hop Dance!

2011-05-03T21:44:00.001-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

I am thrilled to introduce you to my friend and colleague at the Denver Center Theatre Academy, hip hop dance teacher Laurence Curry! In this blog, he will share ideas for getting kids off the couch, away from the television, and into a world filled with all the coolest dance moves. His enthusiasm for dance is matched by his passion for getting kids moving, helping them wake up many different parts of their bodies while, most importantly, having a really fun time!

There are many ways in which children, whether elementary school age, tweens, or teens can benefit from exposure to dance. This experience enables kids to increase both their levels of fitness and self-confidence. "It provides an artistic outlet for hands that are on their game boy too much," says Mr. Curry. He describes dancing as "marrying the movement from the body to the rhythm of a song". And children have an opportunity to use parts of their bodies that may otherwise lay dormant.

All of these things provide important elements for children to thrive, both in their physical development and as emerging artists. But, why is hip hop in particular a great outlet for children? Mr. Curry states that "hip hop is the most commercially driven style of dance and affords kids the opportunity to do something they see on TV." Hip hop has become the most universal of dance forms. It is accessible in all types of communities across the country and is something that everyone can master.

HMMM... I hope that this philosophy holds true during my first attempt in one of Mr. Curry's hip hop classes later this week. Yes, hip hop dance is for grown-ups too! It can provide the same benefits for any age student, whether a youngster or well... let's just say, an aging music teacher. That said, it seems to be the consensus of most dance teachers, that age 7 is a great age for children to begin dance training. At 5, most children are still filled with a high level of involuntary movement and too much structure may stifle this. Give them a couple more yrs and they are better prepared for the discipline involved in a structured class. For info on classes at the Denver Center Theatre Academy, here is the link: http://denvercenter.org/education/education.aspx

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about the many ways that hip hop dance can promote the fitness of your child. Thanks again to DCTA dance teacher Laurence Curry for sharing his expertise with us. So, keep your fingers crossed as I enter into the world of hip hop dance, leaving my tiny, wooden hammers to my dulcimer behind. I have visions of becoming the absolute coolest music teacher ever as I master all of the funky hip hop moves in Mr. Curry's adult dance class. But, whether I accomplish this amazing fete, I will surely exercise many parts of my body that have been laying dormant. And in the process, I will enjoy both the creativity and fun of hip hop dance!

The Importance of Fitness for Kids

2011-04-30T23:44:00.003-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

In today's world, obesity is an increasing problem for children of all racial and socio-economic groups. The lifestyle of the typical American family has changed dramatically in the past 30 yrs. And, sadly, during that time, the number of obese children in the US has doubled. Even more discouraging are reports that show that 80% of obese children will remain so throughout adulthood. For many families, the "family meal" has all but disappeared. And now, instead of the "rainbow plate" philosophy (eating a wide variety of foods including all the colors of the rainbow, ensuring a healthy balance), kids are sometimes getting the greatest portion of their food intake from processed foods and from fast food drive-up windows.

Equally alarming is the dramatic decrease of physical activity in our children. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that the average kid today spends 5 1/2 hrs each day on all screened media combined (TV, videos & DVDs, computer time outside of homework, and video games). Add to that the time that kids spend texting friends and talking on cell phones. Many children now are getting only a fraction of the kind of exercise the average child benefitted from several decades earlier.

Life has changed immensely since the 1960's when I was growing up. I have countless memories of riding my bike nearly every place that I needed to go, of climbing the tree in our backyard, and of my persistence at creating the perfect cartwheel. My siblings and I spent most of our summer vacations either at the community swimming pool or the tennis court at the end of our street, and family vacations always included lots of time in rowboats, canoes, and on horseback. It was a time before computers and DVDs and children spent their days most frequently entertaining themselves outdoors.

We can't go back in time. And we can't change that technology is an important part of our world. So, knowing some of these challenges our kids are facing , how do we help them develop a greater level of fitness and live a healthier life?

In my next three blogs, I will explore different activities which will encourage and promote fitness in children. The first of these will introduce kids to the cool and funky world of hip hop dance. Next, we will learn about how to set up an awesome clogging or tap studio in your basement, garage, or actually, just about anywhere in your home! And finally, I will share some of my favorite Jumpin' With Cindy activities, which will especially entertain your little ones. See you all again soon!!

Adventures With Photography, featuring Walter Wick

2011-04-26T00:15:00.004-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson

I have been a fan of Walter Wick for over a decade and am excited to introduce him to my readers! His innovative photography captures the interest of all ages, but his I Spy and Can You See What I See books are special favorites of children. Later in this blog, I will feature ways in which you can use the same style Mr. Wick does in his books to create books of your own. Your child will explore the world around him while creating a memorable keepsake using digital photography. Read on for more about this amazing children's author!

It is difficult to explain how the works of Walter Wick are different from other "find the hidden objects" kind of books. His use of constructing things in 3-D, creating phantom images, and other perplexing illusions makes way for his very unique photography in the books that he writes. To get an idea of what his books are like, it is best to see actual samples of his work. Here is a link to his website where you can see more about his wonderful books: http://walterwick.com/cys_main.htm Once you go to this link, click on the book that you would like to see more about for actual pages of the book. Two of my favorites are Cool Collections and Night Before Christmas.

Then, if you would like to see more of how Walter Wick creates his amazing photos for his books, here is a great video touring his Firehouse Studio where he works. It shows his sets and process in preparation of his book, Can You See What I See? On a Scary, Scary Night. It is very fascinating and I would reccomend this video to any elementary aged child interested in creating their own structures. Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/10505003

Reading these books with a child will keep them enthralled and entertained each time you read them. But, if your child would like to exercize that artist inside of himself, why don't you try having your child create his own "find the hidden object" book. There are two ways to approach this process. The first would be for the child to construct with actual objects as Mr. Wick does in preparation for his books. For more ideas on how to do this, here is another link to his website where he demonstrates various ways to make objects appear to float. http://walterwick.com/ispy_fantasy_bts.htm This technique may seem complicated, but could be adapted and simplified for a child's creation.

I love the idea of a child attaching various items onto a clear sheet of plexiglass material and then photographing it. While elementary school aged children will have a great time experimenting with this technique, younger children could also construct things as well, but in simpler form. Just find different interesting objects, attach them to white cardboard, and photograph it. While you may lose a bit of the 3-D effect, your young artist will still have awesome results.

Children I have worked with have absolutely loved developing their own books. It gives them a chance to experiment with the actual construction, while also exploring different colors and patterns as well. Once you have photos of the various creations, just add the captions, on the computer or even handwritten, of the objects that you will find. And there you are.. your child has become an author of his own book!! So, check out some of Walter Wick's wonderful books and explore the endless possibilities as you create an original work of your budding artist.

Dinosaur Eggs Make For Easter Fun!

2011-04-19T01:07:00.005-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson

Easter egg hunts can be a real highlight for children as they enjoy the Easter holiday. But, you may be looking for a bit of variety from the dyed, hard boiled eggs decorated each year. Here is a great idea for creating paper mache dinosaur eggs. These can be made with the help of children of all ages, from toddlers up to school aged. Read on for more on how to create some cool dinosaur eggs with your child.

First, you will need to blow up a balloon and tie the end. The second stage involves using the paper mache process to cover the balloon with newspaper strips and paste. I just simply mixed flour and water until I found a good consistency to work with. You could also use a glue mixture if you like. Then, take strips of newspaper and glue them onto the balloon, covering it completely. After it dries, you can repeat the process several more times. You may also want to use white paper, such as computer paper for your last layer of paper. Then, since it is white, it is easier to paint when dry, especially if using lighter colors or water colors. If you are interested in seeing a video of the paper mache process, here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaLmdRBvGG4

A fun way to engage toddlers with this activity is to let the child tear the newspaper for you. The 14 mo old I was working with loved doing this and especially enjoyed watching each piece as she dropped it to the floor! We actually put a basket below her high chair to catch the pieces of paper, which helped a bit with the mess. The older child helping with this project loved the pasting process. It is very gooey and messy and some children may be somewhat intimidated. But, the child who engages in art projects on a regular basis will not be afraid of rolling up his sleeves and jumping right in!

Once the egg is completely dry (I let it dry overnight), we then painted it with tempera paint. You could also use watercolors or continue to glue on crepe paper. Be creative! You may want to ask the child you are working with what he or she would like to add to the decoration of your egg. Children of all ages can participate with the painting process too. Once the egg is painted, you could even add stickers, googly eyes to create a face, or anything else to decorate it in your own unique way.

So, instead of searching for the traditional Easter eggs this year, you may want to have a dinosaur egg hunt in your backyard instead. Most importantly, have fun with this activity while fostering the creativity in your child!

Sen Lin, Pianist Extraordinaire! (TRACES part II)

2011-04-05T21:30:00.009-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

In my last blog I raved about what an amazing show TRACES is and urged my readers to see this event during it's run at the Denver Center Performing Arts. Today I want to share a special experience I shared with one of it's cast members, Sen Lin.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted about helping out someone in the show with some piano lessons. The initial email did not give any details about this request, but I was definitely curious. A few days later, I found out that Sen had recently taken over for a performer who had been injured and needed to learn a piano piece for the show. He had never played the piano before, nor did he read any music. And I had 3 days in which to teach him this song!

Those of us who perform know that this is a tall bill, not only because of the difficulty in learning the actual music, but also that it takes tremendous confidence to play in front of an audience. His focus only seconds before playing this song would be on tossing his body through the air in acrobatic fashion. There would be no time to stop and think for even a moment about hand positions or anything else as he jumped up to the piano to play this song. He would have to know this song backwards and forwards and inside out in order to pull this off.

I met with Sen backstage in a small room with a piano where he began learning the basics of piano technique. First, he had to become comfortable with the hand position of the key of F#major. With 6 sharps, it looks much more daunting than it really is, as it is played mostly on the black keys, making it easier to play this traditional Chinese song. With only a diagram of the keys on a piano and no music which he could read, Sen began learning all of this by memory. By day #2, he was already getting the hang of it, and by day #3, he was playing with little direction from me.

Members of the TRACES company shared with me that he had been practicing non-stop. One said that there are few performers less intense and hard-working than a Chinese acrobat. I would like to second that!! His commitment and persistence with learning this song quickly paid off and he was playing it in the show less than a week following his first piano lesson.

I found Sen a joy to work with! His work ethic and discipline are exceptional, but what really impresses me is his passion for the work that he does. What could have become drudgery was just another part of his contributing to a great show. He just kept moving forward, persisting with learning this, and knowing that both his castmates and the audience would benefit from his hard work. This is the attitude of the consumate performer and surely what teachers everywhere hope to instill in their young, budding musicians, or students of any kind. Thank-you Sen for inspiring children to find their passion, set the bar high, and through lots of hard work, to amaze even themselves with their amazing accomplishments!

I encourage you to see the show TRACES in Denver at the Denver Center Performing Arts' Stage Theater. Here is the link: http://denvercenter.org/shows-and-events/Shows/traces/home.aspx
And to get info of other amazing shows produced by The Seven Fingers, go to: http://7doigts.com/en/shows

TRACES!

2011-03-29T21:14:00.007-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

One of the most valuable perks of working in the performing arts is having the opportunity to attend a wide array of shows. In the past year, I have attended Shakespeare productions performed by actors with the Denver Center Theatre Company, by students with the acclaimed National Theatre Conservatory, and even by elementary school aged children with the Denver Center Theatre Academy. I have heard musicians from every corner of the world playing at such venues as Swallow Hill and the Boettcher Concert Hall, and recently enjoyed a magnificent production of Beauty and the Beast at Cherry Creek High School. Denver is rich with it's many cultural offerings for the children of our great city!

Last week I was totally blown away by an amazing show called TRACES, which is now playing at the Denver Center Performing Arts at the Stage Theater. This is a "must see" event for all ages! *Recommended for ages 6 and up. It is produced by a French Canadian company called The 7 Fingers. Audiences are quickly transfixed by the acrobatic skill of these performers. Then, the elements of music, film clips, and narration are weaved together with such other feats as skateboarding and even microphone tossing from performer to performer. The performers in this show hail from areas across the world including San Francisco, Quebec, and even China. Their skillful execution of acrobatic manuevers is matched by their artistry and performanceship. It was a joy to hear the response of the many children in the audience as they "ooohed" and "aaahed" and bellylaughed throughout the performance.

This is what the Denver Center says about this show: "On what may prove their last night on earth, seven street youths celebrate life with dazzling, gravity-defying displays of skill; balancing on each other's hands, tumbling through hoops and leeping spectacularly up giant poles." Here is a link to get more info about this show and to also watch video clips of it. Be sure to scroll down the page to see the video montage of different elements of the show: http://www.denvercenter.org/shows-and-events/shows/traces/home.aspx

So, check out this amazing show. You and your children will experience an evening of both fun and adventure. And you soon may find a budding acrobat emerging in your own family!! Come back to this blog later this week to read about a personal experience I shared with one of the performers in this show. You won't want to miss this amazing story! See you then!!

Learning With Hap Palmer

2011-03-22T00:23:00.012-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Hap Palmer is a wonderful musician who has been around for three decades! One of his greatest contributions to the world of kid's music is his amazing song, Sammy, from his Getting to Know Myself CD. Any child who has ever worked with me in a music class knows this song. It ranks at the top of the list of most requested songs by my students. And, my fellow teachers with organizations like the Denver Center Theatre Academy seem to like it just as much! Hap weaves together a wonderful story about a little boy who goes to the store to buy bread for his father, with the child deciding it is more fun to fly like a bird or swim like a fish, as he follows on with this task. The song incorporates an array of movement opportunities for the children as they too can move like birds or fish as they sing this lovely song.

To find more about Sammy or other musical works of Hap Palmer, you can go to his website at: http://happalmer.com/. You will find links to his children's CDs as well as DVDs and MP3s. There are more great links where you can get info on making teacher aids such as bean bags, hoops, and scarves, as well as coloring pages for the little ones. My favorite link on his website is the Lyrics and Activities section. Here you can find additional activites to complement many of Hap's CDs such as his Early Childhood Classics CD. It includes a great version of Old McDonald's Farm in which not only is there a farm, but also a zoo and a pet shop.

And, for those hard core Sammy fans out there, if listening to or singing with Hap's CDs isn't enough for you, there is also a wonderful video of this song too. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyjuuySiwe0&feature=related Another awsome video I saw by Hap is called Hap Palmer's Follow-Along Songs. My favorite song/activity from this video is called Homemade Band. Here is the link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDwFYLUFU6w

So, when you and your little one are in need of some new activities, where learning and musical enjoyment go hand in hand, try out one of Hap Palmer's CDs, videos, or an activity from his website. Both you and your child will likely become life-long fans like so many others!!

Cardboard Creations

2011-01-31T04:00:00.005-07:00

By Nancy Clark
Jumpin' With Cindy Essay Contest Runner-up

As a nanny with little to no musical skills, I am more fondly referred to by my employers as a creative nanny. In 15 years, I have done hundreds of crafts with my charges.

One project which stands out was that I worked for a family who always had a large supply of boxes. One cold, rainy day I took several of the boxes and made a large rocket ship about 8 feet tall. My three year old charge helped me cover the outside with foil. We made a control panel using wooden spoons for levers and plastic bottle caps for buttons. He played all day in his rocket ship. I did not know how his parents would feel about a rocket ship in the family room but, to my surprise, the next morning, his father had added lights and a switch. A few days later his mother bought a space costume and helmet.

On another occasion, the same charge who was then 4 and his 2 year old brother, loved stories made up and in books about pirates. We decided to make a day of pirate adventures. We made a huge pirate ship out of boxes. I made a sail using a broom handle and poster board. A pie tin was the steering wheel. Newspapers worked great to make pirate hats and the costumes were completed with homemade swords and eye patches. The fun continued with a treasure hunt. We made clues with stained tea and I burned the edges to make the clues look old. Then, the four year old drew a map. We filled a shoe box with toys and some of my old jewelry.

When the parents came home, everyone dressed up as pirates and participated in the treasure hunt. It was hard for the 4 yr old to contain his excitement, since he was the one to put out the clues. The family had so much fun that when I came to work the next day, they had made more clues and we had another treasure hunt.

I worked for that family for 4 1/2 wonderful years. Mom quit her job and said she really wanted to do all the fun things I had been doing with her children. I see them fairly often and I am always impressed with the fun things they create. The parents share in the children's excitement everyday. I know they were tired at the end of the day, they never let it show.

The boys did get exposure to music, using homemade instruments and my out of key singing as well as Music Together classes. What they remember most about me though is my made up stories and adventures with crafts. Give them a box, they can be anything or go anywhere their imaginations can take them.

Washington DC Through Art

2011-01-27T21:28:00.015-07:00

by Albatina Smith
Jumpin' With Cindy
Essay Winner

The children I was caring for were ages 5 and 2 and they both loved to do arts and craft activities. They also loved going to the many museums in the Washington DC area. But their favorite museum was the National Art Gallery.

So that gave me an idea... why not make an art gallery at home? Then the children's parents could see some of the places we tell them about all the time.

The process for making our in home art gallery went as follows: first pick 7 places, monuments or objects to recreate on paper, next we would go and visit the place or object and look at some of the details on it, third we would sit down in front of the object we were recreating and draw it. We used as many different forms of media for painting as we could. Each picture was either finger painted, colored with crayon, marker, colored pencil, or pen, we also pulled out white chalk and did the Lincoln Memorial at night on black paper. The next step was to take a picture of the children in front of the place or object they had just drawn a picture of. We would then hide it until we had all of the pictures done and ready to hang up.

After a week of going to the National Mall everyday and visiting other locations, we were ready to suprise the parents! We spent some time hanging our art on the walls and adding a few finishing touches, like: making pamphlets that told a couple of fun facts the children had learned about the place or object, putting stickers on the posters, naming our museum exhibit, and putting name and dates on the poster. After all of the finishing touches we were ready!

The children were so excited to show their parents what they had made for them. The parents love the art and the pictures and the children loved telling their parents about the art they had made. Some of the places we had made art of was: U.S. Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, The Potomac River-View from Mt. Vernon, Old Glory in the American History Museum, and more! It was a great activity because we learned a lot about American history and had fun doing it.

More Classical Music Ideas

2010-08-13T00:10:00.003-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

In my previous blog, we visited the wonderful website The Children's Group and learned about some awesome CDs for children. Today, we will learn about another amazing website which exposes kids to a whole other side of the spectrum in classical music such as the concepts of musical terminology, musical periods, and even musical composition. While many of the features on this website are for children in elementary school, there are some activities which are suitable for pre-schoolers.

This website can be found at: http://www.classicsforkids.com/ It is affiliated with Cincinatti Public Radio and provides an amazingly broad range of musical knowledge along with interactive activities for children! Once you get to this website, you will find six different categories on which you can click. The first of these is the On the radio link. After clicking this you will find other links which allow you to listen to actual radio programs of classical music, find schedules of various classical music radio stations, and gain access to some really fun and educational activity sheets for kids.

Next, is the link Composers. Here you will find information about many classical composers. You can search alphabetically, by country, or by musical period. There is also an interactive timeline chart showing the different composers in each century.

The third link is Games. This is, of course, my favorite aspect of this website!! The game Compose Your Own Music is tons of fun and both younger and older kids can play. You have to figure out how many beats make up the four that you need in 4/4 time and then you drag the different notes (quarter, half, whole) on to which line or space on the blank staff paper. Finally, when you have finished, it will play the song which you have composed back to you. Kids will love doing this!! Another great game here is the Note Name Game. In this game, there are several notes on either lines or spaces on the staff paper with a blank below it. You must decide what the name of the note is and put that letter in the space below. When you have finished, the combined names of the notes spell different words, such as "cab" or "ebb". It is a great way to help children identify the names of the notes in the scale!

More About Music is our next link. Here you can find more info about things like a musical dictionary, instruments in the orchestra, and instrument families. In the Special Features section, you can find more of this type of info such as what it is like to be an opera singer or a conductor. And you can also link to even more links regarding classical music for your child!

Last is the For Grown-ups link. In this section you will find information on books about music, tips for selecting a musical instrument for your child, choosing the best music teacher, and there are also lesson plans on different topics relating to classical music. There is even one about "Peter and the Wolf" by Prokofiev, which was featured in the previous blog.

This is truly an amazing website and I hope you have fun checking it out! Both you and your child will learn more about many different elements of classical music. And check back in a few days for hands-on activities that you can do with your child while exploring the world of classical music. See you then!!

Nannies, Win An INA Membership!!

2010-08-12T22:08:00.002-06:00

Jumpin' With Cindy is having an essay contest for nannies! The winner will win a one year membership to the International Nanny Association. Runner-ups will win Jumpin' On Down the Road CDs. For current members of INA, your complimentary membership will begin on January 1, 2011.

If you are interested in entering:

1) First, either join the Jumpin' With Cindy facebook page (click on "like") or become a follower of the Jumpin' With Cindy Music Blog.

2) Write an essay about your favorite art or music activity you have done with your charge (for example: making instruments, a movement activity, favorite CD, art or craft project). Include why it was educational or special for the child. Your essay should be no longer than 500 words. Email it with your full name and address to: Cindy Wilkinson wilkinsonca@msn.com The deadline for entries is on September 12, 2010. The winners will be notified and their essays published on the Jumpin' With Cindy Music Blog the following week.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I look forward to reading all of your wonderful ideas and sharing them with my readers! And, most importantly... keep on jumpin'!!

Introducing Classical Music to Kids

2010-08-11T00:17:00.002-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Introducing Classical Music to Kids Part 1
Have you ever wondered where to find some new ideas for introducing your child to classical music? We have all heard of the upbeat Hooked On Classics CDs. And most likely you have also heard of the Baby Einstein classical CDs for kids, such as Baby Mozart and Baby Bach. While these are all wonderful CDs and ones your child will certainly enjoy, there are many other resources out there which you may also want to explore.

This blog will be the the first in a series of three in which I will be sharing some wonderful ways to introduce the world of classical music to your child. Both this blog and the second in this series will feature amazing websites you will definitely want to visit. In the final blog, we will explore some creative hands-on activities which can be done at home or at school, enabling children to experience the magic of classical music!

The first is a website called The Children's Group. Here's their link: http://www.childrensgroup.com/ They provide some wonderful CDs for children and offer tons of soundbites for each of the CDs. You can scroll down to the bottom of the home page and see many of the CDs which the Children's Group offers. Then click on the "Music Store" link to find even more selections. There were three CDs which I found there that I would like to highly recommend.

The first CD is called Tchaikovsky Discovers America. It features music from Tchaikovsky's masterpieces: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, 1812 Overture, String Serenade, and First Piano Concerto. These are weaved together with American folk classics as well as some spirituals and ragtime favorites. There is also some narration regarding the life of the composer, Peter Ilyich Tchiakovsky and his travels to New York to play at Carnegie Hall. It is a unique CD in that it provides a great deal of historical information about that time period, the life of the composer, giving the child a new perspective on the music he or she is hearing. Children both young and old will enjoy hearing the exciting narration with the dramatic musical selections.

Next up is the CD The World's Very Best Opera for Kids... in English! This CD offers a wonderful variety of music from well known operas such as Madame Butterfly, The Barber of Seville, Carmen, and Rigoletto. It will certainly spark the interest of the young child as he or she explores all of the capabilities of their own voice with the different types of vocal ranges and types of operatic singing they hear in the music. One of the truly special aspects of this CD is that it also offers five karaoke style tracks with which your child (or any brave adult) can sing along with on the instrumental track. What a treat for any budding opera aficionado!!

Finally, the CD Peter and the Wolf, was a childhood favorite of mine and one which I feel should be a standard in every child's CD collection! This incredible musical story was created by the composer Sergei Prokofiev who both composed the music and wrote the text. It is the story of a young boy named Peter and different instruments or musical themes identify each character in the story. For example, "the bird" is played by the flute, "the duck" is played by the oboe, "the cat" is played by the clarinet, and so on... For more info on the actual story of Peter and the Wolf, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_and_the_Wolf This CD also includes some additional narration about the composer's life and special things to listen to in the music.

You will have a truly wonderful time listening to soundbites of these CDs and introducing them to your child! Come back soon to read about another great website with even more ideas for experiencing the world of classical music. See you soon!!

Amazing Canadian Children's Authors!

2010-08-07T21:48:00.002-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

In my last blog, I featured my two favorite French Canadian musicians, Gaston Bernard and Benoit Bourque. Today I will feature two more amazing Canadian treasures! They are children's author Robert Munsch and author/illustrator Michael Martchenko. I must admit that most of their books have found a home in my personal library and I can recite nearly all of these by heart!

While a a great number of the Munsch/Martchenko books are humorous in nature, such as The Paper Bag Princess or Thomas's Snowsuit, they have also included some with a serious focus, such as the book Love You Forever. My favorites are those which involve outrageous plotlines such as Jonathan Cleaned Up-Then He Heard A Sound (in which a young boy's living room suddenly becomes a subway stop and the boy must fight city hall to get it changed) or Angela's Airplane (a story of a young girl who boards a small plane and mistakenly pushes the red button, with near disastrous results).

The majority of Robert Munsch's children's books have been illustrated by Michael Martchenko, but Mr. Munsch has used a few other illustrators as well. These include: Purple, Green, and Yellow by Helene Desputeaux and A Promise is a Promise by Vladyana Krykorka. Michael Martchenko has also authored two books of his own: Ma' I'm a Farmer and Birdfeeder Banquet.

To find more information on Robert Munsch, (including all of his books, some great artwork by children, and additional stories and poems), go to: http://robertmunsch.com/ For more about the author and illustrator Michael Martchenko, go to: http://www.annickpress.com/authors/martchenko.asp?author=251&author2=380

While the works of these two men most definitely contains an abundance of humor with a cheeky twist, I feel that their most wonderful quality is in never "talking down" to their readers, or in the case of the very young, their listeners. The children in these stories are strong in nature and competent in their problem solving abilties, even if it sometimes also involves a bit of mischief! They are fearless and creative, sometimes infuriating, but always resourceful.

So, go to your local library, neighborhood bookstore, or a website somewhere on-line, and get a few of these awesome books by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko. They will provide your whole family with some wonderful literary entertainment and will have you laughing as much as your child!

My French Canadian Favorites!!

2010-08-05T00:05:00.002-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

About a decade ago, I had the great pleasure of attending a Swallow Hill concert at Cameron Church in Denver. The performers were Benoit Bourque and Gaston Bernard. Being a seasoned dulcimer player, I was fascinated by the many blends in the French Canadian music I heard that night. It seemed to weave together celtic, bluegrass, and cajun all into one and I was especially amazed with the use of dancing as a form of percussion in this style of music.

I purchased one of their CDs that night, called Les pieds qui parlent, which I could no longer find available for sale while surfing the internet (maybe you will have better luck and will want to keep looking). It is a wonderful CD for not only children, but for the whole family. The energy, enthusiasm, and skillful musicianship of these two made for a memorable concert which I still remember today, and will likely remember forever!

While playing this CD recently, I wondered what Benoit and Gaston are up to these days, so I did the obvious, and "googled" them to find my answer! With great joy I found that they are both alive and kicking and playing with their respective bands, La Bottine Souriante and Matapat.

The band Matapat first included Benoit Bourque, Gaston Bernard, and Simon Lepage, the musicians you will hear on their title CD, Matapat. Benoit later left the band, and current members of Matapat are Gaston, Simon, Tommy Gauthier, and Francois Dauphin. You can find info about them on their website: http://www.matapat.com/ If you would like to see them playing live, you can check out their youtube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-ovBXgaBYI&feature=related I would reccomend any of their four CDs!

Benoit was a member of the band Le Vent du Nord (a band I would also encourage you to check out) and is now a member of the band La Bottine Souriante. For info on this band you can go to their website: http://www.bottinesouriante.com/ and to check out live concert footage, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUd12UMpiCQ&feature=related They have a very unique style and would be a real treat to see in concert. You can check out their concert schedule on the website as well as their great CDs.

All of these bands combine fiddle, accordian, and guitar with the percussion of step dancing. If you are lucky enough to see any of these musicians live, it will be an experience that you will hold onto forever!! Check out the above links and definitely buy a few of the CDs from these amazing musicians. Happy listening!!

Irish Music for Kids

2010-02-09T00:32:00.002-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Irish music is filled with wonderful stories and amazing rhythms which just call out to you to get up and dance! Which leads me to my first recommendation for an awesome CD or video for introducing your child to Irish, or as I like to call it, Celtic music. Everyone must remember the Riverdance craze of the 1990's! Well, there is a good reason why this show's video was shown endlessly on PBS pledge weeks and created a buzz felt around the world. Children everywhere had a new interest in step dancing and fiddle playing and enrollment in these musical programs escalated dramatically as did the popularity of the Riverdance show.

Why, you ask? Well, Bill Whelan's musical score will forever be one of the most incredible scores ever written and the dancing on the video (or if you were lucky enough to see the live show) is extraordinary! Children are as mesmerized as adults with it's variations of beats, traditional instrumentation, and lovely vocals. I guarantee you that your child will want to get up and dance to this awesome soundtrack.

Choosing a great Irish sing-a-long for little ones is a bit harder. If you are familiar with celtic music, most songs from this genre involve either drowning at sea, dying in a battle of some kind, or losing your great love of your life, perhaps because he or she has died! When I first began doing St Paddys Day concerts for kids, I spent an eternity finding an hour's worth of Irish songs which I could sing with a group of young children. But, there is one in particular which is an absolute favorite of children, the song "Cockles and Mussels". You can find it in the Fireside Book of Folksongs, which can be found at most libraries. There are also tons of recordings of this song which can be best found by googling it.

The story of Molly Malone begins as a happy song, one of a fishmonger selling shell fish from a wheelbarrow on the streets of Dublin. But, like most other Irish folksongs, she dies of a fever, and the last verse has her ghost singing out the final chorus of, "cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh." It really is a wonderful song and one which my music students request the most!

My third recommendation for great celtic music is anything by the Chieftains. They have been around forever and have tons of CDs. Again, it is easiest to find these by just googling their name and finding the CDs that way. There are too many to name... They play traditional celtic music and one of my favorite instruments, the hammered dulcimer, is featured on many of their songs. If you ever have a chance to see them live, it will be a great treat for the whole family. One of my most memorable concerts was seeing the Chieftains with Sarah McLachlan at Red Rocks. Wow!! It was pretty awesome and something I will never forget!

I hope you have gotten some great ideas for introducing Irish music to the children in your life. Come back in a couple of days for some more travels around the world. See you then!

Scandinavian Music and Stories

2010-01-28T01:23:00.002-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Today we travel to the incredible region of Scandinavia and explore the music and stories of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. This is a part of the world from which many of my ancestors lived before crossing the Atlantic and coming to the USA. Perhaps that is why I feel such a strong connection to this part of the world and am so fascinated with it's culture.

We will begin by looking at some of the world's most wonderful children's stories from each of these countries. Denmark was the home of one of my favorite authors: Hans Christian Andersen. His works included such stories as The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, and The Princess and the Pea. I would recommend any of his stories for children of any age. Some have been adapted into films and even a ballet. But, I will always love reading these stories the best! A great book of his works is: Fairy Tales from Hans Christian Andersen: A Classic Illustrated Edition; published by Chronicle Books, 1992. However you enjoy these stories, they will enchant and entertain both you and your child.

When I think of Norwegian folktales, I think of... well, of course, of Trolls! And the tale which is most well-known is that of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. I have read many of the other Norwegian folktales and the trolls are pretty cantankerous and scary. Little children will likely be satisfied with the story of our billy goat family. Older elementary school aged children may enjoy the thrill and adventure of other troll stories such as "The Eating Competition" and "The Boy and the North Wind". A wonderful book containing these troll tales and many more is The Troll With No Heart In His Body by Lise Lunge-Larsen and Betsy Bowen; published by Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

A favorite character in Swedish literature for children is no other than Pippi Longstocking!! She was created by Astrid Lindgren in 1945 and Pippi continues to entertain children, even today. In addition to a series of endearing books, there are also many Pippi Longstocking videos which have been made for children's audiences. There are far too many choices to link to here, but if you google either the author or the character, you will find many resources to choose from in finding a book or video for your child.

Finally, I take pleasure in introducing you to a musical instrument which I had never heard of until I was doing research for this article. It is a Swedish stringed instrument called the nyckelharpa. It is also called a key harp or key fiddle. You will likely have to look at a photo of it to grasp this, but it has keys attached to tangents, which, when pressed down, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string. Did you get that? There is a great website just for those who want to learn everything there is to know about this cool instrument. Here is the link: http://www.nyckelharpa.org/ And to hear a wonderful group of Swedish musicians playing this instrument, look for the CD Byss-Calle by the Nyckelharpa Orchestra. Here is the link to this lovely CD: http://www.amazon.com/Byss-Calle-Nyckelharpa-Orchestra/dp/B00004Z3YQ

I hope you have had fun traveling to these amazing countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. See you next week for more travels around the world!

Cultural Activities from Africa

2010-01-26T04:39:00.002-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Activities From the Continent of Africa
Last week I shared ideas on introducing music from China to your little ones through the use of a great CD and different types of scarves. Today we will travel to the continent of Africa where we will learn about a wonderful children's book and the use of drumming to explore the culture from African countries.

One of my favorite children's books is called, Elizabeti's Doll, by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, author, and Christy Hale, illustrator. It tells the story of a young girl from Tanzania who uses a rock as a doll and learns about caring for her young baby brother through this experience. Both the story and illustrations will help your child to understand how different life can be in an African country, and yet how much we are really all the same! The link to this author's website is: http://www.rockforadoll.com/books.html

Another way to experience the culture of Africa is through drumming. I wrote some about this in my percussionist blogs back in August, but I would love to share some of these ideas again. Drumming has long been a very important part of the communication between people living in villages throughout Africa. They are also used as musical instruments and can be heard as the people of Africa dance to their amazing rhythms! Two special drums which are unique to the continent of Africa are the djembe and the talking drum. If your child is interested in percussion, each of these drums would be a great starting point for developing and exploring drumming.

To hear my good friend and awesome Denver percussionist Ed Contreras playing a djembe, you can link to my CD Jumpin' Up to the Moon and listen to the soundbite for the song, Hello, which has greetings from around the world. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wilkinsonc1 Ed also plays a ton of other percussion instruments on this track (too many to name) which will get you up and dancing!!

The talking drum is a fascinating instrument and one which children will love. It is played by holding it under one arm and beating it's head with a special mallet with your opposite hand. When you squeeze the drum, it's pitch goes up, thus creating a sound as if the drum is talking. It is great fun!! To watch a video of talking drum being played by a Nigerian musician, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oQJZ2TEVI

If your child isn't ready for a real drum yet, you may want to try making some shaker bottles to bang on the floor. It is a wonderful way to explore both rhythm and creativity! Here is the link to my earlier blog regarding the use of shaker bottles: http://www.jumpinwithcindy.blogspot.com/2009/08/activities-for-budding-percussionist.html

I hope you have had fun reading all of these ideas about African culture and checking out the different links. Come back later this week for more travels around the world!!!

Chinese Music and Dancing Scarves

2010-01-21T05:00:00.002-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

China is a country with a rich culture blending ancient history and traditions with today's modern lifestyle. The music of China reflects this mix of old and new. Traditional music includes such instruments as bamboo pipes, flutes, cymbals, gongs, drums, and plucked and bowed string instruments. You may have heard this type of music during a "Dragon Dance", which is a well-known part of Chinese culture. But, the diverse music of China also includes other styles such as Tibetan chants, opera, and even hip hop and rock.

An amazing musical group of musicians fuzing these different elements of music is The Twelve Girls Band. This group is composed of twelve classically trained musicians who join together to play traditional Chinese instruments as the Twelve Girls Band, entertaining audiences with not only traditional Chinese songs (such as the Forbidden City, one of my favorites), but also with current songs such as the theme from Riverdance. My absolute favorite is Coldplay's song Clocks. Here is the link to see a youtube video of this group playing this amazing song with chinese instruments. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXqSPJpuDBM&feature+related

The CD which features this song is called, Eastern Energy. It is an absolute favorite of my music students and contains some of the most "danceable" songs for children of any I have ever heard! To check out this CD and listen to more sound bites of different tracks, go to: http://www.amazon.com/Eastern-Energy-Bonus-Twelve-Girls/dp/B0002KQO3U

Now that you have some terrific music to listen to with your little ones, you will need to find some silk scarves so that you can dance about the room, completing your Chinese cultural experience. You may even want to find a large sized scarf so that you can create your own Chinese dragon in your backyard or family room.

I recommend to my readers to go to a wonderful website where you will find some of the best movement products that I have found. It's called, Dancing Colors!! Today I spoke with it's founder, Emily Day. Her most popular items for use in the home are her Rainbow & Fantasy Bag Starter Sets with six scarves each. Also check out her Canopies of Color, which are made of washable, sheer nylon, and finally, her giant Silk Rainbow Scarf. For info on these awesome scarves, go to: http://www.dancingcolors.com/

Once you have gathered up your Chinese music CDs and dancing scarves, get set for a morning of musical fun! Your child will experience the culture of another part of the world while twirling around the room and you will enjoy it equally as much. Remember to come back to this blog site next week for more ideas from places around the world!!

International Music for Kids

2010-01-19T05:07:00.002-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

International Music for Kids
This blog will present an overview of international music for kids, including info on my favorite international music website and some great CDs. Then, for the next few weeks, I will feature a different region of the world in each blog, providing more great resources for each of these areas as well as an array of activities which you can introduce to your child. There will be ideas for children of all ages, from toddlers all the way up to school aged kids. These different activities will include singing, dancing, art, instumentation, and storytelling and are guaranteed to both entertain and educate your child!

As I am writing this blog, I also happen to be listening to an awesome music radio station which is, by the way, playing international music. It is part of a wonderful website which provides the most diverse information on international music which I have ever found! You can listen to songs from around the world on their music radio or watch videos of a wide range of artists from places like Senegal, China, or New Zealand. And the really cool thing about this website is that it is part of another favorite organization of mine, National Geographic! Here is the link: http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/

There are also some great CDs which you should check out featuring music from a wide range of countries. My two favorites are Colors of the World (a compilation CD) and Songs of Innocence by Hugues De Courson and Tomas Gubitsch.

The first CD has many other variations as well, such Colors of the World:Celtic and Colors of the World: New Zealand, but I really love the original one. The first track on it is by Papa Wemba, the renowned African artist from Zaire who also worked a lot with Peter Gabriel. It is a song that will have your child dancing and likely everyone else in the room as well! If you go to Amazon.com, you can then put in the title of the CD and listen to sound bites of each track. Since it is an older CD (1997), it may be a bit harder to find one in stock, but there are used versions you can find more easily.

Songs of Innocence mixes original compositions of De Courson and Gubitsch with traditional chants from Egypt, China, India, Spain, and many other countries. It is a truly unique CD and one I would highly recommend. To listen to sound bites of this CD, go to: http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1107218/a/Songs+Of+Innocence.htm

Have fun checking out these CDs and a truly great website! I will see you back here in a couple of days with more resources on international music for kids. See you then!!

Music and Movement with Fingerplays

2010-01-14T09:39:00.002-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Music and Movement with Fingerplays

In my last post, I shared ideas of how to create original fingerplays with children. Today I will discuss some ways to incorporate music and movement with fingerplays, thus building on and enriching this experience even more.

One of my favorite fingerplays (and a great one for demonstrating the use of music and movement with it) is "Five Little Cookies". This is how it goes: Five little cookies in the bakery shop, all dressed up with sugar on top. Along came a boy with a penny to pay, he bought one cookie and he ran away. (repeats) Four little cookies.. (repeats) Three little cookies.. repeats) Two little cookies.. (repeats) One little cookie.. last verse is- No more cookies in the bakery shop, all dressed up with sugar on top. Along came a boy with a penny to pay, but, Sorry, no more cookies today!

To add instruments to this fingerplay, assign different instruments to differents sounds, such as: shakers for the sugar on top, tapping with sticks for along came a boy, bells for a penny to pay, or a slide whistle for he ran away. The children will have fun doing this and it creates a sense of this being a story, rather than just a fingerplay. It also reinforces the sequence of the fingerplay/story, which is an important element of literacy development.

Now, let's add movement to this activity as well. The way that I do it involves seven children, but you can improvise with fewer children or more children if you like. Assign a "role" to each child such as the baker in the bakery shop who will sell each cookie or each of the persons coming to buy a cookie (*you will need one more buyer playing than there are cookies). For props, you will need five cookies and something to represent the pennies. If you have enough children, you can assign some kids to be cookies, rather than using props. Line up the children who are the cookies and each time a buyer pays a penny to the baker, he chooses a "cookie" from the line, they hold hands, and walk off together.

I have used this activity for the past ten years with my children's classes and the children never get tired of it!! By acting out this fingerplay, it makes it more of a visual experience for the children. This can benefit many children who learn best by this method, especially in terms of developing one-to-one correspondence. Look through other favorite fingerplays and decide how you might adapt them into music and movement activities. And to get the most out of this activity, try to involve your children and use their ideas too. You will all have a really great time and will also develop literacy, numeracy, and creativity!!!

Creating Your Own Finger Plays

2010-01-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Creating Your Own Finger Plays

Have you ever been looking for an activity for a particular topic, but were unable to find one quickly? Do you sometimes wish you could custom-make a song or story for your little ones evolving around that child's interests, but you don't know how? Well, read on for some great ideas on creating your own original finger plays. You will find yourself having as much fun as the children you are creating them for!

Finger plays are an important part of both emergent literacy and numeracy development. Children, even as young as infants and toddlers, will learn new vocabulary from this activity and the words will have added meaning through the use of hand gestures. Older children begin to learn about rhyming and meter through the use of fingerplays. And numeracy skills such as one-to-one correspondence and counting in sequence are developed as well.

By creating your own fingerplays, you will have access to a multitude of activities for different topics and also can tailor make them for an individual child or group of children. Let's use the fingerplay, "Five Little Pumpkins" as an example.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate, the first one said "Oh my, it's getting late". The second one said, "There are witches in the air". The third one said, "But we don't care". The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run. The fifth one said, "Isn't halloween fun". OH OH went the wind and out went the light and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Now, let's say that you want to create an original finger play about a winter day. You could put together something like this: Five little snowflakes falling from the sky, the first one said, "I'm so happy I can fly". The second one said, "It's awfully cold out here". The third one said, "The sun's coming, I fear". The fourth one said, "We will melt if we do stay". The fifth one said, "it's time to fly away". OH OH went the wind as the sun came into sight and blew all the snowflakes gently into flight.

Another variation of this is to create a fingerplay and insert your children's names in it, such as Five little children eating Andrew's cake, Emily said, "how much may I take?" You get the picture..

This is a great activity for elementary school aged kids as well as the little ones. Older children can do more of it on their own, practicing their writing skills (by rhyming and coming up with the correct meter) and putting new spelling words into use as they create their own finger plays.

So the next time that you can't find just the right fingerplay or activity for a special topic, create your own. Include your child in this process and while you are building vocabulary, promoting higher literacy, and developing numeracy skills, your child will only know that he is just having great fun with this creative endeavor!

Come back to my blog again to read more ideas on how to incorporate music and movement into fingerplays. See you again soon and keep on jumpin'!!!

Creative Snow Play Ideas

2010-01-07T21:28:00.003-07:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Creative Snow Play Ideas (Music, Movement, and Painting)

Winter can be a more difficult time to keep the kids entertained with cold weather and limited time outdoors. Here are a couple of great ideas to encourage creative play on those snowy days. They involve music, movement, and painting; all the components for some magical winter fun!!

Snow Dancing- For this activity, just bundle up your little ones in their warmest winter gear, put on their favorite funky music, and send them out in the snow to dance. Spinning and twirling in knee deep snow can actually be great fun!! It is also a good way for children to get some much needed exercise and outdoor time during the winter season. Make sure you choose a safe spot (grassy underneath) so their are no worries when the kids go toppling over in the snow.

Another fun aspect of this activity is to make different kinds of tracks in the snow such as pulling a sled around, throwing balls into the snow, or just creating footprints, or in this case, bootprints, as you all are dancing around. Playing rhythmic music in the background will encourage the children to keep those feet moving to the beat, even in their snow boots. And hopefully, all of this backyard commotion won't disturb the neighbors. They will likely want to join in too!!

Snow Painting- All you need to create great works of art with snow is some washable tempera paint, several large sheets of art paper, paint brushes for mixing, and, you guessed it, SNOW!! You can do this activity two ways, either outdoors or indoors. If done outdoors, send the children out in the snow with small buckets or plastic containers to gather up some snow. Then add some tempera paint and let them mix the paint with the snow for some awesome results. Add different colors to discover the different shades that can be created. Then, place the painted snow in a baggie and place it in the freezer. The children can get it back out later and squish it around some more, just make sure the baggie is completely sealed.

For a similar experience done indoors, have the children gather a small amount of snow in a plastic cup and bring it to a covered table (it will be a bit messy). You may also want to encourage the children to wear paint smocks when they begin the painting stage of this activity. Then place some art paper (I use fingerpainting paper or butcher block paper) on the table and let the children put some snow on the paper. Next, add some tempera paint and let the children mix the paint and snow as they create their snow painting.

This activity is really a science project as well as the children discover the different forms of the snow changing from a thick mass to ice crystals to a melting liquid. Mixing different colors is especially fun! Once that most of the snow has melted, place another sheet of paper on top of the snow covered one and rub them together, creating a print. With a paper towel, wipe up the paint water which may seep out between the sheets as you press down. (It is really not all that messy or unmanageble if a small amount of snow is used.) If your little one loves to keep adding more snow, be prepared to make several prints from the snow painting, thus, using up all of the melting crystals.

You may also want to save some of the painted snow (before it melts) in a baggie and place it in the freezer as well. It is such fun to get it out later and play with it again. The most important component of this activity is exploration. And you will be amazed with the final product: a most magnificent painting, unlike any other print you've seen! Have fun!!!

Performance Based Music Classes

2009-10-02T01:00:00.001-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Performance Based Music Classes
Since I am a great fan of both the integrated arts curriculums and the process based programs, you might get the idea that I prefer these over performance oriented classes. But there is a place for the performance based classes too! They offer their students many components which are sometimes lacking in the typical process based class and are equally important.

One example of a performance based program is Suzuki. The children attend class each week and study a particular instrument such as cello or violin. Parents participate by attending the class as well and then assisting their child during the rehearsal time at home. Younger children develop their musical repertoire primarily by ear and begin reading musical notation as they get older. At the end of each level, the children will perform a recital for an audience of family and friends.

I LOVE the Suzuki method and have seen many children thrive under the guidance of their Suzuki trained teachers! It requires discipline on the child's part as practicing throughout the week is crucial for success. Children learn to set goals. They work hard as they progress through a particular level, and once that is accomplished, move on to tackling even more difficult repertoire. The student does not compare himself to other musicians, but rather is motivated by his own progress.

Once I was a nanny for a young charge who began Suzuki training at age 4. By the time she was in the first grade, she was asked to play during the wedding of her cousin. There was also a string quartet playing for parts of the wedding and they were so impressed with the young lady's expertise that they asked her to join them as they played for the reception. What an amazing experience for a 6 year old! This little girl never seemed to lack confidence with her performance skills. And I am sure that this carried over to other areas of her life and gave her more confidence overall.

Other examples of performance based training are children's orchestras or choral groups. These groups give children an opportunity to work in an ensemble setting. Again, self discipline is very important here, with the component of auditioning being added to the equation as well. It helps children develop musicianship, learn more about different repertoire, develop confidence by performing, and enjoying the comraderie of working within a group of young musicians.

Many of the children who participate in performance groups such as this credit the experience with changing their lives forever by inspiring them to pursue music as a lifelong avocation, or perhaps profession one day. So, whether your child participates in an integrated arts program, a process based curriculum, or performance based class, he will surely benefit in many ways!!

Process Based Arts Classes

2009-09-30T05:00:00.001-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Process Based Arts Classes

While the integrated approach to arts education involves integrating multi-disciplines (such as drama, music, dance, and visual art), process based arts training focusses on learning about the process in creating something, whether it is a play, dance, or musical piece.

For example, if a child is in a process based drama class, the students will be guided through such things as creating a story, developing characters, determining what kinds of props or costumes may be helpful in telling this story, and how music or movement might be used. The goal of this type of training is not necessarily to put on a flawless performance, but rather to learn about all of the components involved in creating a play.

One of my favorite experiences in creating a play with children occured during a session of an international arts camp with elementary aged children. The part of the world which we focussed on that day was the country of Norway. We had read several stories about trolls and discussed some of their not so agreeable characteristics. I then asked the children to create their own story, which we would later stage for the parents. Here is a condensed version of that story:

Once upon a time, there were a family of kittys who lived in the land of "kittyland". One morning they found a lamb had wandered to their homeland and could not find his way back home. The kittys joined together to help the lamb get back to "Sheepland", but there was a serious problem! As they strolled along with the lamb in tow, they discovered a troll who lived behind a rock on the path they must travel. They would never get the lamb back home!

Suddenly, they felt something falling from above. They were cookies; small, round, pink with sprinkles, yummy, yummy cookies. The kittys saw that there was a cookie tree beside them and came up with an idea. As the troll lay sleeping, they began to shake the cookie tree with cookies falling on the head of the troll. He awoke, and feeling quite hungry, began eating all of the cookies, sprinkles and all.

As the troll gobbled up his delicious snack, he paid no attention to the path beside him and the kittys were able to scamper by him with the little lamb, totally unnoticed. Soon the little lamb was back in "Sheepland" with all of his family and friends. That night, they all enjoyed the most wonderful celebration with singing and dancing and a feast of the most yummy cookies ever tasted!!!

Those of us who work in education with children delight in the spontaneity and creativity of the young. To the students who created this story, it was truly a work of art. This story evolved into a play; and their audience of friends and family affirmed this dedicated, collaborative effort with thunderous applause!! These children learned far more from this experience than "hit your mark, recite your lines." They learned about collaboration and the pride of ownership in this incredible creative project. And it was a time for each child to discover the artist within himself and the joy of sharing it with others!

A leader in theater education for children is the Denver Center Theatre Academy. As part of the world renowned Denver Center Performing Arts, it's students have the chance to work with professional actors, musicians, dancers, and teaching artists. And while the creative process is stressed in each of it's classes, students as young as kindergarten also have the opportunity to perform in a theater setting in front of a captive audience. It's students will leave the walls of the Denver Center's Tramway Building with more knowledge about the basics of acting, but more importantly, with a sense of adventure and empowerment in their journey as young artists!

For more information about the Denver Center Theatre Academy, go to:http://www.denvercenter.org/education/education.aspx

Come back to this blog on Friday for more information on performance based music classes!

Process Based vs. Performance Based Classes

2009-09-28T09:06:00.002-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Process Based vs. Performance Based Classes
In my last blog, I discussed matching the best teacher to your child's age, personality, and interests. This week I will be comparing process based classes with performance based classes. You will find that there are many different options out there as you search for arts oriented classes. Hopefully, this information will help you to better understand some of these different types of classes and make the best choice for your child.

You may also want to go back and read my article titled, "Importance of Arts in Education of Young Children", which was posted on August 1st. It gives many examples of the benefits of process based arts programs.

This process based approach can help children in developing many important skills. And it's counterpart, the performance based approach, also offers many valuable components to the students enrolled in it's programs. In the blogs which will follow this week, I will discuss these two types of approaches in arts education in more detail. And while it is important to understand the differences between them, the reality is that many of the best arts curriculums include both of these components in an integrated approach to arts training.

Integrated Approach to Arts Training
One of my favorite programs for children in the Denver metro area is found at the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities. They offer their popular ArtStart classes for children ages 4-5 and ArtSampler camps for children ages 6-8. These programs include components in visual art, music, dance, and drama. Each day the children have opportunities to work with teachers from different disciplines. One day the children are moving about the dance studio while they are acting out a favorite story the next. They are exploring the joys of painting and also developing their vocal skills. While there is a strong focus on the creative process, the children also get to create a wonderful perfomance for family and friends at the end of their arts experience there.

Another great benefit the Arvada Center offers is it's on-site art gallery. How inspirational it must be for these children to view these masterpieces each day as they pass by on their way to class. The children also have the opportunity to attend a children's theater production performed by professional actors whom they can meet following the performance. All of these experiences help to both inspire and empower young children to pursue these various disciplines as they grow into adulthood. Many artists, whether they are an actor, dancer, sculptor, or musician, credit one key experience in their childhood with giving them the inspiration for pursuing the arts. The Arvada Center is providing this kind of experience to all of it's young students! For more info on the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities, go to: http://www.arvadacenter.org/.

Watch for more info on wonderful process and performance based programs later this week. See you then!

Matching a Teacher to Your Child's Interests

2009-09-18T17:00:00.000-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson

Matching a Teacher to Your Child's Interests
As important as it is to find a teacher who connects with your child's age group and personality, matching a teacher to your child's interests is equally important. Parents may also want to consider what their child's strengths and weaknesses are in terms of musical aptitude, and finally, to understand their own expectations for their child's musical training. If you find a teacher who is compatible with all of these factors, then this experience will likely be a successful one.

Determining what your child's interests are is usually not a difficult task. The child who is in perpetual motion, leaping and twirling throughout the house will likely be drawn into the world of dance. The child who can repeat melodic patterns he hears may be drawn to a Suzuki experience where ear training skills are developed. The child who mimics every pop star he sees on TV with that wonderful mock vibrato will likely follow the path of a budding vocalist.

When I was a two year old child, my parents recalled that I was forever standing on the milkbox of our front porch singing "The Star Spangled Banner". Our neighbors found it remarkable that such a young child could sing such a difficult song, often stopping to listen. When asking me what was I doing?, my reply was always the same: "I am the lady who sings at the game!" This is actually the first thing that I ever wanted to be "when I grow up" as a child. It was no stretch for my parents to envision their daughter one day actually singing at a football game or any other event where an audience could provide applause.

The difficulty with finding the best teacher comes when a child is not flouishing, but rather finds the experience frustrating. Here are a couple of examples, one of a good match and one of a match which needed to be changed.

Ryan was a 6 yr old piano student who was highly creative. He would often arrive for his lesson with a musical score in hand which he had composed the previous week, written at the level of a 2nd year student. In order to keep him motivated to practice all of the more tedious elements of piano training, he needed to have a creative outlet as well. Our partnership was an awesome one; we seemed to be kindred spirits! Songwriting is a core part of who I am and Ryan had that same love for creating his own musical masterpieces. He thrived, not only as a pianist, but in his love of all music during our years together and it was joyful experience for both student and teacher.

Sean was a 16 year old aspiring rock singer who was actually referred to me by another teacher. Sadly, I have a "Disney soundtrack" voice, which is angelic and sweet; not exactly what Sean was seeking to model in his singing style. His mother felt that he could benefit from my expertise as a music teacher, but he was clearly frustrated. In the end, he began studying with one of Swallow Hill's newer teachers, a 26 yr old rocker who also happened to have an MFA in music from the University of Denver. It was a perfect match for them both.

Don't be afraid to try a different teacher if things are not clicking with your child and his teacher. Like I said in my previous blog, some children may be a perfectionist by nature and thrive on that type of class structure. Other children may be more creative and are seeking an outlet for those kinds of experiences. Some people study a musical instrument for enjoyment purposes and others are interested in developing as performers. But for each type of student, there is the right teacher. Knowing what your child's interests are will assist you in finding the best teacher for him and can reassure you that your child will gain the most from his early musical training!

Matching a Teacher to Your Child's Personality

2009-09-16T05:00:00.000-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson

Matching a Teacher to Your Child's Personality
Choosing a music teacher for your child involves looking at many factors. One of those is matching a teacher to your child's personality. If this piece of the puzzle does not fit, the match will likely be an unsuccessful one.

Some teachers have a serious, no-nonsense attitude while others are more laid back. Some may set the bar high and demand perfection while others may focus on the enjoyment level of their students. It is important to know what kind of experience works best for your child. Does your child thrive while being pushed to excel? Or is your child sensitive to this style of teaching, finding it intimidating?

I have seen children who bound into a music studio with tremendous energy and a "what am I going to learn today" attitude. This child would be totally bored with learning at the snail's pace of the typical music student. Another child needs to guided slowly through the same process of learning basic musical skills or the experience can be overwhelming.

From a teacher's perspective, this is a tricky balance. I tend to be a nurturer and try to avoid comparisons and competition between my students. I am a teacher who gives a lot of encouragement to my students and I try to keep our lessons fun. But for many children, creating a competitive environment prepares them for what will be in store for them as they progress to more advanced training. The best teachers will find a degree of balance between these two areas.

So, how does a parent know if a teacher is really the best fit for his/her child? You may think that a great way to accomplish this would be to observe a class or private lesson. Most teachers would discourage you from doing this. Not that they have anything to hide from you, but a child will not respond the same way with a parent present as he would otherwise. My advice is to talk with your child about his lesson in an open-ended mannner. Ask questions like, "what did you like best about your class today?" Or ask, "show me something new that your learned today!" Children will generally love to show off their new repertoire to an eager audience. If the child is hesitant, you can proceed by talking more about it with your child.

And I encourage you to discuss these things with your child's teacher. I usually set aside the last 5 minutes of a student's classtime to speak with the child's parent about the lesson. This is crucial time, equally as valuable as the time spent with the student. If a teacher is unwilling or unavailable to speak with a parent regarding their child, I would consider another teacher.

Some children will really connect with the teacher who is extroverted and has a ton of laughs with his students during their lessons. Another child may find that to be a distraction and connects better with the more serious teacher. But whatever is the best fit, there is a teacher out there for that child!

Choosing the Right Music Teacher For Your Child

2009-09-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Choosing the Right Music Teacher For Your Child
It is interesting to talk to parents regarding their experiences with different music programs for their child. When asking them how they liked a particular class, their answers may vary dramatically, even when children have attended the same curriculum, such as Kindermusik, Orff, or Suzuki. Why does one parent find a class a good fit for their child while another parent feels that their child was frustrated? Why does one parent feel that their child was motivated and inspired by a musical experience while another parent felt it was a waste of their time and money?

The most common reason, I have found, is the success of the match between music student and teacher. If a teacher is found who is compatible with her student and meets the expectations of the parents, the results can be amazing! I will be focussing on several factors in the process of choosing the right music teacher for your child.

Today I will focus on finding the best teacher to work with your child's age group. Later in the week, I will focus on matching a teacher to your child's personality; and finally, on selecting a teacher best suited to your child's specific interests.

Finding the Best Teacher for Your Child's Age Group
Some teachers work well with little ones, some prefer older children. Most teachers have the experience and insight to know what age group they work best with. While my background is in Early Childhood Education, my expertise lies with the younger age group. Many of my colleagues will not accept students until they are 7 or 8 as that is the age they work best with and other teachers may prefer children who are tweens or teens.

The difficulty comes when a teacher is not suited for the age group she is working with. Perhaps the teacher does not have the experience to know what ages she best connects with or perhaps that teacher has accepted a teaching gig out of necessity (financial reasons, shortage of available staff).

There are things that a parent can look at to see if a teacher may work well with their child: the teacher's experience with that age group, their training, and reccomendations from other parents. But, a parent must also use his or her instincts as to whether a teacher is compatible with their child. Here is a great example of a teacher (ME!) really connecting with a kindergartener during a piano lesson and an example of why I am good working with this age group.

I was giving a private piano lesson to a 6 yr old and we were discussing how line notes skip the notes in between (thumb, middle, pinkie) and the same for space notes (pointer, ringman, etc). My student stopped me and said, "I like skipping, but I really like galloping. But my very, very favorite part of PE is the chicken dance!"

Now, as frustrating as this may be for a teacher, I know that this is actually a perfectly normal train of thought for a kindergartener. And, I had the experience and capabilities of getting my student back from "skipping, galloping, chicken dance" to "thumbkin, middleman, pinkie" once again.

Another teacher may have been thrown by this experience, but it brought a smile to my face and great joy to my day! My student's shortcomings in her attention span were more than made up by her enthusiasm and perseverance. We were a very good match for one another and our partnership as student/teacher was a strong one lasting many years.

One rule of thumb that I use to help gauge whether a teacher is a good fit for a child is this: Is your child enjoying his musical experience? And equally important, is your child's teacher enjoying your child? If these questions are answered with a yes, you are on the right track to creating a productive musical experience for your child!

Painting to Music Part 3

2009-09-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Painting to Music for Elementary & Middle School Aged Children
There are some really cool ways of integrating painting with music for children in elementary and middle school. (These activities may also work for pre-school aged children who have had previous experience with painting projects, although you may want to simplify it some.) Since most kids this age have already mastered many of the basics of working with different types of paints, brushes, etc., you can really get down and get creative!! Here are a few of my favorite activities.

Jackson Pollack was an American painter who experiemented with liquid paints and various objects to apply the paint including brushes, sticks, and even basting syringes. His style was called the "drip and splash" technique. Doesn't this description just call out to young children to join in and explore their creativity?

Integrating this approach of painting with music has endless possibilities. Since most schools or average households don't have access to an actual canvas, you can use large sheets of butcher block paper or an old solid colored sheet. Put out some paints (thin tempera is what I use); then some objects such as cups to drip the paint from, brushes, sticks, etc. The fun part starts when you choose what music you will play to get children into the mood for their painting extravaganza. This might be a good time to get out some of your "oldies but goodies" and rock out while the kids are painting! Or you might use this as a time to introduce your painter to opera. Be creative and think of music which may inspire your young artist.

A great variation of this activity is to have the children paint the bottoms of their feet. (Again, I usually use tempera paint.) Then put on some music with a fast beat and let the children dance around on butcher block paper or a sheet. The results are totally awesome! You will have a work of art which you will treasure forever. This also works well as a group activity. Let several children work together on a footprint dance painting, or if you are an especially fearless teacher, your whole class can do it together. Arts education organizations stress the importance of collaboration as a key fundamental of their curriculum. This is a great way to accomplish many goals: experimenting with color, fostering creativity, moving to the beat of the music in a new way, and working together with other budding artists to create a masterpiece.

My final activity is a bit different, but can be very meaningful to the young painter. Put on a recorded song with lyrics which tell a story; folk songs work really well. Some examples would be "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Sweet Betsy from Pike", and "Cockles and Mussels"... There are too many to mention them all, but you get the point; now think of some songs you know or like that would work for this activity. Set up each child with an easel with paper and paints. First, play the song and have the child listen to the story within the song. Then play it again as the child paints and watch as their impression of the song emerges in the painting. Be careful not to coach the child, just let the artist use his imagination and create what is meaningful to him.

Whether you use the activities which I have listed above or you are inspired to create some new activities of your own, painting to music is an experience your child will never forget!

Painting with Music Part 2

2009-09-02T05:00:00.001-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Painting with Music for Pre-school Aged Children
Children in pre-school are now beyond the pudding painting stage and can begin using different types of paint such as finger paint, tempera, and watercolors. This can be a way to introduce different types of music to the young artist while the child is engaged in a hands-on activity, the same as with the little ones. It is also an opportunity to increase a child's literacy skills with concepts such as fast/slow, loud/soft, smooth/rough, light/dark, and happy/sad.

Classical music is great for this type of artistic experience because it has such dramatic variations from movement to movement, often even within the same piece. It's dynamics are ever changing from forte (loud) to pianissimo (very soft) and it's tempos varying from adagio/slow and stately to andante/walking pace and even vivace/lively and fast. You don't have to know the names of these musical terms, just feel the music!

As the child is painting, you may point out special things about the music. You don't need to "coach" your young artist; ask questions such as, "How does this music make you want to move?" or "Can you feel the music getting faster?" or "Is the music getting louder or softer?" Watch the child and see what kinds of movements that he makes on his painting as he listens to the music. Each child will respond in his/her unique way. The child's response may also be different from one day to the next, depending on his mood at the time he is painting.

It is fun to find different surfaces for the child to paint on as well. You might use tin foil (best when it has been scrunched up and then flattened out a bit again), newspaper, paper towels or doilies (for watercolors)... Think outside the box and you can come up with many more options! Discuss the texture with the child and how it feels to him.

Finally, discuss with the child how the music makes him feel. One child may give a simple answer like "the music sounds happy", while another child may hear horses rumbling by or soldiers marching off to battle. As the child is painting, ask him to tell you something about his painting. You may want to write down his words on another piece of paper as the child dictates and attach it to his painting once it is dry. One child may answer with only a few words. Another child may have an elaborate story. But there is no right or wrong response. The most important thing is make this an adventure for the painter and to always have fun!!!

Painting to Music Part 1

2009-08-24T05:00:00.006-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Painting to Music

The integration of music and visual art can have amazing results! And children as young as toddlerhood can enjoy this activity. In today's issue of this week's blogs, I will feature ways to explore painting to music with very young children. Later this week, I will progress to activities for pre-school ages, and then on to elementary school aged kids and teens. Whether your child is younger, older, or in between, you will find ideas in this week's blogs to enhance his/her creativity through painting to music.

Pudding Painting for Toddlers

Toddlers are very curious and love to play with whatever squishy material they are working with. If you are using real paint, younger children may want to put the paint in their mouth. This is why I introduce the little ones first to pudding paint, then progress on to real paint as they become older. By using pistachio, chocolate, or lemon pudding, you can allow the child to experiment with this different texture without the worry of putting paint into their mouth. Many children are anxious to touch things that are messy and this is a way of introducing this interesting texture at a young age.

While the child is playing or "painting" with the pudding, try playing a favorite CD as well. Most children this age are very busy exploring their environment and sitting quietly to listen to a CD may be difficult for the child. But by giving the child a tactile activity to participate in, it gives you an opportunity to present special music to the child while they are engaged in a hands-on activity. It is a great time to introduce the child to a wide array of musical styles such as classical or jazz, as well as children's CDs the child may have.

Fingerpainting (or pudding painting) is a great medium to draw shapes with your finger or fingernail. Show the child how this is done by creating different shapes on the paper. You may want to try drawing some particular objects on the child's paper such as the sun, moon, stars, flowers, etc. It might also be fun to play a song with that special shape for the child. Example, the song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is a favorite of little ones. As you sing it, or play it on the CD, show the child how you can draw little stars on the child's paper or perhaps the shape of diamonds. The child may attempt to follow your lead and draw squiggles of his own to create his own little stars. Or perhaps the child may be content just to observe the adult drawing on his paper.

This activity can help to create a connection between a particular song the child hears often and the real meaning of it's lyrics. It can also introduce new vocabulary to the child. Each time the child sees the beautiful painting of his twinkly stars on the refrigerator door, he may point and say "twinkle little stars" or "diamond in the sky". Now this activity has gone beyond a simple art or music activity and is encouraging literacy development as well.

Whether your child is enthralled with the joys of squishing colors of pudding about his picture or seeks you to assist him with creating various shapes of familiar objects, this activity is sure to entertain your child. Be creative and have fun while finding all the ways that your child can enjoy the adventures of using pudding painting with the music all around!

Activities for the Budding Percussionist- Part 2

2009-08-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Drumming
Drumming is an activity kids love! You can make your own drums from materials in your home, such as cartons, boxes, crates, or even pots and pans. But it is not that expensive to buy some real instruments too. Here are some drums that I would recommend to get you started:

The djembe is a drum from the West African region, but is played throughout the African continent. Djembes are played with one's bare hands. I use the djembe frequently for both performing and teaching; it would be a great investment for anyone leading a group of singers with rhythm accompaniment. Children could also learn the art of hand drumming by using a djembe. If you would like to hear a sample of my good friend Ed Contreras playing the djembe, go to http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/wilkinsonc1 and click on Hello to hear a sound bite of my song of greetings from around the world.

The talking drum is another instrument from the West African region. It's background is important as it stresses drumming as a form of communication. Talking drums are hour glass shaped and have straps which attach to the heads of each end of the drum. The drum is placed under one arm and it's pitch is changed by squeezing it; then the drum's head is hit with a special curved mallet with your opposite hand. These are fascinating instruments not only to children, but to adults as well. If you would like to see how this drum is played, I found an awesome video on youtube of a musician playing a talking drum. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oQJZ2TEVI

Bongo drums are from Cuba and are a great way to explore Latin rhythms. They are a pair of drums which are connected and played as a unit. You hold the bongos between your legs and hit the drum with the knuckly part of your palm. To learn more about bongo drums and to see some videos of musicians playing, there is a great website called rhythmweb.com. Here is the link for bongo drums: http://www.rhythmweb.com/bongo/

All of these drums can be found for around $50 for a small, beginner version and go up in price to hundreds of dollars, depending on size and quality. You can find them in most music stores as well as on-line. Youtube features many tutorials that you can find by searching the drum you are interested in. But, for the serious drumming student, you may want to find a good percussion teacher so that you know you are using the correct technique.

Stomp Out Loud
Stomp Out Loud is an incredible show in which the musicians create rhythms from everyday objects like boxes, garbage can lids, basketballs, and brooms. I highly recommend that you either order the DVD of the full show or watch snippets on youtube (there are too many out there to post a link, just google it). Children can get ideas from the video of the many ways of creating sound by using their bodies or just about any object within reach!

Then let the kids collect different things that they feel would create really cool sounds and let them put together their own show. You could even film it and the kids could have their own DVD of their performance. It's a really awesome way to explore the endless possibilities of the world of percussion!!!

Activities for the Budding Percussionist

2009-08-19T09:05:00.000-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

Shaker Bottles
My first activity for introducing percussion to children is the use of shaker bottles. There are many kinds of shakers which you can make at home, but I especially like shaker bottles. They add the visual element of seeing what is inside, as well as allowing the musician playing it to use it in more ways than just shaking, such as hitting it on the floor or tapping two bottles together.

Making shaker bottles is an activity enjoyed by all ages of children. Here are the steps for creating these awesome sounding percussion instruments: First, find some recycled clear plastic bottles, such as water or soda bottles. Fill them with different kinds of things like confetti, cookie sprinkles, beans, macaroni, sand, etc. Just a little bit will suffice as the sound is actually more distinct when less is used. Make sure to glue on the caps and screw tightly.

You will want to closely supervise young children with this activity. I personally have never had a child get the cap back off but, there is always the possibility.

Older children may want to go on a nature walk and collect things like pine cones, pine needles, pebbles, dried leaves, seeds, or pebbles to put in their bottles. Another fun thing is to buy some tiny jingle bells and put them in the bottles. Be creative!

Children love to tap them on the floor or shake them while listening to a song. You can talk about the different things inside of the bottles... Is it loud/soft? What colors do you see in your bottle? But, most of all, just have fun dancing around while playing your shaker bottle!!! Try playing music from different cultures with eclectic rhythms.

Another activity you can use with your shaker bottle is playing a game called Chicka Boom Tap. In this game, one child is the leader and makes up a pattern using Chicka (shaking bottle), Boom (hitting bottle on the floor), or Tap (tapping bottle in your hand). For example, the pattern may be Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Tap, Tap. First the leader plays it once or twice. Next, you can either have the children play it together or go around the circle and have each child play one at a time. Then, pick a new leader and do it again. Older children can come up with more complex things like tapping different parts of their bodies or adding a rhythmic beat to their pattern. If there are only two people playing, just repeat and go back and forth.

Using your shaker bottles with sing-a-longs is also a fun idea! One of my favorite songs for this activity is Tingalayo. You can find it in the Wee Sing International Songs book/CD. Here's how it goes: On the verses, the children will shake to the beat. On the chorus, the children will tap on the rests, rather than the usual clapping done in this song. Example, Tingalayo (tap, tap) Come little donkey, come Tingalayo (tap, tap) Come little donkey, come repeats... Try this same activity with other songs that have a clapping part and substitute the shaker bottles tap for the clap.

One last idea... but I warn you that it is very LOUD! Rather than the regular sized plastic bottles, use the liter or two liter bottles instead. You can even use empty ones without caps for this activity. Give each child a couple of sticks and let the children play the bottle like a drum. If a child has one stick, it actually adds to the possibilties as he can mix and match by hitting the bottle with the stick, banging it on the floor, shaking it, and on and on..

You may be thinking, "This doesn't sound like music. I don't want to encourage my child to just be making a lot of noise". But trained percussionists would disagree with you on this point. There is a method to my madness, as they say. And in my next blog I will present more ideas on introducing children to drumming. See you then!!

What is Percussion?

2009-08-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

by Cindy Wilkinson

What is percussion?
What do you think of when you hear the word percussion? You may think of pre-schoolers tapping rhythm sticks to a simple beat as they sing their favorite song. Perhaps you think of children marching in rhythm as their teacher beats a hand drum. Or you envision a group of children playing shakers and tone blocks together as they listen to a Hooked on Classics CD.

My favorite image is of a struggling percussionist in the film, Mr. Holland's Opus. The young man is a star athlete who has been sent to the school's music teacher to learn to play the bass drum. He appears to have no musical aptitude and this seems an impossible task, But, Mr. Holland tries an array of creative methods to help his student learn the most fundamental of skills in music... finding the beat. In the end, the student achieves success in his goal and the scene ends with Mr. Holland exclaiming, "Mr. Russ, congratulations! You've found the beat!!

This is no small task. Music pedagogy teaches us that the primary concern for learning rhythm is to establish a steady beat. All of the ideas listed above are good examples of this. However, percussion encompasses far more than simple rhythmic exercises.

The word percussion actually means "to strike", so a percussion instrument can be any object which produces sound by being hit, shaken, rubbed, or by any other motion causing it to vibrate. Introducing percussion to children can also include experimenting with how different sounds are made, discovering the many different ways these sounds can be used, and in creating new patterns for using these sounds.

There are tons of activities for introducing children to percussion. In my next three blog editions, I will be sharing some my personal favorites. So come back to jumpinwithcindy.com again soon and find more ideas for your budding percussionist!

The Importance of Arts in Education for Children

2009-08-01T15:33:00.001-06:00

By Cindy Wilkinson
Professional Nanny, Faculty of the Denver Center Theatre Academy

Did you know that arts training can help children learn some of the same skills graduate programs in both business and engineering strive to develop? It's true! Experts say that the qualities of collaboration, teamwork, risk taking, decision making, problem solving, and the implementation of new ideas are all benefits of learning the arts (music, drama, and visual art).

Read the entire article at http://internationalnannyassociation.blogspot.com/2009/05/importance-of-arts-in-education-for.html

Welcome to my Jumpin' With Cindy Music Blog

2009-07-31T19:07:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my Jumpin' With Cindy Music Blog!!! This is the place where you can learn about the newest trends in music education, find ideas for creating your own awesome music activities at home, and get info on great music CDs for not only children, but for the whole family.

I have over 30 years of experience as an educator with pre-schools, elementary schools, and non-profit arts organizations. My background also includes performing around the country as a folk musician, composing music for children's choirs and musical theater, and recording some really fun children's CDs. It is my pleasure to share this wealth of knowledge from these experiences with you. I will also be calling on other experts in the music world to share their vast perspectives and ideas as well.

So keep on reading for tons of great activities for fostering creativity in children, info on the best arts education classes, and most importantly, keep on jumpin'!!!