Homeade Percussion

Let's make some instruments! Here's a site to get you and your family started!

This made me laugh!

Seen on Beckett's t-shirt in our baby class this morning:

'Classifieds:
Little romantic seeking someone that enjoys dinosaurs, lollipops, quiet evenings at home with a good bed time story and a fine glass of grape juice. Are you the one for me?'
So cute!

Children and mass media

How Setting Limits Will Benefit Your Children By Greg Taillon

Gone are the days of children coming home from school, eating homemade chocolate chip cookies and then going outside to play with their friends until it’s time to do homework. Today, older children are often home alone after school. As a result, they sometimes are tempted to spend their time being entertained with video games, watching television, downloading music and chatting on the Internet instead of doing their homework and more active leisure activities. These temptations are all competing for children’s time at the expense of their education, health and well being.

Childhood obesity, school violence, ADHD and poor reading and math skills can all be tied to too much mass media play in childhood. Too many children are neglecting schoolwork and exercise in favor of eating chips in front of the TV. Fast-paced video games and television shows have shortened children’s attention spans. Recreational reading is almost nonexistent. Even worse, the violence children see on TV is being replayed in the schools, and basic reading and math skills are lagging way behind.

Too Much Media Exposure

Children spend more than 38 hours per week being entertained by the mass media – almost four times the amount of time they spend on schoolwork. As a result, academics are suffering. According to research and standardized test scores, American students are struggling to read at proficient levels, and most recreational reading has stopped. Math skills are also lagging. Once children fall behind with basic academic skills, they have a hard time catching up. This will have long-term ramifications on them, as the future will bring about more advanced jobs and fewer qualified people to fill them. These jobs include medical personnel, engineers, college professors and other highly educated or technical professions.

Overexposure to television starts at an early age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for children younger than age 2, and no more than two hours per day of high-quality programming for older children. The truth is that many children watch much more than the recommended guidelines. (read more)

Want to do something about this epidemic? Sign your child up for a Kindermusik class and learn about engaging your child with music in ways that help eliminate this trend! If you're already part of the studio, GOOD FOR YOU!!! Tell a friend and bring them to class. www.msheidi.kindermusik.net

"The smell of baby powder", a friend's latest blog entry

I have a good friend who has a blog I enjoy.

". . . At the time, it seemed like endless changes of clothes from spit up (I wore a diaper on my shoulder for years), sleepless nights marked by croup or asthma and utter exhaustion and boredom from watching just one more episode of Barney or Winnie-the Pooh.

But looking back the sweet scent of baby powder brings back fond memories of an easier time. . . "

More. . .

Sails

One ship drives east and the another drives west
with the selfsame winds that blow.
'Tis the set of the sails
and not the gales
which tells us the way to go.
Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
as we voyage along through life:
'tis the set of a sail
that decides its goal,
and not the calm or the strife.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Groovy Fish

Guess the picture

See the answer and guess more here. Fun!