Featured Video

Watch as families in a Music Together class play with the tempo of "A Ram Sam Sam," from Music Together's Fiddle Song Collection.

Try this at home with a song you know!    

Choose a favorite song (from any genre!) that  you and your child sing together. Try singing it faster and faster so it gets silly. After that, slow it way down and see how fun that can be!     

Be Part of Our Music Video  

Shopping

~ Valentine's Day Special! ~ 

Two Free Pairs of Lummi Sticks 

Receive two free pairs of lummi sticks---one for you and one for the child in your life-- -with your order of $25 or more at the  Music Together online  store. Lummi sticks make a great and easy at-home activity: Have fun keeping the beat to "Stick Tune" and to many other songs from the Sticks song collection. Enter coupon code STICKS2011 at checkout for your free gift.

Offer expires April 30, 2011, and may not be combined with any other offers or discounts.

Music Together "Hello Song" Ringtone  

Now Available for iPhone 

"Hellooo everybody!" . . . Your iPhone just called to let you know that the Music Together "Hello Song" ringtone is now available on the iPhone Ringtone Store for $1.29.

Music Together Is  

Expanding to New Areas 

Do you have a friend or family member who has a passion for music and is great with children? Can you see them teaching Music Together and loving it? Encourage them to learn more about Music Together teaching/directing opportunities in their area. Visit our website to learn more about  Music Together Teacher Training  or email directing@musictogether.com.

Play's the Thing!

by Kate Battenfeld

While some adults may assume that "child's play" is simple, it is actually an essential component of the young child's early development. Play engages all of a child's faculties---cognitive, physical, and social---and is at the root of how very young children

learn. According to a recent New York Times article, "scientists, psychologists, [and] educators...say that most of the social and intellectual skills one needs to succeed in life and work are first developed through childhood play." Yet children today are spending more and more time participating in organized events and formal classes, and less and less time engaged in imaginative play. Recent studies suggest that a lack of unstructured playtime is unhealthy for young children on many levels. But in a culture that thrives on competition and structure, it may be challenging for some parents to let go of goal-directed attitudes.  

 READ FULL ARTICLE

Ask Ken

Ken Guilmartin is the Founder/Director of Music Together LLC and the coauthor of Music Together. Do you have a question about children's music development you'd like Ken to answer in the next family newsletter? Email it to news@musictogether.com.

Parents often tell me wonderful stories about how their children are blossoming as singers in class and at home. Of course, the driving force behind stimulating this development is almost always some special grownup modeling singing (however imperfectly!) at home. But what can you do if you believe you can't sing, or if you don't like to sing? One parent recently wrote in and asked for "tips for parents who don't feel comfortable singing."

READ KEN'S RESPONSE

Featured Family: Harmony in Our Home 

by Jeff Sanger, Music Together Parent, Pittsburgh PA

Ava, Sullivan, and Juniper playing musically together at home.

Four years ago, my wife and I attended a Music Together class with our daughter Ava. We loved the class and our teacher Daisy Klaber, director of Household Harmony. However, we never expected that, four years later, we would still be avid Music Together attendees and that Daisy would be joining us to celebrate the first birthday of our third child Juniper!

READ FULL ARTICLE

Music Together at Home

Here's a fun variation of "Roll that Little Ball" that can be done by a child-grownup pair or by your entire family as a group. Gather some items that you can roll back and forth---an egg shaker, a toy car, etc.---and then lie down on your tummies and face each other. Sing the song as you take turns rolling the item something to each other.

Babies and toddlers may be more interested in exploring the object than in rolling it back---that's okay! Just be sure to keep singing and tapping rhythmically on the beat. For older children, you might add a second item and roll both back and forth as you sing. Giggles are guaranteed when something rolls past a grownup who can't make it stop!

---Kathy Eckhaus, Director, Music Together in Susquehanna Valley, PA