Welcome Mississippi!
 

Thanks to a grant from the Chisholm Foundation, the Children's Music Foundation will be able to offer the First Note Music Program to 20 classrooms in the Laurel School District in Laurel, Mississippi. 

The Chisholm Foundation is a charitable organization founded in 1960 by Alexander F. Chisholm, a businessman, philanthropist and churchman of Laurel, Mississippi.        

Welcome Kim Norton!

Kim Norton has joined CMF as Director of Special Projects. Kim is a teacher in the Bellevue School District and former teacher in the Chaska School District. She has taught grades 2-9 in subjects ranging from general classroom instruction, Special Education, ELL and technology, and Spanish.

 In her teaching, Kim extensively uses music and believes strongly in its benefits as a means of socio-emotional connection and growth, while providing a path to literacy and fluency for language learners (more).  

Preschool Kids Starved for Exercise 
 

Add preschoolers to the list of Americans who don't get enough exercise.  

At this age, exercise is crucial for preventing obesity, as well as for developing motor skills, social skills, said Pooja Tandon, an assistant professor at the University of Washington and a researcher at Seattle Children's Hospital (more).

For this very reason, each First Note lesson begins with a series of movements and exercises designed by Anne Green Gilbert, author of the "Brain Dance."