Getting to Know You...

The political trend of late (one unashamedly fed by news outlets, then grasped onto by friends and neighbors) seems to endorse the ideas of personal safety through keeping others different from "you" at arms length, and entrenching oneself in a foxhole of prejudices. I would counter those ideas with the classic tune from Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1951 musical The King and I, "Getting to Know You." Dig these lyrics:

"Getting to know you,
getting to feel free and easy
when I am with you,
getting to know what to say."

"Haven't you noticed
suddenly I'm bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new things
I'm learning about you day by day."

That idea of becoming familiar with the unfamiliar was the seedling that sprouted into my recently-published piece in School Library Journal. Think about this, then act upon this: a society that encourages talking with instead of talking about; that offers hugs, not shoves; that emphasizes inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness. The more we know about others' cultures, including music, the better.

• Image Courtesy HarperCollins Publishers/Rosemary Wells
• Lyrics Courtesy Hal Leonard Corporation/Oscar Hammerstein II

The Beauty of Music

As a child care provider, I've thoroughly enjoyed playing a part in helping curious, impressionable, and energetic young children grow and mature during their first few years of life. Every week I loved sharing songs with them for the sheer joy if it, but there are actually many benefits to singing and playing music with your children.

• Music helps develop children's language, math, and listening skills
• Music helps develop children's self-esteem and social skills
• Music improves memory
• Music relieves stress and encourages creativity
• Music is a multisensory experience
• Music helps improve fine motor skills, coordination, and rhythm
• Music provides an outlet for self-expression
• Music improves self-regulation skills and makes transitions easier

Having said all that, though, the most beautiful thing about music is that melody is universal and crosses all cultural boundaries. We were very fortunate at our early learning center to have the opportunity to work with a culturally diverse group of children, some of whom had a limited grasp of the English language when they first arrived at the school. However, after just a few days of singing songs together, those children joined in enthusiastically with everyone else.

It’s also important for children to have knowledge about and appreciate the traditions and lifestyles of kids from different lands. This can only help to lessen their fear and misunderstanding of anyone not like them. Those fears and misunderstandings tend to lead to prejudices many of us adults can't let go of. Record labels like Putumayo Kids, The Secret Mountain, and Smithsonian Folkways provide rich, deep collections of children’s songs from around the world, while artists like Elena Moon Park and José-Luis Orozco share collections of childhood songs from their native countries. Have fun exploring these resources and collaborating with your children in the beautiful global language of music!