As Part of March “Sing With Your Child Month,” Leading Authority on Early Childhood Music Education Asks What Songs Get Your Family Singing and Dancing Together?
Princeton, NJ (PRWEB) February 25, 2015 -- March is Sing with Your Child Month, a time to focus on the importance of making music with children. This year the campaign, created in 2009 by Music Together LLC, an international pioneer in early childhood music education, will focus on encouraging families to sing, dance, and move together.
Beginning this Sunday, March 1, Music Together will ask families via Facebook: “What songs get your family singing and dancing together?” and encourage followers to share the question and answers across their social media platforms – using the hashtag #SingMonth2015 -- to generate a global list of songs that inspire family music-making.
According to Kenneth K. Guilmartin, Founder/CEO of Music Together LLC, “The aim is to cultivate a larger conversation about making music together as a family; to create a public shared list of favorite songs; and to inspire all families to make music with their children in March—and all year long. When we sing and make music as a family, we form everlasting bonds and memories, which ultimately allow children to feel secure as they grow.”
Research shows the impact of early music education and participating in music can have not only on musical growth, but also on overall development. Recent findings include: music instruction can promote key school readiness skills; music education in early childhood can have a profound impact on developing the areas of the brain integral to reading ability; and participation in music activities is associated with child and adolescent achievement outcomes in math and reading.
Guilmartin adds, “All children are born with the ability to learn music from birth. Music learning supports all learning by promoting creativity, personal expression, and social interaction. Many adults may not realize they can contribute to the enrichment of their child’s music development, even if they don’t consider themselves ‘musical.’ A goal of Sing with Your Child Month and our question on social media is to remind parents that it is not important that they sing perfectly; it is important that they model enjoyment of making music.”
In addition, as part of Sing with Your Child Month, Music Together is releasing its 10th Singalong Storybook, Two Little Blackbirds. In the book, blackbirds Jack and Jill fly away and return over and over as they build their nest, hatch their eggs, and teach their babies to fly. This book, for children ages 1 to 8, is based on the popular song of the same name from the Music Together curriculum. It is available in both hardcover and board-book.
“Singing together does not cost money, requires no special skills, and can have a tremendous impact on development in many areas—not to mention the joy it brings to families. The impact of singing with your child is immeasurable, and the rewards will help make the world a better place,” Guilmartin says.
For more about Sing with Your Child Month, including ways to create “Musical Playdates” and other activities, visit http://www.musictogether.com/singmonth.
Music Together® is an internationally recognized, developmentally appropriate early childhood music and movement program for children birth through age seven. First offered to the public in 1987, the Music Together curriculum, coauthored by Guilmartin and Dr. Lili M. Levinowitz (Director of Research), is based on the recognition that all children are musical. All children can learn to sing in tune, move with accurate rhythm, and participate with confidence in the music of our culture, provided that their early environment supports such learning. Music Together offers programs for families, schools, at-risk populations, and children with special needs, in over 2,500 communities in 41 countries. The company is passionately committed to bringing children and their caregivers closer through shared music-making and helping people discover the joy—and educational value—of early music experiences. More at http://www.MusicTogether.com and http://www.facebook.com/MusicTogether.
Media Contact: Rodi Rosensweig, rodicompany(at)earthlink(dot)net; 203/270-8929
Rodi Rosensweig, The Rodi Company, http://www.rodicompany.com, 203-270-8929, [email protected]
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