Singing with young children

There's two songs that I can think of that it seems ALL children know. Twinkle, Twinkle and Jingle Bells. And Jingle Bells wins the joyful rendition award. Children really LOVE this song. It seems one thing they most love about it is that right now the whole world seems to be singing this song! They hear variations of it on the radio, TV, at school concerts, even the shopping music at Meijer's...really everyone is singing it. Furthermore when their favorite adults sing it they are smiling and all the cares in the world drift away for those moments.

Don't we love it when the 2 year olds begin singing with us? Here are some ways to encourage their attempts to sing with us.

Find moments when you are singing together without a recording or accompaniment so that you can slow...... down...... the...... tempo...... Follow their lead.

Be very attentive to sing on the pitches they are using. You might have to sing way up high or use falsetto to be up where they are!

If you are initiating the sing-a-long try this: Begin singing "Jin-gle Bells, Jin-gle...." leaving off the second "Bells" to see if they will chime in! If they just look at you and listen you have to sing further. Go up to "Jingle all the---" by then they should give you the "Way!".

Giving them the experience of really singing along, in pitch and time with another person will be an important moment musically for them. With this experience they will know what music and resonance really mean.

Most songs have way too many words. The verses: Dashingthroughthesnow,Inaonehorseopensleigh.O'erthefieldswegolaughingallthewayHaHaHa.....
way too many words for a 2 year old. (Well there are some out there that do know all the words but they had to start somewhere!) So for the beginners take out all the words and sing on a favorite syllable like doo doo doo doo doooooo dododoo doo doo doo dooooooo
That way they can join you on the melody. Children even younger than 2 years old can sing along, accurately matching pitches on songs that have very complicated rhythms! Then switch back to the Jingle Bell words because they are latching on to those simple, repetitive words.

These moments are usually fleeting. You take them when they come! While going to the potty. While going down stairs. Between bites of corn or oatmeal. Slow yourselves down so you can hear them and be with them for these irreplaceable moments.

'Tis the short season of their life and means all the world to them.

Sing your way through the week.
Sing and sway cheek to cheek.
Sing and sway every day, Sing, sing, sing.

Love, Yvette

Serving Suggestion!

The Holland Farmer's Market was in full harvest yesterday. The colors are spectacular. At the Boeve's stand, where I work there were big rainbow piles of sweet peppers, cauliflowers of white, orange, purple and green Italian cauliflower! Huge, dense cabbages (I sold one which weighed 9.99lbs for $1.25!), sweetest onions you've ever had, piles of tomatoes, bright green delicious broccoli.....

It was cold too! The change of seasons is coming through.

So I have lots of veggies in my kitchen right now. It takes time to make a meal when you start by chopping the vegetables instead of opening the plastic bag! Do we have time for this? Yes, we must! Here's my philosophy.

First cut up a red or orange pepper. (They are THE sweetest!) Arrange on a dish and leave on the counter. As the hungry children come by they nibble! Then Get out a second cutting board and knife and have them start chopping vegetables with you.

How young do you start them with this kind of work? As SOON as they are interested in dragging a chair over to the counter and standing on it begging to help. It does increase the time it takes to make the soup but this is an investment you will want to make. Because now when we are cutting and chopping we are also talking. It is a way of creating time and space for sharing what's on their minds and what's on your mind. It works well if you don't have an agenda...if the door to conversation is just open. Maybe you are just going to listen for a while. Maybe you are going to ask them open ended questions. Maybe you'll sing: "This is the way we chop the tomatoes..."

(Claire was watching some children here at the house and they helped us cut and chop a huge mound of peppers for salsa and for freezing last year. We all had great conversation. This year they came over ASKING "Do you have any vegetables we can chop?)

What happens when they grow up and everyone is so busy running from here to there that no two people are in the kitchen at same time? Well, yesterday I came home and the Moussaka was already made. And it was SO delicious. Who chopped for that? Not me! Thanks Claire.

Leek Soup
Clean and chop 2 leeks
Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a skillet
Saute the leeks until tender
Heat up 2 quarts of chicken broth
Peel and chop 5 potatoes
Chop 4 carrots
Simmer everything in the chicken broth until cooked (about 45 minutes)
Add 1/2 Cup of half and half
Grate in about 1/2 tsp. of fresh nutmeg
Shake in about 2 shakes of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste.