February 26, 2019 – joyful parenting

Music Class (7).jpg

Children are drawn to music right from the start, which is why it’s literally never too early to start a music class. Perhaps that’s why my favorite program, Music Together, (available across the country), bills itself as appropriate for age birth to 5 years.

Veronika and I joined when the winter session began in January, and admittedly she was the youngest in the class. Now at three months, I already see a difference. She’s alert for the entire 45 minutes, so clued in to the teacher’s movements and sounds, and fascinated by the visual of the instruments and the bigger kids (most of them 1 to 2 years old).

My first tip for a baby this young at a music class is to bring a blanket; you’ll want to lay him or her down on the floor at times. Here’s Veronika, ready for class to begin!

Music Class (1)

Just as a sample, today’s session included movement and rhythm play through the form of a bouncy ride on mommy’s lap…

Music Class (2)

Getting to shake bells…

Music Class (3)

And learning to tap or rub rhythm sticks.

Music Class (5)

Don’t worry if instruments end up right in the mouth! Babies learn so much about the world this way, and any reputable class for children will have a designated “wet bin” for the germ-y toys.

Music Class (4)

In sum, if you haven’t already taken your child out for music play, it’s a great time to start. Check your local library for offerings at little or no cost!

Music Class (6)

Wall Mural (7)

I didn’t decorate the nursery with either of my children, which had more to do with my disinterest in interior design than anything else. And since we rent an apartment, I always felt I couldn’t do too much to walls or windows.

But it seemed a shame to let the chance pass me completely by, and I loved this cute idea to project an image on just a small portion of a wall, trace with pencil, and then fill in with paint.

The activity book I found this in is so old that it recommended an overhead projector for the task. (!) Do they even make those anymore? Failing to have a projector, I was at a loss for how to trace an image onto the wall until shown a neat technique, no artistic skills required:

Print out the image you want (we went with a farm animal theme) and make a heavy layer of pencil on the opposite side of the paper.

Wall Mural (2)

Now hold the paper up to the wall, and trace all lines with pencil – the graphite will transfer through!

Wall Mural (1)

Soon we had four little farm animals to color in.

Wall Mural (3)

I chose a spot on the wall that was fairly low, so it will be at eye level with Veronika once she starts to crawl or toddle about.

Wall Mural (8)

I used acrylic paint, and decided that it looked neater with the outlines of the animals painted, but not filled completely in.

Wall Mural (4)

Little blue sheep was too adorable!

Wall Mural (9)

Veronika was my eager audience, her eyes wide as I worked!

Wall Mural (6)

And ha, then there was the problem of explaining to my four year old why mom was suddenly allowed to paint on the wall. So I let him make a design of his choice in a tiny portion of the corner. Behold his red bird:

Wall Mural (11)