Ahhhh, summer is here! It's a great feeling, diving into the season! I am spending much more time with my almost-3-year-old son (Ronan), I've made great progress in landscaping our yard, and I'm finally taking care of some of those pesky projects that I've been meaning to get to for awhile. And I'm looking forward to the upcoming events I have planned with our extended family in the next couple of months. So life is pretty good, right? Of course! But there is something missing. . .Since I'm in the process of moving our studio to its new location this summer, I'm not teaching any Kindermusik classes right now. AND I REALLY MISS IT!! At any given time I find myself thinking about my students, wondering what kinds of things they are up to this summer.
Perhaps some of them are spending time at a nature center, like Ronan and I did this morning. We live just minutes from Blandford Nature Center, so I decided to take him over there for our morning activity. It's so fun to listen to the many wildlife sounds, run around the meadow, look for animals, and hike the trails.
Well, we got more than we (at least I) bargained for today! The two of us leaned over a huge log to watch a caterpillar up close, and as I stood up, I realized that there was a long, black snake circling Ronan's legs. Being that I (even as a consummate animal lover) do not care for the company of snakes AND, coincidently, I had just seen a news story earlier this morning about a black snake that cozied up around the legs of a 7-month-old in her crib, I did what any normal person would do: shrieked loudly and hoisted all 40.2 pounds of my son into the air!
As the snake slithered away, I became acutely aware of what that experience may have been like for my son. In the two-tenths of a second that it took me to realize that the snake was there, Ronan was simply looking curiously at what was tickling his feet [inadvertent shudder!]. I fervently want him to grow up with a great respect for animals (and all of nature, really), so perhaps my reaction was not the best way to accomplish this! I quickly covered by telling him that it just "surprised" Mommy. Apparently it was OK because he then proceeded to mimic my shriek and then say, "Mama surprise!" all the way home. (Great. . .my terror is his hilarity!)
So what does this have to do with music? Well, it occurs to me that one of the things that makes Kindermusik so great is its constant opportunity to let kids experience music without bias or prior mental programming. When we get out the sticks, for example, we aren't looking for the children to play them in a prescribed manner; they get to explore with them and create new ways to use them. Perhaps they come from a home with parents who listen only to jazz music or classical. In Kindermusik, children experience both of those but also so much more, regardless of the preferences that their parents came in the door with.
Ronan may decide at some point that he, also, shrieks at the sight of a snake and would rather have every one of them far, far away from his path. But I hope to let him discover that based on his own feelings--not mine--just as I look forward to finding out what instrument he wants to play in the school band or what his favorite songs are as he grows up.
I can't wait to see everyone in September and discover new things together! :-)
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1 comment:
o.k., i'd have totally freaked out about the snake too. a snake on your baby's ankles? oh my word, just the idea makes me want to jump out of my skin! i totally know what you mean though about not wanting to pass along our own phobias to our kids. charlotte loves creepy crawlies and has been in a "bug phase" for a long time now (far too long if you ask me!), and while it creeps me out sometimes, i don't want to bias her or skew her feelings about bugs, nature, spiders, etc. by my own freaky fears. oh, and she also has a small collection of wooden toy snakes she leaves lying around the house. ack.
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