Many a Musing from Tom Hunter

[Tom Hunter - The Song Growing Co.]

Many A Musing...

Greetings to you all as we head ever farther into autumn (and announce a NEW CD). It's just past spider web season around here with webs on fences and bushes glistening with dew in the dawning sun - nothing more beautiful.  What's a distinctive sign of the season where you are?...  Many responses (thank you.) to my last question about how to get magic marker off a shirt: hairspray (for its alcohol) applied with cue tips topped the list. Scissors were suggested and so was "get a new shirt." .  My question this time comes from hearing that many grandparents are interested in family traditions, including familiar folk songs they sang with their own children and now want to pass on to their grandchildren. That suggests grandparents might want CD's of those songs to give to their families.  Does anyone have any wisdom on this?.



IT'S TRUE -- WE HAVE A NEW CD!  It's called "From Seeds So Small - experiencing math through music." We produced it with Teaching Strategies and Kaplan, it's included in the Creative Curriculum for Preschool Math Kits, and now you can get the CD by itself.  I'm pleased with how this CD explores what I think is an appropriate connection between songs and math. It's not a CD to teach or instruct kids in math or numbers or multiplication tables, and it has no cutesy originals. All the songs have been around a while, and they've been sung for years as good songs. We've recorded several of them elsewhere, all are chosen to give kids experiences of math rather than teach them concepts, and that distinction is critical. To learn more about this "appropriate connection," click here to find a pdf of the CD liner notes -- you may need to zoom in to read it. We've also included on the CD lyric sheet suggestions of how to think about and use each song. In fact, the liner notes and lyric sheets are as important as the recorded songs in understanding this project. It's new for us to connect songs this closely with curriculum, so we'd love your honest response. Our first new CD in quite a while, and we're excited! You can order by going to our Recordings & Books page on our web site.



A story: I spent a week late this summer at a cottage on Little Traverse Bay in northern Michigan. My great grandfather built it and it's been in the family for 100 years. One afternoon we sat on the never-changing porch with gladiolas on the table - my 91-year-old parents, my 85-year-old aunt and uncle, one of my cousins and her husband - and we talked about the future of the cottage. New generations have new concerns, new tastes and interests. There are growing differences about if and how to improve it, but everyone agrees the cottage is the glue that has nourished family connections among us for generations. There's something very moving to me about the depth of those relationships and the impact of that place. You get a long look through many years when you sit on that Michigan porch... Flying home, I thought about a school year starting and all the seeds that will be planted in children's lives in the coming months, seeds that may grow in them for a long time. Maybe they will sing with their children and grandchildren a song you teach them this year. Maybe a book will become a lifelong friend. Maybe an unexpected moment will stick in their memory and sustain them into adulthood.  I encourage you now and then to look up from all the daily details (safety issues, nutritious snacks, requirements, schedules, readiness, etc etc) and take a longer look at the kids you spend your days with. What you do with them this year may well last a long time.



Oct. appearances: Bare bones here, more details on the web site; always interested in scheduling conferences, staff development sessions, and school residencies.

5-6 - Bloomington, IN - concert and workshops with Bev Bos and Michael Leeman

18 -19 - seminar for the Bureau of Education and Research (BER) - "Strengthening Early Literacy Skills Through the Use of Music" - Thurs. in Birmingham, Fri. in Atlanta

24 - Portland, OR - family concert

25-26 - staff development retreat for Portland area preschool

26 - Hillsboro, OR - family concert

Upcoming: Good Stuff for Kids in Roseville CA; NAEYC national conference in Chicago; keynote and workshops for UMAP conference in FL; BER in Dec. in Long Island, Hartford, Boston, Manchester, Portland ME



Recordings for sale: In addition to the NEW CD described earlier, all our other recordings are available. What better time to lay up supplies? A cord of CD's for the winter? Fund-raisers, random gifts whenever you want, company in the car or at bed time, to sing along with in the classroom or while making jello - the possibilities abound! Great note this month from a mother who gave a CD as a gift to a friend who had just given birth. The new mom says it's the best gift they got - they play it all the time, and the baby hums. Start 'em early, I say, and songs will last a lifetime. Click here to go to our Recordings & Books page.



Happy fall, everyone! Some of you have asked about reproducing parts of this newsletter - yes, whenever you want to... May your musings be many and productive, or if not productive, at least fun..  Until next time.





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THE SONG GROWING CO.
1225 E. Sunset Dr., #518
Bellingham, WA  98226
(360) 738-0340
fax: (360) 734-0295
songgrow at tomhunter.com
www.tomhunter.com
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