IS YOUR "EMOTIONAL BUCKET" EMPTY?

Juggling responsibilities!!

As parents and teachers, we’ve experienced the wonderful affect that WeJoySing has on our children’s development. We see 1 year olds become more verbal and develop fine motor skills as they explore rhythm instrument, 2 and 3 year olds learning to take turns through musical games, 4 and 5 year olds exploring their singing voice while reading melodic notation, and infants soaking in every musical sight, sound and movement,  creating connections in their brain that will foster endless future learning. But, have you ever thought about what can WeJoySing do for YOU...the parent.  Paly, a mother of three, has and wrote WeJoySing to share her delightful thoughts and memories.  In her reflection she wrote:

               I have woken (every Friday for the last 4 years) with JOY! Coming to your class every Friday was such a vital part of my week. It was a gentle reminder for me to love, cherish and enjoy my time with my children. It is so easy to get into the habit of throwing toys at our children and letting them play while we catch up on our emails or chores. But at WeJoySing each week for 30 minutes you teach us to play with our children. And more importantly how to truly ENJOY it.

Mrs. Krista takes control...give Mom a Break!!

I will be the first to agree with Paly, parenting can be the most wonderful, terrifying, joyful, stressful, emotionally draining and fulfilling job there is. I remember as a first time parent being so nervous about everything. ‘Am I doing this right? Am I doing everything that I can to help this little one grow into the amazing human being that they have the potential to be?’ I read every book that there was, but sometimes the advice in the book did not work with my little one….and then what?  We quickly learn that trial and error and relying on the support of family, friends and those around us help to get us through.  WeJoySing aims to provide and create that community and support for you. We LOVE each and every child in our class and want to see them develop into the amazing human beings that we know they can be. But, we also want to be here for YOU, the parents, as well. We want to be a support for you when you don’t know what to do. To give you that time during the week in which you don’t have to worry about laundry or potty training, but you get to be joyful in play with your little one.

What Paly said it SO right. We live in a day in age in which we feel like we constantly have to be on the go; doing something, working on a project or calling someone back. We can so easily forget to take time to PLAY. Albert Einstein once said that “Play is the highest form of Research’. That is what our children do every day. Through play they are researching the world around them and soaking in every single thing that they can. The best thing that we can do as parents to foster the development of our children is to LOVE them and PLAY with them. These are 2 core values of WeJoySing.  When playing with our children, we forget about the stresses of the week, the bills that need to be paid, the appointments that we need to made or conference calls we have.  Those 30 minutes of class each week are designed to not only foster the development of your child, but to fill your emotional bucket as a parent as well. In her note Paly wrote:

               Your 30 min class rejuvenates me for the week – we sing your songs, read your books, play your games at home. I sing to them whenever I remember to and forget how tired I am or that I have other work to do…..and I have so much fun with my children when I do this! I think WeJoySing has single handedly kept me sane as a stay at home mom. It has given me the tools and inspiration to do this job right.  Thank you for sharing your love, joy and songs with us each week.  It means more to us than you will ever know.

What an amazing testimonial. We have been so blessed to have Paly as part of our WeJoySing family for 4 years, but what an even bigger blessing she is to her two wonderful children. Through her time at WeJoySing, she has seen the value of play, experienced the joy of time given in one on one interaction with her children and seen their lives changed for the better. It’s all about community, love and supporting parents. We are SO thankful to have each and every one of you as part of our WeJoySing family and are humbled that you allow us to be a part of the circle that helps support YOU and your family.

Love and La Las,
Mrs. Julie P.

Want POWER! Try MUSIC!

Calming Power of Music!

Infant Power
Transitional chatter began as my infant class moved from a dancing experience to the lullaby.   One baby was fussing, another baby was babbling and a couple parents were whispering.  I drew out my autoharp and as I drew my fingers across the strings, immediately a hush fell over the room.  The whole atmosphere was changed in an instant.  It was now calm, soothing and full of awe.  The whole class was engaged, quiet and drawn into the soft melody. Like Magic! WITHIN AN INSTANT!!  That’s the power of music!

Tap Tap here....

Toddler Power
It’s “hammer time!” Parents were asked to tap the steady beat- “big big big big” on the bottom of their toddler’s foot with our soft hammer.  Wonderfully, the parents spoke the rhyme and tapped their child’s foot to the steady beat UNTIL we got to the words, “with a tap, tap, here and a tap, tap there.”  The rhythmic power of the spoken rhyme was so strong it took over our attempt to keep the beat steady.  Our hammers wanted to follow the rhythm of the words.  We began to tap “the way the words go!”  Wow!  Language development!  That’s the power of music!

These "bears" are going under....

Preschool Power
The preschool class has been reading, singing and moving to “The Bear Went Over the Mountain.”  The book was read and sung the first week. For review, the second week I asked the children questions about the story: what happened first; where did the bear go after he went through the forest; did he go under or over the bridge?  I wasn’t sure how they would answer because a week is a long time for a young mind to “hold” information that has been heard only once!  But, because the story sequence and information was part of the ‘song story’ and we had moved to it and acted it out with hoops, the preschoolers remembered the sequence perfectly!  That’s huge for a four-year-old!  That’s the power of music!

dance with me daddy!

School Age Power
My school age children use songs to memorize really, really hard things.   They can recite the books of the Bible, the US presidents, the periodic table and the states and their capitals.  How?  Because they each are a song or rhyme and utilize melody and rhythm to help retain the information.  Amazing! That’s the power of music!

Parent Power
As a parent, I use music to de-stress and relieve frustration.  Overwhelmed and exhausted by a hard day?  Music can bring joy and peace.  Even Mary Poppins knows that when you need to get chores done, music adds an element of fun.  Try it! That’s the power of music!

Retail Power
Even stores and restaurants know that music makes a difference.  Research has shown that music with a fast tempo makes people move, eat and drive faster.  It actually can alter a person’s heart rate. And music with a slower tempo actually slows down our heart rate and our actions.  Incredible!  That’s the power of music!

Find Your Musical Powers!
Mrs. Julie McFeaters