Turn up the Music...A Linky Party!

I love music.  If I don't have a blog post running through my head, I have some song that I love or that my children have been singing around the house.  I grew up in a family fathered by the best dad in the whole wide world. My dad was the church organist and choir director. Music was always playing on the stereo...Bach, James Taylor, Elton John and it wouldn't be Christmas without John Rutter carols playing. 
My brother is a professional musician among other things.  He is amazing. If you are ever vacationing in the Harbor Springs/Petosky area of Michigan you have to go see him. Here he is at my nephew's wedding. The tall person ahead of me kept moving in my way and I didn't get the whole song, but the part I got makes me cry every time I watch it, but he is MY big brother!

START HERE IF YOU WANT TO SKIP MY WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE!It starts from the moment we gather in our nest, thanks Laurie! We start with our good morning song and the day ends with our good bye song when we ask the Lord to watch over each of us until we meet again!  I have a CD filled with "brain break" movement songs that have made every student the hit of any wedding they go to. The Chicken Dance, The Hokey Pokey, The Electric Slide and of course the YMCA!  

This year I'm adding a listening center to my room.  This center will feature two to three songs each week.  The songs will be placed in a binder and placed in the center. Students can go back and read  past featured songs, or listen to the new ones. The only thing I worry about is kids singing loudly off key!  I'll let you know how it goes. 

My favorite go to musician for children's music is Katherine Dines. She has won many awards and her music is fun and quite often carries a wonderful message of hope and kindness. Here is a fun song all about bubbles...

We sing another song about bubbles were we float around the room like a bubble until we pop and land back in the nest.  

Music is such a powerful tool. I found some great information about the role music plays in learning.  The Role of Music in Learning By Dr Roy J. Paget  says in his research,

 "Recent research has proven that music affects the body.  It appears to massage 

organs, entrain biorhythms alter hormone levels, reduce stress and increase 

learning.  Music carries with it more than just feelings; it can be a powerful 

vehicle for information. 

Music acts as a premium signal carrier whose rhythms, patterns, contrasts and 

varying tonalities encode new information.  The use of music as a partner can 

be a powerful way to carry a large volume of content.  In fact, music can do 

60% of the teaching work in about 5% of the time! "

He also give a list of music that is suitable for creating an environment for learning.

Many articles have been written on the effects of music and stimulating the brain to get it ready to learn. I got 127,000,000 results when I searched "effects music learning children". No doubt about it music will always have power that touches our emotions and effects our brain. Music education as well as using music as a tool to teach should be present in every school and classroom around the world!