As we sang “Sarasponda” last semester in my Village class, I shared with the families that I learned this song long ago at Camp Fire summer camp. But I also recalled it as the tune I used as an adult to pace myself while running. The unchanging, steady beat provided the perfect cadence to help me keep putting one foot in front of the other long after my body wanted to stop. It doesn’t matter what the words say or don’t say, the beat of the song was deeply embedded in my brain and bubbled to the top without my consent.

“Sarasponda, sarasponda, sarasponda ret set set
A doray-oh, A doray-boomday-oh
A doray-boomday ret set set
Ah say pa say oh.”

Say again???? Wikipedia claims that it may be 400-500 years old and it was a song that Dutch mothers sang to help their daughters become proficient at the spinning wheel. The first line is onomatopoeia, or made-up words to mimic the sound of the wheel as it spins.

Whether we choose to believe Wikipedia or not, the song is haunting. Music, itself, uses the right side of our brain and does not require conscious thought to affect us. When we add words, movement, group dynamics, etc., we engage our entire brain, but the music by itself sticks somewhere deep within and helps us recall experiences in great detail. In The Tao of Music, John M. Ortiz, Ph.D, reminds us that “Once the music has been contextually cued to a particular musical moment, it will tend to act as a melodic mnemonic, returning the listener to that emotional moment that still resonates within our very core, frozen in audible time.” ¹

Camp Yukita was the farthest thing from my brain as I went out for my training runs, but that song found it’s way back to the present moment and provided a welcome respite from the effort. Can you recall songs from your early childhood? New experiences are always memorable and bring their complete set of circumstances to our brains. I wonder how your child will recall those musical memories that you are creating together.  

Written by Miss Priscilla who never forgets the impact that music has on her life.

So, when was the last time you really listened to your voice? For me, it was Saturday, and then it was a bit lower than my usual voice. Today, Monday, I’m happy when I can honk out an occasional audible word and two or three in a row make me ecstatic! Progress. I’ve become very aware of the blessing of a voice, all the nuances of language it expresses, and the fact that it reflects our very personality. Not having use of a normal voice puts a definite crimp in one’s activities for the day. Why is it that everything I thought I needed to do today involved talking on the phone? 

By now you’re probably thinking, “OK, wah-wah-wah, sorry you lost your voice, but what does this have to do with me?”. (At least that’s what I would be thinking). It caused me to be thinking about the beauty of the human voice and all that it brings with it. We sing, we request, we convince, we exclaim, we state, we observe, we emote, we read aloud, we express strength, weakness, surprise, assurance, etc., etc. all with subtle changes in our vocal pattern.

In the Kindermusik classroom we have the distinct privilege of listening to the beautiful sounds of your voices and those of your children. Each one of you has your own individual voice print that is entirely your own, just like a fingerprint. Isn’t that amazing? In the entire world, there is not another person whose voice has all the physical characteristics that yours does.

So if you begin to think that your singing voice is not as good as So-and-So’s and choose not to sing very loudly, or not sing at all, reconsider. Your voice is unique in the universe. Sing for yourself! Sing for your child! Sing for the joy of blending your voiceprint with those other unique voiceprints lucky enough to be in the room with you. If we are to teach our children about the joys of music we must do it, first and foremost, by example. Your unbridled enthusiasm will be theirs and what could be more beautiful than that?

As for me, when my real voice returns, I’m going to make lots of phone calls.

Submitted by Miss Priscilla, as she recovers from a nasty case of laryngitis.

M-m-m-mum-mum-mum!; oooo-m-m-m!! (Vroooom); Uh---oh (vocal intonations)!; "ee-ee" (Beep-beep)!!!; "oo-oo" (dog bark)!... Were these part of the "first words" list for your child? These early symbolic communications have something in common. They are fun! And they encourage social interaction. We sometimes think that non-words such as these don't count as communication, but au contrare, ma cher! Think of your own reaction when you heard your child try to say a word such as this for the first time. If your child does not yet produce word approximations, isn't it exciting to think that she will? We model, we give opportunities, we encourage even a wide approximation. We are exited to find a common verbal ground so that the social dance of communication can begin.

Use these fun words and sounds to practice turn-taking, social interaction, imitation skills, imagination, and for just plain entertainment. A lot of bonding takes place anytime you can participate in a one-on-one experience with your child. The joy of practicing language skills is exciting to you and to your baby as long as you follow your child's lead and stay within his or her capabilities. Nonsense words do not require a lot of coordination to produce and don't carry the language load that words do. But they do give tremendous confidence to a child.

In the warm up song from our Village unit, "Zoom Buggy", called "Song of the Train", the consistent use of the /ck ck/ at the end of the words is an opportunity for your child to imitate you and associate that sound with the song. Imagine all those months of only hearing words and then finally attempting  to produce them. Wow!

The toddler is just beginning to do the hard work of putting words and short sentences together, so having fun with nonsense words is a welcome break. While having a fun time with the sounds, he is also practicing many sounds he may not yet be using in the context of conventional communication. The more we can encourage staying in a language interaction, the easier it will be for him to fine-tune sound production and syntax skills. So keeping it fun will make your child want to play with sounds as we like to do in Our Time activities. As the toddler gets older, nonsense words help encourage creativity and imagination as well as expand a child's sense of humor and auditory discrimination skills (e.g. "how do these sound the same?...How do they sound different?).

Learning this language of ours is a complex task that most of us accomplish without anyone's help. Isn't that a miracle? But let's take advantage of the fun of word play to make it multi-beneficial. Acknowledge his attempts to imitate what he hears and sees, imitate what he has said and then wait for him to try it again. Stay in the moment with him for as long as you can see that he is interested and move on when he indicates that he is finished. Nonsense words and sounds are lots of fun. They may not be in the dictionary, but to you and your child, they are the key to a future of great conversations.

Shared by Miss Priscilla, who created her own dictionary of "nonsense words" from over 19 years of conversations with children as a speech pathologist

Have you ever sat in a movie theater, and several people in the row behind you are all talking? I bet you find it difficult to concentrate on the movie.

What does this have to do with your child in a Kindermusik class? Just imagine this scenario: your Kindermusik teacher brings out a basket of rhythm sticks and sings “two for you and two for your grownup”. Most of the grownups in the room start encouraging their child to go get the sticks. They encourage them with their voices and now we hear 10 adults telling their child to go get sticks. At this point, some of the children will start to “tune you out”. I like to call this “selective hearing loss”. I have teens at home and I am very familiar with this temporary, albeit sometimes annoying ailment. J

Although we highly encourage you to talk to your child throughout the day and label movements, sounds, and objects to help with language acquisition, there are times when we have to allow them to figure out what to do without being told. Allow them to problem solve.

I want to share with you an experiment we did in a few of my classes. I asked the adults not to give directions to their child during this class – just sing when it was appropriate in the lesson. The toughest part was the “no talking”. But they all agreed and were curious to witness their child in this somewhat altered environment. I encouraged them to guide their little one by being a model and using non-verbal cues.

Here is what some of the adults said at the end of class:

They showed more patience

They were more “in the moment” with their children

Their children were more attentive and focused

Their children felt freer to create, explore, and express themselves

Try a version of this experiment at home. Take time to explore with your child without giving them opinions or directions. Be a model for them through your actions and not your words. It’s not easy, but it may allow you to be “in the moment” with your child in a way you have not been before.

Shared by Miss Cathy, who realizes that a bit silence is full of a lot of possibilities.