|
December 19, 2010
Our Family Christmas Carols13 Comments
I grew up the oldest of seven children, and we always went caroling at Christmas. We sang year after year, through my college and early marriage, developing harmonies together and sounding like a real choir. It’s been my dream with my own little family, to repeat the same tradition, and this year has come closest to my vision. And as an added bonus, I got my husband and two oldest children in a recording studio to sing a few of my favorite Christmas songs to share with you.
April 3, 2010
How I Teach & Inspire My Kids Through MusicIf there were a way to build your children’s characters, touch their souls, inspire them to make wise choices, give them confidence, teach them to think mathematically, help them learn valuable information, and increase the bonds in your relationships, wouldn’t this be worth an investment in time, effort and a little money? It’s possible to do all these things through the medium of music. I know because I’ve done it, and I’m going to share some of my tips on successful use of the power of music in our families and homes. Music is a great way to teach children values and academics. From birth to grade 5 they love repetition, and are hungry sponges memorizing and soaking up all to which they are exposed. After grade 5, they tire of repetition more quickly, but they still absorb the examples and messages in their environment. I have tried to maximize this consideration by choosing fun music which teaches facts, ideas, principles and values I want my children to learn. October 26, 2009
Inspire, Not Require: How I Got Music In My BloodI mentioned in a recent post that my mom sang professionally. Her name is Sandi Griffiths and she sang on the Lawrence Welk Show for about 12 years.  My mother is on left with red hair. This had a real impact on our family. We’ve all enjoyed singing our whole lives, although none of us have achieved degrees in music. October 18, 2009
Singing: It Brings Me JoyI love to sing. I sang a lot with my family growing up. My mom sang professionally, but we never took any lessons. I took choir in high school. We sang in our church once in a while. We sang Christmas carols every year to our neighbors and friends. It was a big family tradition for a long time, until everyone left the nest. In college my church asked me first to lead the music in the main meeting, then to direct a small choir. Our numbers grew when I figured out that treats really had influence, especially for the guys. And of course when the guys came, the girls followed. Anyway, it was a fun and musically educational experience. After I married, we lived in San Diego while Mike went to medical school. I had enjoyed the choir directing so much that I volunteered and ended up directing a choir for the 6 years we lived there. I also joined a community choir, and finally took some lessons from that talented director, Norm Boaz. |
|
Copyright © 2012 Mom Essentials. All rights reserved.
