THE POWER of MUSIC

REAL MUSIC THAT CREATES AUTHENTIC RESPONSES 

WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Remember the Barney song?  I do.... noooooooooooo!

It's great to be back!  I've been busy creating lots of magic for the early childhood world with some friends of mine.  One of those friends asked me if I would produce her first CD and I'd like to introduce you to this friend and colleague... Alice Pringle!  Together with a big team of artists we created magic.... real music.... that you have to move to when you hear it!

After 40 years of writing music for children, singing and dancing with children and spending a lot of times in classrooms leading musical experiences, she has done it!  Her album Kaleidoscope just released on May 7 and the response has been enormous.  

Check out what 2-time Grammy Winner 

Bill Harley had to say.

“The song BaDoo from Kaleidoscope has all the elements of a great kids song - strong rhyme, rhythm, repetition - with an ear worm of a hook that will stay with you.  Not to mention its humor! These folks know what they’re doing!”

Bill Harley, 2-Time GRAMMY WINNER, Children’s Category

There are a lot of things to love about Alice's album... 

Let me count the ways!

1. It Grooves!  Adults love it just as much as children do.  Check out a short clip of the hit song BaDoo!  A big thank you to my friend and colleague John Forbes from Make A Hand for his support of Alice's album.

Doug Davis Jammin on Drums bringing the Groove Alive!

"I absolutely love the song BaDoo. It was recorded and produced with impeccable quality. My 5 year old danced around and sang with it almost immediately. This is the kind of musical content that parents look for. Safe and enriching for all children.”

John Forbes, Composer and Producer, Nashville/Atlanta

CBS, “The Good Wife”, “This Cup”, FIFA World Cup 2014, Arranger and Keyboard for Rick James “Urban Rhapsody”, Solo keyboardist for Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston

I want to thank Alice for inviting me into her journey... I especially loved getting to Scat! Check out this brief clip from the song BONES!

Matt Mitchell on Guitar for Bones!

Nick Coventry on Violin... sublime

2. It BUILDS LANGUAGE with young children and Alice has even included some freebie educational resource ideas that rock and she'll be adding more in the coming months!

Another thank you to one of the champions of children out in North Carolina, Diane Umstead, who has leant her support for this music.

“From the start, I was intrigued by the steady beat through all of the sounds and alliterations. Talk about building vocabulary and promoting physical movement for children! It’s upbeat and it truly brings the best of science and art to a 

young listeners ears.”

Diane Umstead, Smart Start, North Carolina 

3. It's written from the HEART... Authenticity is so needed in today's world.  Learn a bit more about Alice right here.  Another big part of this project was recording engineer OSCAR FUENTES.... he has such a beautiful studio and he's in it for all the right reasons... thanks Oscar!

Recording Engineer Oscar Fuentes at the helm!

Enjoy this lullaby for Food, Peace and Happiness which was a blessing Alice would use often in her life. Enjoy a clip from  A ROUND FOR PEACE. (Enjoy the scrolling songs.... it's the third one over).

Christine Vivona on Harp...angelic...

Alice is an amazingly gentle and giving human being and she thanks her mom, who passed away before we recorded, for making this album possible.  This sense of giving permeates the entire album, as depicted so beautifully in this quote from artist Dr. Marcela Molina.

"The whole album has so much substance not only in the music making and its elements, but in its message!. It is a creative and vibrant project that 

engages your ears and soul. “

Dr. Marcela Molina, Director

Tucson Girls Chorus

Marcela directs this amazing girls chorus which my daughter was a part of since the age of 5.  Today, Sam is 21, and guess what, she's the associate producer on the album.  She acted as voice coach, solo vocalist, arranger, among other things.  It has been a special time for me and my incredible daughter...way to go Sam!

4. There is this song about a Rappin Rabbit!  How many albums have that?!  We don't know.... but everyone loves this Rap!  We were fortunate to have a lot of talented kids on this album... on the call and response on the Rap, the kazoo band - that's right, a kazoo band.... a very tasteful one at that!

Alice jammin with the kids!

Kids Rappin in a session!

5. 12 MUSICAL GENRE'S on one album... music for the children and families of the world!

 "Kaleidoscope" is the perfect name for Alice Pringle's new children's CD!  Its vibrant, rhythmic patterns create rich musical textures sure to mesmerize 

and delight.  Each song's unique characteristics shine 

brightly, with track after track reflecting layers of loveliness and joy.”

Lorie BarnesExecutive Director, NCAEYC 

(North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children)

With 19 songs, I could go on for a long time... instead I'm going to wrap it up with one more song clip and another reason to love this music by Alice Pringle.... KINDNESS.... the song Kindness started out as a poem and turned in an anthem for Kindness.  

Anton on Kindness

The love of my life, Marie adding her voice.

Ambi, a dear friend of Sam's, on vocals for Kindness

It has an amazing number of tracks on it because we brought in many people who speak different languages and you, as the listener get to walk through and sense...

KINDNESS

LOVE

PEACE

HAPPINESS

Alice, Sam, Oscar and myself want to thank Debbie for having created this incredible vehicle for sharing of all things beautiful and healthy for children!  One of our favorite comments, made my many, was "I have an idea!

Ahaaaa.... I have an idea!
As one final thank you, here are some visual thank you's to three more individuals who added their voice to the song Kindness...ahhhh... feel the love! 

The Sierra Family, with my father-in-law Al Sierra on vocals!

My dear friend and colleague Rick Wamer added his voice...thx!

My mentor and friend, Dr. Carroll Rinehart, had the last word on Kindness... "Peace."

One last behind the scenes of the making of the album!

INSPIRE YOURSELF... GO AHEAD!
ENRIQUE C. FELDMAN
Founder, Global Learning Foundation
Performing Artist and Composer

RUDY DRAWS A MAP!

WHEN IS A CHILD MOST ENGAGED?

That's quite a question.  Hopefully there is a different answer for each child, and in general hopefully we are looking for constant clues from the child related to what they say and do to recognize the invitations to learn which we can present as guides.

Welcome back to my blog!  For those who are new, my name is Enrique and I'm the Founder of the F.A.M.E. Foundation.  We work with children, teachers and parents all over the world with organizations like our partners in Los Angeles, MyTown Music, Arts Integration Solutions and many others.  One of our long time partnering organizations is Child-Parent Centers Inc., in Tucson, Arizona.  Thanks to all my colleagues and friends there... you are brilliant human beings!

To kick off this blog, read the following which documents the basic's of how Rudy, age 4, was engaged by his teacher. 

Pretty amazing, right?  There is so much that these teachers do so well.  Among them is the asking of questions which engage the child's natural sense of curiosity.  Below you can sense the body language of Rudy.  Off to draw a map to the garden he goes... oh and there is so much more that happens in context!

Along the way, Rudy notices new things that perhaps he had not noticed before.  The experience of how observing is different than looking is a huge life skill.

Revision is another fantastic skill Rudy experienced by observing things more than once, drawing them, observing some more, and then making changes to show more detail.  What if every young learner was excited when they heard the word revision?  Hmmm...

Rudy notices colors, shapes and begins to attach this a growing vocabulary... and all the while acting as an explorer, a scientist, an engaged learner.

Rudy continued to experience the idea of "What Else?"  Looking for depth of knowledge over time transfers to growing our depth of being.... profound and all experienced in a play-based setting.

I LOVE this image of notes!  My Foundation has been working with this center on many things, including how to write music, write songs, and connect that to math.  Well... it looks like Rudy noticed that on his journey of creating a map!

It looks like Rudy has arrived at his destination... the GARDEN!

I present to you Rudy's Map of how to get to the garden at his center for learning, his home away from home.  Bravo Rudy and Bravo Child-Parent Centers!

LIVE, LOVE, AND LEARN LIKE A CHILD

Cheers!

Enrique

GRASSHOPPERS! A Study by Preschool Children

Great to have you back in the month of May!  I am so grateful for the opportunity of being able to be a part of the lives of so many children.  I'm grateful because I find children healing.  I have also learned so much from their authentic sense of wonder, willingness to explore, risk and create.  One of the preschool centers I have been around a lot is Child-Parent Centers, Inc.   Specifically, over the last couple of years, the center site in Benson, Arizona.  Together we have found ways to address both:

Critical Thinking and Creativity

Academic Growth and Emotional Intelligence

A strategy that this entire program has used successfully is engaging the children in "Studies" of certain topics.  Recently, the topic which excited the children was "Grasshoppers!"  Below is a description the teachers posted after the experience so parents and other visitors could see what they had been up to.

One of the most powerful ways to elevate any learner is to help them experience the "Artistic Process" in any area of study.  Experiencing the artistic process helps the learner realize that:

• learning takes place over time
• learning never stops
• the precarious edge of "not knowing" is a thrilling place to be and return to
• creating your own structure creates a life full of learning

Recently in my collaboration with other artists, (primarily International Mime and Director Rick Wamer of Arts Integration Solutions and Corey Ferrugia of MyTown Music), I have had some of the most meaningful conversations and artistic experiences in my life.  From those experiences we have talked about some of our experiences as Artists and here's just a small part of what I has been illuminated for me as a guide of children in the artistic process.

The Artistic Four 
(there are more, but these are some of my favorites):

• Context
• Concept
• Content 
• Collaboration

CONTEXT

In this study of Grasshoppers, children began with a context they knew and loved… the outdoors!  This is where they first noticed grasshoppers and became interested in knowing more.  As I have pointed out in many of my posts, the use of questions by the teachers was the launching pad for discovery.

CONCEPT

Elevated teachers help their young students establish goals and an overall plan.  In this case that meant:

• Catch some grasshoppers
• Examine the grasshoppers
• Figure out what grasshoppers eat

After the examining had gone on for a while, this study expanded as teachers added the ideas of:

• Counting
• Sorting

CONTENT

Throughout the experience, content was present, and it was present at all times IN CONTEXT!  This of course enriched the experience for the learner, in this case preschool children.  The content present throughout this study varied from the resources and materials below.

• Prior knowledge of insects
• Insect books
• Containers that could hold grasshoppers without harming them
• Writing materials
• Food for grasshoppers

Content is of course necessary and it's important for us to remind ourselves that it needs to be connected to concepts in order for the content to have anything beyond surface meaning.

COLLABORATION

Guiding young learners to work together goes beyond teaching basic social-emotional development.  When we help learners of any age understand how to listen to the ideas of others and truly collaborate we are giving them the gift of:

• Understanding that your own idea can become part of a larger idea
• Recognizing that no one has all the answers working alone
• Embracing new ideas as a way of learning and growing

THINK ABOUT…

• What else was learned in this study by the students?
• What else was learned in this study by the teachers?
• How could you use a study like this and create even more learning? 
• What areas of science could you teach to preschool children or older students?

ASK YOURSELF…

• How can I use the scientific ideas of comparison and contrast with young learners?
• How can I use the scientific idea of observation with young learners?
• How is observing different from seeing or looking?
• How often do I use the word "observe" with my children and how could I use it?

MAKE A COMMITMENT TO…

• Beginning the learning process of each day with CONTEXT the children are connected to.
• Co-create CONCEPT with your children that is connected back to the CONTEXT.
• Trust that the CONTENT will reveal itself based on the CONCEPT which is connected to the CONTEXT.
• Become a master at asking questions that encourages true COLLABORATION

Children are some of the most wonderful teachers I have ever met.  When we can embrace that idea and when we, as adult learners, can remember what it is to be like a child, full of wonder, excitement and energy, we can achieve so much more.

Meaningful success is much like meaningful learning.  It's not the content alone that is important.  It is helping the learner create their own structures and their own understanding OF THE CONTENT.  The CONTEXT of this is key, and the asking of questions is one of the foundational strategies in our quest to grow new paradigms of thinking in our youngest learners.

I would love to hear how you are using any of these ideas.  I invite you to post questions and comments on my Facebook educational site, "Living Like a Child."

Abrazos!
Enrique Feldman
Founder, F.A.M.E. Foundation
Co-Founder, Context Method®
Collaborative Artist, MyTown Music