Story from a mom in Tennessee

Discovering more than Music at Clarksville’s Kindermusik class.
By Beth Britton January 15, 2009

This morning Elle-Girl and I attended an event held in an upstairs practice room at the incredibly renovated new Mary’s Music Store downtown. The event was a preview Kindermusik class taught by Tiffany Hilliker. Kindermusik is a free form way of teaching children music by positive parent interaction and helping form a well rounded child. The class starts out with a happy hello song where you bounce your young child in your lap while singing “Hello” to the other children. The class then continues to teach predictable routine practices and interactive song and dance opportunities. The children get to experience different musical instruments and play with bright colorful streamers. The classes are completely child centered, however I must admit, the parent has a really good time as well.

As a mother of a busy toddler I thought that Elle-Girl would really get into this class. She always dances whenever music is on, she enjoys throwing mommy’s scarves up in the air and running through them, and loves singing silly songs and playing the drums on pots and pans.
However, the morning did not play out how I had imagined it. Elle-Girl did not want to sit in my lap during the “Hello” song, nor did she feel like sharing the plush puppy dog during the Sharing song. Sharing is really not a typical thing for children this age to do anyway, but some how the other toddlers in the group were than happy to pass the dog around. At one point a small duck was pulled out of Mrs. Hilliker’s box of plush animals and the usually reserved little Elle-Girl, who I swear to you has NEVER taken another toy from a child promptly stood, plush puppy dog still in hand, and took the duck from her “sharing buddy” Hayden. I didn’t feel it was necessary to try to explain Elle-Girl’s long time passion for things that go “Quack” I just quickly tried to resolve the situation.

After a cool down period with a quiet little Japanese Lullaby song, in which Elle-Girl stood looking at all the other children laying down as if to say “If you think I’m laying down for a nap at 10 in the morning, you’re crazy!” ,we all gathered together to hold hands and dance in a circle. Guess who was standing outside of the circle? Elle-Girl.

Tiffany instructed me to go ahead and join the circle, and perhaps when Elle-girl sees how much fun I’m having she will want to join. With a doubtful smile I joined in with the other mothers and their children and danced and skipped in a circle. While we were heading around and around I happen to notice what my child was doing, she was dancing along with us, but in her own circle. Even going in the direction we were going and stopping and doing the all the motions with us. I wanted her to join me, I wanted her to be like everyone else. Just then the mother beside me said something that I think will stay with me for a long time, she commented on how she was her own circle, and “what would the world be like if we didn’t have women like Oprah, or Hillary Clinton, that moved to their own circle?” you could also add women like Rosa Parks, Barbara Walters, Amelia Earhart, or my favorite Annie Lebowitz. At that moment, I found joy in my little independent girl, who has her own ideas and enjoys other children, but does not feel like she has to do what they are doing. I hope she always feels free to dance in her own circle.

I would encourage any parent to give Kindermusik a try. You never know what your child will discover there, or what you may discover about your child!