A lot can happen with 10 minutes of musical practice a day. Self-disciplined, compassionate, responsible, collaborative, confidant, and proud. These are all characteristics of children who play musical instruments. What's more, the benefits of music education reach far beyond the lesson and well into all aspects of adulthood.This book will help your child reap the rewards of opening that case; together, you will learn what music can teach:* Every child is naturally talented.* Consistent practice is the key to success.* Parents and music educators are partners in the learning process.* How to remove barriers to successful practice.* The importance of giving your child ownership of their learning.With the right approach, your child will do much more than grow in musical proficiency, they will become the person they were meant to be.

Does music make kids smarter? At what age should a child begin music lessons? Where should you purchase an instrument? What should parents expect from a child's teachers and lessons? How can you get kids to practice? Raising Musical Kids answers these and many other questions as it guides parents through everything from assembling a listening library for kids, to matching a child's personality with an instrument's personality, to finding musical resources in your community. Knowing that children can—and often do—get most of their music education from their school, parent and educator Robert Cutietta explores the features and benefits of elementary and secondary school programs, and shows how parents can work with the schools to provide the best possible music program. Throughout the book, Cutietta emphasizes the joy of participating in music for its own sake. The first edition of Raising Musical Kids delighted and informed parents to equal degrees, and this fully-revised second edition is a book that parents everywhere will treasure as a complete road map for developing their child's musical abilities.

Children are naturally fascinated with sound and movement play as they teach themselves how to function in the world. Every child has the potential to learn music. Without early, sequential music development guidance, however, the potential for true music understanding and enjoyment is left underdeveloped among most children. This music series, based on A Music Learning Theory for Newborn and Young Children and years of practical and experimental research, is designed to assist teachers, parents, and caregivers of newborn and young children in the development of basic music skills such as singing, rhythm chanting, and moving. By using this compilation of music and movement activities you will discover the pure delight of playing music and movement games with children. You will learn how to provide a rich music environment for them, how to listen and understand the sounds they make, and how to reinforce each child's music and movement creativity through imitation and improvisation using audiation, the ability each of us has to think music.

This book of parent-to-parent advice aims to encourage, support, and bolster the morale of one of music's most important back-up sections: music parents. Within these pages, more than 150 veteran music parents contribute their experiences, reflections, warnings, and helpful suggestions for how to walk the music-parenting tightrope: how to be supportive but not overbearing, and how to encourage excellence without becoming bogged down in frustration. Among those offering advice are the parents of several top musicians, including the mother of violinist Joshua Bell, the father of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, the parents of cellist Alisa Weilerstein, and those of violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. The book also features advice from music educators and more than forty professional musicians, including Paula Robison, Sarah Chang, Anthony McGill, Jennifer Koh, Jonathan Biss, Toyin Spellman-Diaz, Marin Alsop, Christian McBride, Miguel Zen?n, Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Kelli O'Hara, as well as Joshua Bell, Alisa Weilerstein, Wynton Marsalis, Anne Akiko Meyers, and others. The topics they discuss span a wide range of issues faced by the parents of both instrumentalists and singers, from how to get started and encourage effective practice habits, to how to weather the rough spots, cope with the cost of music training, deal with college and career concerns, and help young musicians discover the role that music can play in their lives. The parents who speak here reach a unanimous and overwhelming conclusion that music parenting is well worth the effort, and the experiences that come with it - from sitting in on early lessons and watching their kids perform onstage to tagging along at music conventions as their youngsters try out instruments at exhibitors' booths - enrich family life with a unique joy in music.

This text features over 170 fun and educational activities for children from birth to three years old. It is divided into two sections - baby play and toddler play. Each section contains age-appropriate games, songs and exercises for mind and body.

Help your child navigate feelings of sadness and loss with 100 unique, activity-based approaches that help them manage their childhood grief in a healthy and constructive way. The loss of a loved one is a complex, confusing experience for a child to understand. Children may struggle to express, process, and manage their complicated and conflicting feelings, whether the loss is a parent, grandparent, sibling, or even a pet. So, what should you do to help your child process their sadness, loss, and frustration in a more healthy, positive way? In A Parent’s Guide to Managing Grief, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how children grieve and what you can do to support them during their most difficult moments. From there, you’ll find 100 activities that you can use in a group setting, activities that you (or another caregiver) can do alone with your child, and ways to make the most of virtual interactions to support a grieving child. Explore activities like: -Making a scream box -Playing with clay -Feelings charades game -Making a memory bracelet -And many more! It can feel difficult to connect with your child as you process your own complicated emotions surrounding loss. Use these activities to help bridge the gap between you and your child and to help you both find comfort in a difficult situation. You’ll find all the tools you need to help your child (and even yourself) healthily process your grief and move towards happiness, understanding, and acceptance together.

Offers guidance for parents on how to select the most compatible activities for their children, prepare for cost and time commitments, avoid over-scheduling and burnout, and handle negative child attitudes.

Originally published: San Francisco, Calif.: Chronicle Books, 2006.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND ECPA BESTSELLER • Once, in a cottage above the cliffs on the Dark Sea of Darkness, there lived three children and their trusty dog, Nugget. NOW AN ANIMATED SERIES • Based on Andrew Peterson’s epic fantasy novels—starring Jody Benson, Henry Ian Cusick, and Kevin McNally. Executive Producer J. Chris Wall with Shining Isle Productions, and distributed by Angel Studios. Janner Igiby, his brother, Tink, and their disabled sister, Leeli, are gifted children as all children are, loved well by a noble mother and ex-pirate grandfather. But they will need all their gifts and all that they love to survive the evil pursuit of the venomous Fangs of Dang, who have crossed the dark sea to rule the land with malice. The Igibys hold the secret to the lost legend and jewels of good King Wingfeather of the Shining Isle of Anniera. Full of characters rich in heart, smarts, and courage, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is a tale children of all ages will cherish, families can read aloud, and readers' groups are sure to enjoy discussing for its many layers of meaning.