Ideas to Steal: Music

Toured a very nice, very relaxed preschool today, and the director explained that they don't have themes or topics of study; rather, they have "an emergent curriculum," which I take to mean is "a curriculum we define after the fact." They do some stuff and put a name on it afterward. As it happens, that's exactly how I'm doing "Train Week," so rock on, man.

Anyway, the one thing they do "program" at this school is music. (The school's name is taken from a Grateful Dead lyric, if that gives you a mental picture of any kind.) They do a different genre every month (give or take) and play a song from that genre daily at circle time. The Grateful Dead and reggae take up most of the fall along with some teacher's choice theme weeks that feature the likes of Michael Jackson and Beck.

I think I might do a song of the day, since my own music knowledge is severely lacking and I want to do what I can to ameliorate the lack of tunes in the kid's life. (I played him Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" in conjunction with our reading of a book about New York City red-tailed hawk Pale Male and his girlfriend Lola, and the kid loved it. "Lola, she was a showgirl, with yellow feathers in her hair...")

We have some toddler tunes albums that I play, and I can sing "Row Row Row Your Boat" until I'm hoarse, but there's a whole other world of music out there. I won't remember to do this everyday, but maybe a little daily Dave Brubeck Quartet and "Hey Jude" would be good for all parties concerned.