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Friends of Florida Folk share Live Music with your family
I LOVE FOLK MUSIC! I must admit, it is the most down to earth music that reaches into my soul and makes me feel connected to humanity, with all of it’s faces. And thanks to Will McLean, and the Friends of Florida Folk, it helps me to feel connected to Florida. Although I am not a native, I moved here almost 10 years ago, I started attending the Will McLean Festival annually, as well as others, and I truly feel my roots are growing here like the old oak trees in my front yard, and the orange trees in my back yard. Please feel free to enjoy one of my favorite songs: Ain’t Florida Neat by Mindy Simmons (the Sarasota Songbird).
Fortunately, the Friends of Florida Folk is a group of dedicated volunteers determined to “identify, protect, preserve, encourage, and promote folk arts, crafts, dance and music of Florida”. Their website, www.foff.org is fabulous. Immediately you are greeted with wonderful music, and podcasts are offered frequently, and there is much to see and hear while exploring their many pages.
For your LIVE MUSIC listening pleasure, there is a calendar of live folk music events, as well as a page that lists the recurring live music events. These may recur annually, monthly, or even weekly. This information is specific to Florida, and lists events ALL over this state!
There are so many styles represented, but definitely include bluegrass, blues, folk, and much more.
Some of my favorite ANNUAL Florida Folk Festivals that I have attended include:
Will McLean in March in Dunnellon (new location this last year)
Gamble Rogers in May in St. Augustine
Florida Folk Festival in May in White Springs
Friends of Florida Folk Fest in February in Tampa
There are so many more I can’t even name them, but they are all listed on the FOFF website. Look under FOLK LINKS, Category MAJOR FESTIVALS.
We take the family in the camper and attend as many as we can each year. Most ALL of the festivals are very family friendly, and often have wonderful music activities especially for the children in a tent of their own. It is a wonderful immersion into a world of music that cannot be experienced otherwise.
I certainly have my favorite Florida musicians that I seek out, but I’ll leave that for another blog posting.
ENJOY this live music with your children, and teach them to sing all of the wonderful old folk songs ! It gives children a sense of BELONGING to family, to the community, and to history.
One of the things I LOVE about Kindermusik is that incorporates folk music from all over OUR country, as well as countries from all over the world. There are beautiful renditions of them on the CD, AND we learn to sing and do the activities and dances that are the same the world over. When children have a true appreciation of music of different styles and cultures, it also helps them appreciate the PEOPLE of different styles and cultures and helps them feel connected to the world. We all experience many of the same things, and music just helps us see that a bit more clearly.
Merry Melodies,
Debbie Mondale
Loving the Earth through Music
My son found this video, and I absolutely LOVE it. I think you will too.
Earth Day is April 22nd each year, but I just found this and wanted to share it with you.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Kindermusik Village
Kindermusik “Village“ , designed through the best research for babies up to 18 months old.
The Village program is the perfect “Village” atmosphere, where moms and babies come to spend quality fun time together, away from regular routines and responsibilities. Yet they find a comfortable place to explore the social world of a group setting, while singing, dancing, and exploring instruments and props, such as scarves, balls, parachutes, and more. Parents also learn how music truly influences the development of the whole child through everyday interactions with their babies.
Each semester of Village include a unique set of home materials based on the thematic focus. Kindermusik fully believes that the parent is the child’s first teacher, and that the primary learning takes place in the home and throughout the routines of their day. By having the following tools, families are able to enhance their ability to incorporate music, movement, language, and learning activities with their babies througout the day, and more fully understand the importance of these activities to their babies’ development. Each set of home materials include the following:
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A high quality CD which includes a great selection of music from around the world and across different styles, with unique arrangements for each one that allows the child to hear a variety of instruments and a variety of voices. Throughout the class we use this music in a variety of ways, and the child’s familiarity with the music has a profound effect on their participation in class, and how much they gain from the experience.
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A Children’s literature book – a board book featuring delightful large color images, and fun words to encourage vocal play.
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Art Banners – Two heavy stock strips that include the pictures from the book. These are beneficial in aiding the baby’s visual and language development.
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An Instrument clearly designed to match the theme, and make specifically for babies, so that the finish and parts are SAFE for the FULL exploration they will get.
Spring 2010 Semesters
Cock-a-Doodle Moo! – Hop on the hayride – it’s time to head for the farm!
In this unit of Kindermusik Village, families will sing songs about the farm, including a new twist on “Old MacDonald”, joyous riding songs like “Hayride”, and a cool new toe tickler “This Little Cow Eats Grass”. They’ll engage in rituals and playful activities for baby and parent or care provider, all centered on farm life and the unique animals found there.
DewDrops – Stop and smell the roses – and the Lily of the Valley, and the Tulips,
and the Pansies… in the DewDrops unit of Kindermusik Village, families will play and move together to songs about flowers, such as “Jasmine Flower”, “How Does your Garden Grow?”, and “White Coral Bells”. The CD is infused with traditional Irish music – to which we: dance a jig, prance to the Irish Trot, and exercise to “Did You Ever See a Lassie”. Aye, ladie, it’s a great deal of fun!
Fall 2010 Semesters
Zoom Buggy – Babies love to zoom around – in a stroller or a wagon, and eventually through playing with cars and toy rocketships. This semester celebrates all the fun vehicles on a scale just right for babies. All those airplane sounds you make with a spoon during feeding time actually helps your baby learn language. You’ll learn how sounds like this can develop physical, social, cognitive, and emotional skills as well.
Dream Pillow – Nightime, and all that goes with it, is an important part of babies routine. We celebrate the evening routines, the moon, and the stars, and the beautiful voices that babies hear soothing them. There are some fabulous lullabies, but don’t be fooled, the fun activities of this semester will NOT put YOU to sleep.
Spring 2011
Hickory, Dickory, Tickle and Bounce – The classic world of mother goose, as well as time-honored songs, fingerplays, lap bounces and circle dances from around the world are celebrated in this fun semester. The book is a favorite among Kindermusik families, and features a little mouse who plays around the clock in such a way as to teach spatial concepts.
The Rhythm of My Day – A child’s day is filled with routines that help that child feel safe, allowing them to turn their focus to learning from their environment. This semester celebrates the rhythmic nature of these routines, and notably creates and/or enhances the special rituals that occur between the parent and the child during these routines. The music on this CD is Jammin’, full of island style calypso and complex rhythmic beats from many cultures – it is a Favorite of Kindermusik families.
Fall 2011
Feathers – Oh, the wonderous variety of birds there are in this world! The themes for this semester focus on the different colors and sounds from birds all over the world, as well as celebrating the Fall season in which so many birds take flight. There is an earthy feel from the Native American music, as well as the chipper Kookaburra song from Australia, and so much more of this wonderful CD.
Do-Si-Do – “Boom-Pa-Pa, Boom-Pa-Pa, Tango, Cha-Cha, 1-2-3, Waltz with Me, Boom-Pa-Pa-Pa” is the resounding and repeating from from this wonderful book, song, and semester that celebrates the world of dance and the music that has been written to accompany all of it’s many forms. This is not a dance class, but you and the baby will learn to move to these various rhythms in a way that will provide the baby with a good steady beat and feel for rhythmic phrases.
Find out more information, and locate a teacher near you at www.kindermusik.com .
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Family Time is Fabulous in Florida
Congratulations to the following Florida Educators who were recently recognized at the Kindermusik Convention in Chicago:
Marne Gleason
Largest Kindermusik Family Time Program Worldwide
Websites:
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Debbie Mondale
2nd Largest Kindermusik Family Time Program Worldwide
Website: http://musiconnx.kindermusik.net
Blog: http://musiconnx.wordpress.com
and http://mcresources.wordpress.com
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These awards show promise that Florida is a leader in providing Kindermusik opportunities for families. Marne and Debbie have also achieved Maestro -Producer Status for several years now, which means they are in the top 5% of educators worldwide. Each of them offer all the core curricullum, including Village, Our Time, Imagine That!, and Kindermusik for the Young Child. In addition to their strong core classes, both educators started offering Family Time in the Summer or Fall of 2007, believing that the Family Time program can be JUST the PERFECT program for some families for the following reasons:
- Many families have multiple children including a variety of ages, and just don’t have the time, or energy to have each child enroll in their own age specific classes.
- Many families really enjoy spending time with ALL of their children in a fun, interactive environment.
- Families report that the older children initiate and engage the younger children in more playful and friendly ways at home using some of the ideas presented in class.
Kindermusik in Florida 
