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
Summer Kindermusik Adventures with Toddlers, Walkers
Children, from 18 months to 3 1/2 years, love ANIMALS – acting like them, sounding like them, moving like them. Each one of these semesters focuses on a specific area where cool creatures are found, the beach/ocean, the zoo, and even your backyard. These classes are just so much fun, I want to teach them over and over, and I have – several times. And they are more fun each time I teach them – the songs are so catchy, the music just makes you WANT to MOVE, the activities are so engaging, and the props and crafts are such hands-on fun, it’s hard to wait for the summer to teach them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Each educator will choose, from the following units, which to offer during their summer program.
Creatures at the Ocean
Sing sailor songs and make the ocean count. “Five little seashells lying on the shore: Swish! Went the waves and then there were four.” Jump over the waves, squawk like a seagull, chirp like a dolphin, swim like a whale. Oh, there’s so much fun to be had at the beach. Materials include: A FABULOUS CD, Seashell Castanets, Storycard set and Picture Folder set. Educators often choose to include several crafts, and some even offer unique snacks based on the themes. It’s amazing how easy it is to make a wave drum, and the there are so many sounds the children can explore with it.
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Creatures in My Backyard
Give your child something to sing about in her own backyard. Be the flower from the “seed’s” perspective. Run and jump in rain puddles made from hula hoops. Snack on whole wheat mini-waffles dipped in honey, just like a real honeycomb. Shoo real flies and sing “Shoo Fly.”Home Materials include: CD, Bunny Puppet, and Picture Folders set. Educators often choose to include several crafts, and some even offer unique snacks based on the themes. Making worm bodies out of panty hose, or eating gummy worms in Oreo dirt, these students get multi-sensory experiences to support their learning.
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Zoo Train!
Your toddler and the train make a natural match—always on the move. Tag along this summer with a traveling zoo train. Bring your own stuffed animals for the petting zoo. Wear long white socks on your hands for polar bear paws and learn about real animals in the zoo. Sing songs for clapping time, and use music to help toddlers regulate emotions. Home Materials include: Book, CD, Animal Shaker, and Poster. Educators often choose to include several crafts, and some even offer unique snacks based on the themes. Have you ever tried making penguins that can’t fall down out of those little plastic easter eggs? It’s fun!
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Find an educator near you at www.kindermusik.com . The educator locator includes ALL the teachers near you, as well as many of their full schedules, and contact information so you can get in on all this fun.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 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 
