The Music Is In Me: A Picture Book About Music Class

The Music is in Me, by Kathy Wells

For students in the Let's Play Music and Sound Beginnings classes, attending class becomes a significant part of their world and perception of self. Finally, here is a picture book portraying a child having these experiences. 

 

Ever since Mommy sang me All the Pretty Little Horses

when I was a baby, I've heard music!

  Such lovely lullabies as she rocked me to sleep.

The music was in her!

Daddy sang in the shower, boisterous and bellowing.

I heard him all through the house.

The music was in him!  

So begins the picture book, The Music is in Me, by author and Let's Play Music teacher, Kathy Wells, illustrated by Whitney Staheli. 

This endearing picture book follows a girl as she experiences music in the world all around her. Her mother makes music, her father makes music, the trees and crickets and nature make music. She finds musical sounds everywhere in the expansive musical world. She begins to wonder, "is the music in me, too?"

Shortly thereafter, she attends the Red Balloons semester of Let's Play Music and begins to discover that she has music inside herself as well. She plays the autoharp, helps puppets dance to classical music, and plays tone bells with a mallet.  She begins to gain confidence in her ability and to view herself as a musician.

I had a chance to interview Kathy and find out more about the book.

Gina: Why did you write this story? Does it have anything to do with your childhood? 

Kathy:  As a young child I was very shy and had a difficult time feeling confident. I am grateful for my parents, who encouraged me to try things and work at things so I could grow in confidence. 

Thankfully, they enrolled me in piano lessons at age six. I never had formal music class before that (parent-tot classes didn't really happen back then.) I loved lessons immediately and discovered music was my niche in life. I went on to also play the violin and organ, and to sing in choirs all throughout college. 

I found the music inside myself, and it has been an immensely powerful influence in my life. I really wanted to connect to young readers through this book, and encourage them to aspire and have confidence in their own abilities.

I also wanted to write a book for children about this amazing experience they're having in their life. For many students, Sound Beginnings and Let's Play Music class is memorable and pivotal. It becomes a huge part of their self-view. Finally, here's a book about someone experiencing music the way they are.

I often wished I could have had LPM in my childhood, because when I took music theory classes in college it was overwhelming.  My LPM graduates are not going to have the same overwhelm that I did.

Although I wasn't in LPM, some parts of the story are similar to my childhood.  When I was a girl, I would sleep out under the stars at my grandmother's farm in Vernal, Utah. I would listen to the sounds of the night and recognize how musical they were. I was able to recreate that experience in the book.

Gina: What about the artwork? Is it special?

Do you recognize the story of "The Red Balloon?"

Kathy: I hoped the pictures would convey my message just as well as the words, especially so children can look through the book and enjoy it even if they are not reading yet. I hunted for an illustrator who could capture that vision. When I discovered Whitney Staheli and saw her work, I knew she was the one.
 
The artwork invites imagination from the readers. I hope they imagine themselves going to music class and doing these same things.

Gina: Is this your first book? Is literature perhaps your other niche?

Kathy: Yes, this is my first book. I had such a fun time writing this book. I am grateful to Shelle Soelberg, creator of Let's Play Music, for helping my dream come true by being supportive of my idea and helping it come to fruition. I always wanted to write a children’s book, but didn’t get my muse until I became a Let’s Play Music teacher in 2011 and saw how this inspired curriculum enriches and changes young lives! It is truly remarkable and I love teaching this curriculum. 

I always loved children’s literature and always loved curling up with a good book as a child. I guess it is my other niche.  Reading with a child is so important! From a young age, reading together not only enriches family bonds but prepares children to succeed in school. Exposing them to a rich and vibrant vocabulary is an easy and powerful gift to give.

I hope that many children will get to experience this book as they move from Sound Beginnings into the Let’s Play Music program.

You can PURCHASE A COPY HERE. If you would like to order multiple copies or get a bulk discount, contact Kathy directly (katchat998@aol.com)

Itsy-Bitsy Spider Fun at Home

The Itsy Bitsy Spider, also sometimes sung as the Eensy Weensy Spider is a fun way to work on fine motor skills and dexterity in a playful way during Sound Beginnings class.  For young children, making fingers move independently and do just what they want can be frustrating and challenging.  Like the hero of our song, they'll have to overcome some obstacles and keep trying again and again to get their fingers to climb that spout!

Step-by-Step Instructions
When we adults demonstrate the spidery finger motions that go along with this song, youngsters are amazed by our dexterity! This website can teach you if you're not a master yet! 

Help your toddler by teaching with this washable-marker finger-painting trick, and by breaking actions down step-by-step. 

"Hold up both fists like me. Now point to the sky. Keep those fingers up, and let your thumbs come out." This may require some serious thinking, so leave time for figuring it out.

"I'm going to add some color dots to your fingers."  Put a red dot on one index finger and the opposite thumb.  Put a black dot on the other index finger and opposite thumb.
 
"Now make the red dots touch each other. Keep them touching...now make the black dot touch the other black dot."

"Keep the black touching, but let the reds come apart....weee...and then rotate them around so they can touch again. Now the black dots come apart...weee.  Keep climbing as we sing... it's okay to go slowly!"

Finger Puppet Fun

Here's a spidery finger puppet originally from Lalymom that's just right for Sound Beginnings students. Spiders have eight legs, so the fun comes when four of the legs are actually your kiddo's fingers, dancing and climbing and wiggling just like you'd expect.

Here's a clever time-saving tip for working with craft foam: use a plastic lid and a marker lid to PRESS into the craft foam instead of having to trace the shape.  

Materials Needed:
  Black craft foam
  Googly Eyes
  Pipe cleaners (2 black, 1 red)
  Plastic lid for pressing
  Marker lid for pressing
  Scissors, Glue

1. Place the lid on black foam and press down. Use scissors to complete the cutting of the imprinted circle. Press 4 circles (using the marker's lid) for finger holes. Complete cutting with scissors.
 
2.  Use scissors (or a pen) to poke 2 holes on each side for the black pipe cleaners, and feed them through the back. No need to cut them- they should be the right length.

3. Glue on eyes.

4. Poke 2 more holes below the eyes.  Fold red pipe cleaner in half and feed through the holes to make the mouth.  Now your puppet is ready to wear!

As a PIANO teacher, of course I love this particular puppet because I see some opportunity to encourage even more early finger control and dexterity in a fun way.  Make a spider for yourself, too, so you and your child can:

* Make your spider jump to the rhythm of the song while we sing (tap all fingers simultaneously on the table)
* Make your spider walk slowly (each finger taps one at a time-tricky!)
* Make your spider dance really fast (drum your fingers on the table)
* Make your spider copy mine (make up some spidery dances- 1,2,1,2 etc.)
* Repeat everything with a spider on your other hand
And of course...*Let's have our spiders go tickle someone (Daddy, Mommy, Sister, etc.)!

Spider Legs Build Strong Fingers

Strengthen fingers in yet another way with this game of adding and removing legs. You create a spider body from foam sheet and googly eyes, and the legs are bag clips.  Little hands and fingers get stronger from practice squeezing and controlling those clips.

We want to see YOUR cute spiders! Post pictures of any of your spidery crafts in the comments or on our Facebook Page!



Spiders Going Up Up Up

My other favorite spider craft is a little guy from this website that actually goes up and down his string.  Your child can make him go up and down as you sing together, visualizing the words of the song in action.

I also like to sing "up up up" (going up a scale in pitch) as the spider climbs up, and "down down down" (decreasing pitch).  If you have an older child in the Red Balloons semester of Let's Play Music, she should be really helpful at singing for your spider. Play glissandos on the piano or other instrument, too, to match your busy spider.
 Materials

  One paper plate, painted black by your child
  Googly eyes
  One drinking straw
  String or yarn, beads for the ends
  Scissors, tape

1.  Cut the corrugated section off and save it. So you have one black circle.
2.  Trim the round shape to make it into a more spidery figure-8 shape.
2. Cut the corrugated section into 8 pieces and staple them on for legs. (Kids love to do the stapling!)
3. Glue or paint eyes.
4. Flip spidey over and tape down 2 short segments of drinking straw.
5. Thread the yarn through the straws and attach something (bead, broken crayon, whatever) to the bottom.
6. Attach the yarn up high, and as your child pulls the beads apart, the spider climbs.

A second climbing spider can be found HERE. Still uses string and beads, but instead of threading through straws, you will punch holes in a cardboard tube. Everyone's got a cardboard tube at home, right?

We want to see YOUR spider in action!  Post photos or videos to our Facebook Page!

Who Else Can Play?
Red Balloon students will show off their major scales ascending and descending, but the rest of the family can help your spider sing, too, with this handy CHORD MAP to print off.  

If you have an autoharp at home, of course you'll want to use it, but second and third year students (and parents) can play piano chords to accompany your spidery song, and graduates will even be ready to transpose it to other keys!

Wind Down with Storytime

The story of our spider friend is fairly short, but several authors have expanded the story in sing-along picture books.  I enjoy the version by Iza Trapani (and her other singable storybooks), because we find out what the spider does in addition to climbing water spouts all day! Find it at your library or Amazon.

If your child is interested in spiders, pick up some more nonfiction books from the library to learn amazing facts like: Spiders are covered in water-repellant hairs.  That means they don't get wet when water hits them, they can float, many can live underwater for long periods, and...they can climb right back up the waterspout!

-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music teacher