Dee Dickinson at New Horizons for Learning has written a fascinating article about the importance of music education . She discusses much of the incredible research findings that relate music education with improvements in spatial and logical abilities. Particularly striking, to me, was the fact that Hungary's students are ranked Number One in Science in the world. The schools in Hungary have a heavy integration of music in the curriculum from Kindergarten up. Family Education Network also discusses Why Music Matters .
My son's second grade teacher used a lot of music in her classroom. She played the guitar and had a keyboard for the children. Mrs. Keith is the favorite teacher of children and adults in our elementary school because she is fun and the children learn so much in her class. You can read about another very creative teacher who has developed a curriculum called Sing a Song of Science .
Remember Schoolhouse Rock ? You might think that those silly little songs from Saturday mornings would be gone by now, but no. They are still very popular and are heavily featured at the Creative Wonders Web site . If you would like a fun and challenging learning project for your child, why don't you visit and learn some of the songs together .
An excellent resource for parents whose children are or will be taking piano lessons is The Piano Education Page . I especially like their discussion of different piano teaching methods, choosing a piano teacher, and studio etiquette .
You can even use the Internet to teach your child music. This is a good opportunity to download a MIDI file plug-in such as Crescendo or Yamaha's MidPlug.
Keep up with family music news at Muzine: The Magazine for Amateur Music Makers .
First page> Nurture Your Child's Visual-Spatial Intelligence
