Simplicity

Here is the question of the day:  When are we parents and teachers putting in useful, valid effort on behalf of our children, and at what point does it become fluff?  To break it down, I think the point at which we're making elaborate visual aids is the point at which it becomes fluff.  Example:  If the epitome of motherhood is rocking a baby, quietly singing in his ear, what makes us think we can improve on that with posters, games, bins of toys and page-long lesson plans?  Shouldn't teaching music strive to be an extension of the rocking chair scenario? 

By that, I mean, demonstrating a quiet love for the music, imparting it in a simple way, and waiting for the results to blossom within the child.  Sure, we want things to be fun and visually stimulating, but all this talk of trying to coerce children into loving music through cleverly worded posters, a sack of related objects and a grundle of rules?  It's tiring me out.  Children already love music.  Can we please not snuff that out?

Set down the markers and the glitter glue.  Put away the bursting Tupperware bins.  Just sit down at the piano and play, or sit in the grass and hum.  The children will follow because music is inside of them.  The Pied Piper didn't have a flip chart, did he?