Dear Friends,
Have you recently learned something at a children’s museum? While CMEE’s mission is focused primarily on sparking imagination and fostering learning for children, numerous studies show that museums have a greater educational impact if parents and caregivers are learning alongside them. As CMEE staff members develop new programs and exhibits, we are increasingly identifying what grownups can get out of the experience.
The small xylophone my son, Bennett, received as a gift a few weeks ago demonstrated the importance of family learning for me on a personal level. Since he isn’t quite old enough to play the instrument himself, I’ve taken to accompanying him while he sings. With my limited experience as a percussionist, I was grateful that the xylophone’s keys were imprinted with notes and sheet music for a few popular children’s songs was included. During our rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”—one of Bennett’s favorites—I realized that the song sounded remarkably similar to another nursery rhyme that he likes to sing, “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”
When I mentioned this discovery to Leah Oppenheimer, the facilitator for CMEE’s incredibly popular “Baby & Me” class (which features singing and music making), she explained that, in fact, the melodies of both nursery rhymes were exactly the same. The tune came from a French folk song entitled, “Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman,” which was subsequently arranged and popularized by Mozart. It turns out the “Alphabet Song” uses the same melody, too (C–C–G–G–A–A–G). For someone who isn’t a very talented singer, this information was very reassuring. If I can master the tune for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” I can easily add two new songs to my repertoire. Not that Bennett is complaining, mind you. In fact, he’s quite happy singing the first three notes, “Baa Baa Black, Baa Baa Black” over and over and over again.
By singing nursery rhymes along with my son, I simultaneously expanded my musical understanding while he increased his language abilities and appreciation of music. That shared parent/child learning experience is one of the goals that CMEE is striving to accomplish with all of our programming, presentations and exhibits. If you have any ideas about how the Museum can foster this notion (or would like to share a story about when it happened with your own family), feel free to e-mail me, post on our Facebook page, or send us a tweet.