My girls love to color; my girls also love classical music. So I decided to combine the two things to create a special Friday treat called Classical Coloring. I allotted 15 minutes on each Friday but will let them really gauge how long they wish to go. I’ll start with music, throw some crayons and colored pencils into the mix, and let the girls color, doodle, and draw till their heart’s content. Basically any ol’ classical music CD will do, or DVD if you have some great orchestra you care to share; then again, it doesn’t even have to be classical music. Stella has a penchant for opera lately and stares fixated to the television whenever I play our pre-recorded PBS concert starring Jackie Evancho. Some of other musical favorites include:
Anything from the folks over at Maestro Classics. Our current family favorites are Carnival of the Animals and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
My girls love the zany, comedic lyrics added to famous classical pieces in the Beethoven’s Wig series. Be warned- the songs have a habit of getting stuck in your head for long stretches of time.
Last Friday was our first Classical Coloring experiment and so I chose to use one of my personal favorite DVDs- Classical Baby, The Music Show. I wrote about this collection previously when I started making more of a concerted effort to point out composers names and facts to the girls. This series by HBO is truly charming. The whimsical animation adds a captivating allure to the classical pieces and hold the attention of baby and child alike. I really recommend adding the whole set to your collection, but if I had to choose my absolute favorite it would be the Music Show.
During our Classical Coloring session Mira excitedly pointed out that Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 is animated with a cartoon called “Busy Caterpillar”. Just the day before we had begun our narration and memorization work in First Language Lessons where Mira memorized and recited a short poem entitled, “The Caterpillar” by Christina G. Rosetti. We took the opportunity to test each other’s memory and recite it to the music of Bach. Not surprisingly, Mira did much better than I.
Basically I hope to use our Classical Coloring time on Fridays to remind myself to expose my girls to new music and artists on a regular basis.
For more ideas on fostering a love of classical music in your kids check out my post on 7 Tips to Promote a Love of Classical Music In Young Children.
