My Little Singer

About 2 or 3 months ago Taylor first started trying to sing. I guess I first noticed it when Taylor was playing with a little school bus in the one year old room at church. It plays The Wheels on the Bus. I noticed that she was trying to sing "all through the town." Since then she has started singing with her Praise Baby CDs and DVDs and now tries to sing with just about everything - even if it is a song she hasn't heard very much. It is so cute. I wish I had some video to share. Sometimes you can pick up on actual words she is singing. She doesn't really sing on pitch much yet, and most of her singing is mumbling gibberish, but she tries to get the syllables right and she is good with her phrasing - well at least she starts and stops at the right times. She is imitating so much now that last night when Daniel was reading her bedtime book to her she was quoting it with him as he read it. It is her routine to let him read to her and then to let me rock her before going down. Well, last night she was particularly wound up. Daniel and read something like 5 stories to her and she still wasn't settled down, so I decided to sing her a little lullaby that I had written for her a while back. Wouldn't you know, but she started singing along! Daniel even heard her. She finally did settle down after all was quiet.

Taylor especially loves songs with motions to them. She participated in the Christmas program with the Morning School at church this year because I always take her with me when I teach music on Mondays. She is only a year younger than the youngest ones and she does really well, so they said that she could sing with them. She didn't do a whole lot of singing, but she did do the motions to the songs and stood in her spot on the stage the entire time. I was so proud of her. I have taught her motions for Away in a Manger, Where is Thumbkin, I'm a Little Teapot, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Jesus Loves Me. We are also working on Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and Deep and Wide. She absolutely loves it! By trying songs out on her first it gives me an idea of what the kids will do at the Morning School as well. They are 2 and 3 years old (well, most of them are 3 & 4 now). If I am able to keep teaching music next year, then I will enroll her in the 2 year old class. I can tell a big improvement in her speech just from being around the other children. It is good for her to play with other kids too.