Possibly one of the most distinct memories of growing up for me are surrounded by music. My mom speaks the language of music. She was never really formally trained in it, but it spoke to her heart and she surrounded herself in uplifting music. She sang for over 25 years in women's chorale groups, she played spiritual music all the time....especially on Sunday mornings as we prepared for church, she played children's music for us constantly with lots of lessons woven throughout and she even fostered my love for secular music...as long as it was clean (she threw away my Sir Mix-a-Lot "Baby Got Back" cassette single, LOL).
I can remember as if it was yesterday....being dropped off at Jr. High and wondering if my friends would hear the music blasting from our car as I opened the van door.
She would write lyrics of songs that had special teaching messages in them and post them all over the house. She had music for holidays, birthdays, and any other occasion....special or not.
I am so grateful for this. I try to do this with my kids, and I know I'm paling in comparison. But I want to keep trying. One of my most favorite musical memories as a kid comes in the form of any and every Janeen Brady song. We had everything she ever produced. And my favorite was probably the "Standin' Tall" and "Safety Kids" series. The lessons I learned from these song/story/book combos are still distinct in my memory to this day.
So I splurged last week. Spent lots of money we shouldn't right now, but it is so priceless to me that my kids have these same lessons and memories, so I bought the WHOLE set of cds/books! Check out the website if you don't know what these are. http://www.britemusic.com/ (There are also some independent representatives who sell for a bit less on eBay). Peyton is a big young to totally care, but Jordyn (7) and Lexi (almost 6) are perfect ages to soak up this fun way of learning (concepts like honesty, cleanliness, obedience, kindness, personal safety, etc).
(A side note, when I lived in UT, I got to go to church with Janeen Brady for a few years. It was fun to see her each Sunday and remember my childhood love for all her music)
3 comments:
I MUST go get the safety kids music. I was just singing Eliza the "look for a grandma or mother with children" song!
I grew up on this music and my Mom was a representitive. I love Janeen Brady and all of her music. How fun to be in her ward. I had the Standing Tall Series when the girls were too young to care and now I don't know where they are. Hopefully I will find them because you sparked a reinterest.
That was so funny to see the Standin' Tall Series on your blog. I grew up with them too and loved them. My siblings and I can sing almost all the songs. A couple of years ago I looked into buying them but wasn't sure if my kids were old enough to appreciate them, considering how much they cost. I'll have to look into it again since they're a little older and can read.
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