Reflections on Children, Music and Being Fully Alive
Dedicated to Damaris Pfeiffer-Böhme and all those that mother mothers. It's Mother's Day in Germany, and for the first time in 17 years I get to spend it with my mum. Not because I'm a wonderful daughter who has just jetted over to Germany to surprise her with a visit and whisk her off on… Continue reading Mum
"All my babies come early" was a mantra I kept repeating to everyone that asked me when baby was due. "Officially middle of April, but I don't think I'll go much beyond 38 weeks." Conceived wisdom has it that this is something you don't do. Put your dates back, never forwards. Except that we had… Continue reading In Praise of the Post-Date Baby – Freddie’s Birth at 41 Weeks
Rest... if there's one thing that's hard to come by in our busy culture it's this. It smacks of laziness, lack of productivity, skiving. If you're like me, you've got an internal slave driver that kicks in the moment you sit down to enumerate all the undone tasks, all the ways in which you could,… Continue reading Rest
European governments are taking increasingly stringent measures to address the threat of the Coronavirus. Only the UK appears to be dragging its feet, delaying the inevitable with potentially huge implications. I'm writing to the head of my children's school, asking her to add her voice to pressure our government into taking more decisive action, quickly.… Continue reading COVID-19 Open Letter to Headteacher
Counting is a rudimentary mathematical skill, but in the UK's general elections, some votes count more than others. Whatever else can be said about yesterday's results, they highlight the need for urgent electoral reform. I don't normally venture into the murky world of politics in my blog posts, but today I'll risk it in order… Continue reading Your Vote – Now It Counts, Now It Doesn’t
We all want our children to listen well, but how do they learn this vital skill? As we dig up the soil to look at the roots, we find that the ability to listen is closely connected with a toddler's emotional and social development - and that active music is like a superfood that helps boost their learning.
Breathing in the midst of chaos I’m standing in the kitchen holding my crying 2 ½ year old. Sobs are bubbling up from deep down, racking her little body and I can feel her heart galloping along at breakneck speed. But she’s letting me hold her, which is good. Better than the last twenty minutes,… Continue reading Tantrum
Hearing is just one of our five senses, one we often take for granted. Why is it crucial for early childhood development, and how do we get from hearing - indiscriminately taking in sound - to listening - deliberately processing the noise that's important to our survival and well-being? Read about the importance of the… Continue reading Learning to Listen Part 1: From Day One
Funding for music education continues to be slashed. But this may be more counterproductive than we realise. A man is walking his dog in the woods when he hears the deep "thud, thud" of an axe on wood. Sure enough, a little later he comes across a man chopping down a tree. The woodcutter is… Continue reading Smart Education – Could Music Be THE Vital Ingredient?
"Music for Life" is our motto at the Len Tyler Music School. Read on to find out what first got me passionate about teaching here and what drives our ongoing quest to be the best we can for the benefit of the children that come to us. I first came across the Len Tyler Music… Continue reading “Music for Life” means Music for Everyone
Weaving Rainbows 