Sing With Our Kids is a Research Project!

Research, research, research!

In addition to being a resource website, SingWithOurKids.com is a research project. And that's why I've been passionate about including a nine-month pilot project in my own community as part of those resources.. Our culture and so many things about it have changed, especially when it comes to raising our children. And it just feels to me like it's time to take our pulse, to reassess; to adjust our thinking and our actions. So here are the questions I hope to if not answer, at least spark a conversation about. It's already happening. Everywhere I go as we talk about the project, the questions below arise. Together, over the next nine months, let's work together to try to find answers and solutions!

We don't need an official study to answer most of the questions below, but documenting this project will certainly add to the conversation and perhaps result in a ripple effect for positive changes (more singing!).

So here are the questions we will be asking and documenting:

1. Do we sing less with our children? (we already know the answer to that!)
2. If the answer is yes, (yes it is!), does it matter, and if so, why? ( we already know the answer to that, too!)
3. Do parents, teachers, and care providers know all of the benefits of singing with children? (again, I can tell you from my work, the answer is no!)
4. So here is the really big unanswered question...

If parents and care providers knew how important singing is to the development of young children (and all human beings!), would it make a difference? If they had the knowledge, and were given all the songs and tools, would they use them?

I am an optimist, as anyone who knows me can attest. So I believe the answer to that big unanswered question is YES! But I am also a realist, and I also know it's going to take a lot of work to make a difference. I believe it will take every bit of the nine months scheduled to change habits and behaviors. I believe this can only be accomplished with a BIG, BOLD, project with HIGH VISIBILITY and a LOT of HELP FROM YOU!!

So I hope you will participate in Sing With Our Kids. Here are some of the ways you can do that:

1. Go to www.SingWithOurKids.com and sign up for updates, or leave comments
2. Use the website, and share it with teachers, parents, grandparents, and caregivers
3. Click on the Indiegogo link( Indiegogo Sing With Our Kids Campaign )and watch the video, and read about the project. The fundraiser will only be going on during September.
4. Make a donation, however small, and or leave a comment. Comment about how you sing with your kids, how you remember your parents singing with you, camp memories, how excited you are about the project, anything that might inspire others to sing with their kids!

This is important work we are all doing, raising our children and building our future community. And there is no doubt that singing makes that important work more joyful, more fun, and more productive!