![]() ![]() Singing has always been a strong tool for building community. I take my friend in my arms and I hold her.” Of course, we then had to go on and sing verses for our daddy, our sister, and our puppy. When Vicky had a hard time separating from her dad one morning, we all solemnly sang The Comfort Song – “what should I do if my best friend is crying? What should I do? I don’t know what to say. Singing infused my classroom with good feelings. Why not use this extra time at home to do some singing with your children while they are home from school and spending lots of time with you Well if you want to sing out, sing out With these benefits in mind, I thought that it would be helpful for parents to read a post that I once put on my blog about singing with children in school. ![]() According to the research, singing lowers cortisol and relieves stress and tension, boosts confidence, and, because it is a mindful activity, allows you to live completely in the moment and distracts your mind from negative thoughts. I found a wonderful website called the Sing Up Foundation that outlines some of the benefits of singing. However, I was more curious to see if singing could have other benefits that help us in dealing with the stress of living in a world suffering from a pandemic. I always knew that singing together can be a lot of fun and helps foster community in classrooms. Renee’s blog, It's Investigating Choice Time: Inquiry, Exploration and Play can be found at Renée lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the artist, Simon Dinnerstein. This coming March 2019, the book will be published in Mandarin by the Beijing Normal University Press. Her book, Choice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, was published by Heinemann in August, 2016. She received the Bank Street Early Childhood Educator of the Year Award in 1999. She was the teacher-director of the Children’s School early childhood inclusion annex and worked also as an Early Childhood Staff Developer in the New York City Department of Education, Division of Instructional Support, where she wrote curriculum, led study groups and summer institutes, and helped write the New York City Pre Kindergarten Standards. She has taught both in Italy and the United States and has spent eighteen years as an early childhood teacher at P,S, 321, one of New York City’s leading elementary schools. Renée Dinnerstein has over 50 years experience as an early childhood educator. ![]()
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