Posted October 20, 2009
We called our maternal grandmother Goppy. She grew up in San Francisco and lived through the great earthquake of 1906. She credited her longevity of 101 years to her favorite breakfast: vanilla ice cream and brandy! She was a lover of music all her life and was so proud of the work Kindermusik educators do. She would frequently remind me, usually a bit sternly, "Take care of those ladies, Michael." When your 98 year-old grandmother tells you that, you listen!
So I was particularly moved when I opened a package on my desk one day a few years ago, from Goppy. At her age, I knew she didn’t make it to the Post Office very often. Inside was Kindergarten Chimes, A Collection of Songs and Games Composed and Arranged for Kindergartens and Primary Schools. Written by Kate Douglas Wiggin, it was published in 1885. Yes, that’s not a typo, 1885. It was Goppy’s own Kindergarten music book. I am struck by the timeless advice and counsel of this text. The musical loving kindness of Ms. Wiggin is as current today as it was visionary when published.
Ms. Wiggin, at just 29-years old, penned this collection a few years after founding her Silver Street Kindergarten, in the slums of San Francisco, as the first free public kindergarten in the United States. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because she went on to write the beloved children’s classic, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, in 1903. Throughout her life, she was a tireless advocate of early childhood education and the rights of children, both topics nearly heretical at the time.
This precious gift sits each day, patiently, in my office. When the rush of life slows and I remember to sit down with it, a sense of awe and a tear greet me with every turn of page. For the strength of two women, one known and loved, the other fatefully embodied in my life’s calling, lie quietly within. In tribute to all our past, present and future Kindermusik licensed educators, who devote their own lives to the great benefit of children and families, I share with you Ms. Wiggin’s dedication of her book which captures what Kindermusik is at our very core:
when the yellow hair shall have changed to silver,
San Francisco, June, 1885.
-by CEO of Kindermusik International, Michael Dougherty.