One of the best things a child can have is a good beginning. That’s because the early years are the most impressionable and formative for a child. At Kindermusik International, we believe this so strongly that we chose as our tagline “a good beginning never ends”.
Though we primarily focus on supporting Kindermusik programs around the globe, we’re always looking for ways to make children’s lives better and do what we can to get children off to a great start. This led to our Good Beginnings Grant Program, which was open to anyone–both Kindermusik educators and non-educators as well–in the U.S. and Canada who had a good idea for a project that would benefit the lives of children. We allowed the public to vote on the projects they liked the most.
The response was overwhelming. In the end, over half a million votes were cast in the space of just over one month. Kindermusik educator Katie Henderson of Bloomington, Illinois, is leading one of the winning projects. Her project was to provide a bilingual Kindermusik class for low income Hispanic families in her area. We recently received a wonderful note from Katie, and wanted to share an excerpt here.
“Music Connections is in its 17th year of offering Kindermusik in central Illinois. We consist of a passionate team of 10 educators who have witnessed the profound ‘Kindermusik difference’ in ‘normal,’ middle-class families. We are committed to finding a way to provide these benefits on a larger scale to children and families who have special needs and cannot afford our program. We have witnessed, firsthand, how language is greatly enhanced in normal children who are experiencing the song-rich, literature-rich environment of Kindermusik. We are SO excited by the gains the Spanish-speaking children in this project will make as they have a joyful, loving experience with their parents, our teaching team, and other volunteer English-speaking moms who can model and connect with them.”
Kindermusik International is very excited that we could play a small role in making this happen. But the real credit lies with Katie and her team. Keep up the great work! Check out the Music Connections website to learn more about Katie’s program.
Check back here at Minds on Music for regular features on the progress of our Good Beginnings grant winners.