The Rocker

For Christmas her grandmother gave her a blue dog that she can ride on. Well, really she just rocks on the thing, and it'd be fair to call it a Rocking Dog, as opposed to a rocking horse. But when she wants to get on it, she'll go stand next to it, and make her attempt to say "rock" which tends to sound more like "raw". Anyway, she'll get on that thing and just keep on rockin' and talkin'. To make things better for her, she frequently prefers to be on the dog with a book, or maybe a blanket. She's got her priorities set.

So, combine that rocking desire with a glider (which is a rocking chair of a form, but for adults) which is in her room, or the rocking chair in the front room… and you've got a little girl who likes to rock. With parental supervision of course, she'll get into one of them, hold onto the arms of the chair, and start rocking. I'll be curious when summer rolls around so that we can take her to the park and try out a swing. Probably still too small to go by herself, but it'll be fun.

Just yesterday we're in the car headed somewhere, and we've got a song that I really like playing. Personally, I'm a head-bobber when it comes to enjoying music. I know other people that are a bit more uh…. eccentric when it comes to dancing (you people who stick out your pinkies are the weirdest ones). So, with the fairly obvious beat of the song, and a Friday-induced good mood, I'm enjoying the song by bobbing my head while driving along. I look back in the mirror and see Cecilia sitting in her car seat doing just as I'm doing…. bobbing her head. She may not have the best beat yet, but that's okay… just as long as she's feelin' it.

On a slight side note, but somewhat related, I wanted to talk a little about kids and music. Recently at work I've been talking with a coworker about this same topic. What I wanted to cover was a theory that I have about them. You've seen some people that just couldn't find a beat if it were attached to their nose. Latino music tends to have a very clear and intentional beat. From my limited exposure, it is a rare latino child that can't find a beat. I highly doubt that this ability has anything to do with ethnicity, but more so with exposure to the variety of music. The more that kids have a chance to experience an obvious beat and be able to move according to that beat, the more likely it is that they'll be able to do it later. I'm not saying that Sarah Vaughan is latina, but the remix of her song carry a clear beat, similar to most latino music.

So, here yesterday before we got in the car and had that head-bobbing experience, Cecilia was sitting at the computer with me. Carrying on a practice that I have done before of letting kids feel the speakers as music plays, I did the same with Cecilia. The computer speakers don't have a covering over the cone, so they're kind of fun to touch while music is playing. It's great to be able to incorporate another of the senses while experiencing music. If it's possible to literally FEEL music, as well as hear it, or even SEE it (by way of the visualizer in the music-playing program), it can only help in finding or experiencing that beat, and further enhancing the music experience.

Overall though, it's just fun to see her grow as a little person. Things really seemed to pick up when she began walking. Whether rocking on her dog, or rocking to music, it just makes her seem that much older.