Letters From Noe’s Garden
Bring Warmth and Wonder to Family Life
A Daily Gratitude Practice for Little Ones – Mealtime Blessings
Sometimes parents ask me how they can best nurture the spiritual life of their children. For those of us who identify as belonging to any particular faith tradition, or who might call ourselves “spiritual, but not religious,” this question has a special urgency. When...
Peek Inside the Meadowlark Workshop – A Unicorn is Born!
So, this summer, to go along with our new Meadowlark Music Class album, I made a unicorn. Yeah, I know… I’m a grown up. I’m probably supposed to be over unicorns. But the thing is, first of all, I am not. Second of all, I have somehow found my way into a line or...
A Sweet Love Ritual
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of playing at the birthday party of an adorable little girl who was turning one. I always love the chance to bring Meadowlark Music Circle to a birthday. It’s a fun and interesting challenge to bring music to a whole lot of people...
A song for holding tight… and letting go
In my classes, my favorite moment is nearly always the check-in. I include this moment in every class I teach, because I love hearing from you. I'm always moved by how much we have in common - both in our struggles and in our striving. Lately, there's a theme that's...
A Magic Spell for Plane Flights
We’ve all been there… You’re setting off on a trip with your baby or toddler, and you’ve thought of EVERYTHING. You’ve got the diapers. The clothes. The white noise machine. Then there are the entertainments. Books, finger puppets, sticker books, rattles and...
Oh to be in Oleanna, that’s where I’d rather be!
Oleanna, as it is described in the old folk song of the same name, is a land where life is easy. It's an idea of paradise cast in the mold of an earlier, maybe simpler time. In Oleanna, the streets flow with beer. Cows milk themselves. And when you’re hungry, pigs...
A Fairy Says Look Closer – Finding Wonder in the Natural World
As an educator who emphasizes wonder in my teaching, people sometimes ask me about the fairies. Why sing songs about fairies? Why now? It might sound a little quaint. Is this just escapism? Cuteness? A whitewashing of the true complexity of the world? Won’t our...
Sweet Surrender
A friend of mine is about to give birth to her second child. For her first birth, she tried a home birth, but this time, she’s giving birth in a hospital. Like a lot of us who make this choice, she’s feeling a need to bring as much consciousness and intentionality...
The Mischief and Magic of Midsummer
Happy Solstice, everyone! Today my four year old was walking around carrying an alarm clock, saying, "my mischief clock is about to go off. When my mischief clock goes off, that's how I know it's time to start my mischief." Little does he know, he's right on time! As...
Sandy Land– a song for planting potatoes, or just dancing in the backyard
Want to bring more music into your life with young children? How about starting your own Family Music Time! You don't need to know play an instrument. Just bring the family together and sing a few of the songs you love. One of my friends keeps it really simple....