Pomelody - Music for Toddlers

Finn is my musical child, he was born with rhythm and he just loves to dance.  He dances to pop and heavy metal, to the sound of Daddy's coffee machine and to his sister's heartbeat at the antenatal scans.  At two years old, we haven't started him down any musical paths just yet but new music E-learning program Pomelody could be what we have been looking for.

Professional musicians Anna and Adam have designed the world's first E-learning music platform for infants, toddlers and preschoolers designed to bring fun family-bonding music education to children and parents globally.

They recently launched with a Kickstarter campaign and have smashed their initial $30,000 target within 10 days so they are now aiming for their stretch goal of $55,000 which will develop an institutional version of the platform giving free access to underpriviledged children, such as those in orphanages all over the world.

Adam, Weber founder of Pomelody, said: 

“Music is such a powerful medium to stimulate a child’s imagination. Its benefits stretch way beyond childhood with many reports suggesting that it can boost an individual’s adult IQ by up to 18%, compared to children with no early years music exposure. Whilst this is motivation in itself, it's the sheer joy and bonding between a child and its parents that makes interacting with music so magical. With Pomelody we have a created a unique opportunity for families to bond, to learn, to have fun and to stimulate the next generation. We are very excited to bring this project to market and, fingers crossed, we can achieve our stretch goal and give free access to underprivileged children around the world.”

As a parent I know how much music can be a bonding experience.  We love to throw living room discos in the evenings, dancing around together to our favourite tunes and the children and I have formed countless bands with our collection of toy instruments.  My musical knowledge is very limited and I love the idea of something we can learn together.

What do you get as a series backer of Pomelody? (Kickstarter special price $109 instead of $149)


· Collection of 25 songs - composed, recorded and produced with 12 different bands / artists
· 10 Pomelody classes recorded
· One songbook
· 3 animated lectures with music theory for parents
· Animated stories

Do you use music as a way to bond with your children?

Collaborative Post

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Folk Week Fun

This past week, a local town have been hosting their annual 'Folk Week'.  The bloke and I got together during Folk Week and are both huge fans, as we have always taken the week off of work to enjoy it fully.  Bands play, stall holders sell their wares, Morris dancers line the seafront and there is a general atmosphere of summer, relaxation and good company.

We spend time with friends in beer gardens, getting up to dance with the boys when the folk bands play.  We pop down to the beach and enjoy building sandcastles and paddling in the sea.  We wander along taking in the magicians, jugglers, dancers and buskers and we most certainly indulge in some 'folk week fudge'.

We watch the parades, point out the hobby horses and feed our pennies to Clarence the dragon.  We took Dylan's little bike and zoomed around the quiet roads, strengthening the little dude's legs after his break.

Once the little ones are safely tucked up in bed, we take it in turn to enjoy an evening out on the busy seafront, sitting outside with cider in plastic cups and catching up with friends old and new.  Some nights we kept the boys out later, an evening picnic on the beach or in the park followed by live music at the bandstand until we are all ready to retire to our beds.

Dylan learn to walk again, and more importantly, learnt to dance again, loving the kids club put on every morning and the stick banging music.  We spent every day out, as a family enjoying each others company and meeting up with friends.  

Folk Week is our favourite week of the year, the atmosphere, the location, the familiarity, the smells, the sounds and of course the delicious fudge.

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Life of a Foetus

It must be a bit of an easy life in the womb; lovely and cosy, fed on demand and nobody stopping you napping as you please.  Yes, there is plenty of growing to be done but no other worries as you are doing it.  Now that Squish can here what is going on outside the womb though, I wonder whether the things I do during my pregnancy affect the child that will be born.

As an unborn baby Dylan has heard plenty of live music including Less than Jake, Jimmy Eat World and Feeder.  It was when we went to a heavy metal gig that he decided to join in the moshing though and he is definitely a fan of a heavy beat now, often rocking an air guitar as well as the head bopping.  He went to see live comedians and travelled all the way to Morocco as a 25 week old bump,  where we enjoyed bartering in the souks, munching on tagine and camel riding (I realise this wasn't the most sensible idea but I couldn't resist).  Did any of this help shape the person he would become?

Squish is not being left out and has already

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What was top of the pops the day your child was born?

On the day Dylan was born the last thing on my mind was what was top of the pops.  In fact, since I turned 13 I haven't been too interested in it.  Rock music is more my thing, and although I enjoy how catchy some of the pop music is, I am definitely not in touch with the charts.

The number one was in fact JLS (feat Dev) She Make me Wanna.

http://youtu.be/FuwTgZOKcf8

 

In fact I do know this song, and it's not too bad for a dance around the living room, but

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