Giggles

We love a good laugh! A stress-reliever and perspective-giver, laughter has been proven, medically, to be beneficial to our overall health. And getting a good dose of the giggles helps us relate to others around us. It's a practice we believe should be encouraged with our children early on and throughout life. Sometimes, being silly enough to inspire the giggles brings a connection to learning, school, each other, and to you like nothing else can.

Our early childhood tune this issue is a venture into this lighthearted topic. Opportunities to interject silliness and laughter abound! Youngest singers will like the bouncy rhythmic repetition of the chorus. So be sure they really sing out, even adding a little dancing/freestyle movement to enhance their fun. During the sections with no singing, see if you can't get them to start giggling by beginning yourself. Even make it a game. For example, you laugh and touch or point to the next person who needs to join you. This will be so silly, that natural laughter is bound to ensue!

(If you do a search on the Internet for the benefits of laughter, you will learn that, among other things, it lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, improves cardiac health, boosts immunity, triggers the release of endorphins, and gives us a general sense of well being. So go ahead. Giggle!)