I had zealously pursued my degree in journalism, and didn’t want to be bothered with such a trivial course. But the day in that class that they played Smetana’s The Moldau, I was spellbound, replete with chills that coursed up and down my skin in time with the trills of the violins. A door opened for me that day, one that I had not realized existed, even though I’d taken violin and piano lessons for years. It was a door that opened up onto the power of creativity and the beauty and meaning of music.

Now, as a parent, I know that I have a great responsibility to help my children find that door too. At the very least, I have a deep-seated hope that they’ll have that epiphanic moment, the true awakening their creative juices. I, like other parents, teach them piano, expose them to good music in a variety of genres, and try creative tips like these offered by other moms who are successfully teaching their kids about music. A few more helpful tips were provided at a MomItForward Twitter Girls’ Night Out, sponsored by Quaker, a few months ago.

6 Tips for Strengthening a Kid’s Music Education

1. Plug into free online homeschool music teaching resources, some of which you can find just by googling.
2. Find out about the lives of the people that compose, write, or play the music you want your kids to learn. Gretta Johns of @TheJohnsFamily plays the piano and has 10-year-old and 7-year-old girls that play violin, a six year-old son that plays drum, and a husband that plays the guitar and mandolin. She says her kids learning about the artists has brought the music to life for them. AllMusic.com can be a good resource for this, says @Creep4Ward.
3. Know or make up stories to go with the music, if there are no vocals, says our own @jylmomIF. For instance, the Moldau portrays the course of a river.
4. Check out Quaver Music or Pfeiffer House Music, music curriculums for parents, both of which Gretta highly recommends.
5. Show examples of how “practice makes perfect,” says @jylmomIF, who adds: “Offer incentives. Validate a ton!”
6. Be consistent in your practice expectations, but provide your kids’ opportunities for choice, whether in song selection or reward.

 What is your favorite type of music? What are you doing to expose your children to good music?

This week’s #gno Twitter party provides excellent tips for how to help your kids celebrate the vast and diverse cultures in our world. And this week’s giveaway gives you a great start to help with that as well—with music!

Prizes

One winner will receive the Putumayo Kids Playground Collection, which includes 12 CDs with songs from around the world. ($180 Approximate Retail Value)

Putumayo Kids is the children’s and educational division of Putumayo World Music. The Putumayo Kids music team chooses songs with child-friendly lyrics and rhythms by both renowned and undiscovered international artists. The collections of songs are tested in schools and with families. An international music selection contributes to the education of future global citizens while holding true to Putumayo’s mission of sharing music that is “guaranteed to make you feel good”.

Entry Requirements

Please do the following three things to enter for a chance to win and leave a separate comment for each:

1. Visit Putumayo Kids, check out the various CDs in the Playground Collection, and leave a comment here, sharing the culture’s music you’d most like to expose your children to.
   X
2. Follow @putumayokids on Twitter.
   XXXX
3. Post these messages on Twitter and leave comments here with a link to your tweets:

GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 chance 2 win @putumayokids 12 CDs/kids’ songs from around world ($180 ARV) http://bit.ly/7KhrcI #gno PLS RT

Visit @putumayokids for awesome resources to raise culturally aware kids! http://putumayokids.com #gno PLS RT

Extra Entries

The following three entries are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry each. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

1. Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
2. Become a Friend of Mom It Forward’s Google Friend Connect (see box in right sidebar).
3. Subscribe to the Mom It Forward RSS feed (click on orange heart at the top of the right sidebar).

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Mom It Forward and Putumayo Kids employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Wednesday, January 27 at midnight PT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older. One entry per person.

For a complete listing of sweepstakes terms and conditions, please click here.