Parent Resources 

Scroll Down for Resources

in Boulder and No Co.

 Enjoy reading reviews by Hula Frog editors that took 
Music Together® classes with their children!

Gift Certificates

Give the gift of Music Together for your friends or family.

 Call to purchase your certificates.  Boulder: (303) 413-1120 

Music Together® Storybooks

Come Sing, Read and Play with Us!

Based on songs from the Music Together song collections, these beautifully illustrated picture books inspire singing, pre-literacy learning, and imaginative play between children and their favorite adults.

Seven different books available!  Click Here to learn more or purchase books.

  Watch A Video on How to Use the "Hello Everybody" App

Resources in the Community 

Childish Things (used clothing/toy store in Boulder): http://www.childishthingsconsign.com/

Moxie Moms of Boulder - Susan Lavelle - owner: http://www.moxie-moms.com/

Stephanie Dueger: Offering Psychotherapy (Boulder_ for new/expectant families - dr.dueger.com and Parenting Coaching Classes (International) preparedforparenthood.com

Boulder Piano Gallery: http://www.boulderpianogallery.com/

Boomer Music Company in Fort Collins: http://www.boomermusiccompany.com/

Swim•Float•Swim! - Longmont Infant Aquatics: http://www.swimfloatswim.com/

Macaroni Kid Boulder and NoCo- A wonderful resource for child friendly activities in your area:  macaronikid.com

Hulafrog Boulder - another great resource for child friendly activities: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1&q=hulafrog+boulder

Hulafrog Fort Collins: https://hulafrog.com/fort-collins-co

Rock Band/Camps/Classes for Older Youth, Teens, Adults: https://www.performanceplaymusic.com/

Additional Books about Music and Literacy and Togetherness through the Arts:https://www.wearemorealike.us/

Jane Smolens Presents at the American Music Research Center's "Your Brain Needs Music" Symposium 

Click Here to watch video

Articles by Jane Smolens

"Early Musical Exposure has Speech/Language Benefits"

(Written by Jane Smolens & Published in Boulder County Kids Fall 2013)

Sammy is a two-and-a-half-year-old little boy full of vigor and curiosity. At the age of seven months he was adopted from Taiwan by his English-speaking family and brought back to Boulder. Surrounded by Mandarin speakers in the orphanage for the first seven months of his life, Sammy showed early signs of language delays. Well into his first year in his new home, Sammy was unable to formulate words and could only communicate through hand signing and “grunting.” Despite his high level of intelligence and ability to understand the English language, Sammy became increasingly frustrated in his efforts to formulate words.

At the recommendation of his speech therapist, Sammy’s mother enrolled him in an early childhood music and movement program in Boulder. After 3 weeks of participation (which included singing, movement, instrument play in an interactive parent/child group environment), Sammy not only began to sing the words to the songs but also began to put words together to form sentences! Perhaps the musicality of Mandarin provided fertile ground for the music/language connection. Perhaps the interaction with other children and families provided role models for communication. Or, perhaps the integration of the music with movement helped Sammy make new found connections with his body and sense of self. Whatever the reason, Sammy’s experience is a powerful testimonial to the effect that music can have on language development.

Sammy’s story is not limited to children with special needs. Many parents have experienced the ways in which their child’s language development has blossomed as a direct result of early childhood music classes. Anecdotes about children being able to sing the words to a song before being able to speak. Stories about increased attention span, listening skills, vocabulary and creativity. The list goes on and connections are being made in a playful environment.

What is this powerful relationship between language and music, and how can parents maximize this window of opportunity to its fullest?

Children are born wired to be musical and to express themselves musically. From a global/human perspective, all cultures have their unique form of musical expression. From an evolutionary/biological perspective, primitive language was thought to be “sung” and gradually evolved into the spoken word. From a neurological perspective, music integrates both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. As David Lazear, author of “Seven Ways of Knowing” states “by connecting sound, movement, speech, and interaction with a musical component, it is possible to activate and integrate more of the brain than with any other educational tool.” 

Many parallels can be drawn between music and language reception and production. Both language and musical development involve active listening. As we are continually surrounded by extraneous sound in our environment, the ability to listen with discernment is important for both language, music and general focus.

By exposing children to a variety of sound, rhythm and tonality at an early age, children learn to pay attention to and decipher their aural environment. In the spoken word, phonological awareness is a child’s ability to break down the parts of a word which is an essential pre-reading skill. In music, rhythmic and tonal patterns allow a child to break down a song into its essential parts. The parts of the word become a sentence within the context of a whole story. The parts of a rhythm or tonal pattern become a musical phrase within the context of a whole song or piece of music.  Through playful experimentation with their sound and voice, children of all ages can deepen their listening and expressive capabilities. Babies will begin to babble musically, toddlers will use language and music to assert their developing sense of self;  preschoolers can use music and language to develop their personal expression and creativity.  

The production of speech requires the coordination of muscle groups, the ability to think ahead and imagine what you are going to say before saying it. By learning “self talk” (talking about what you are doing) children eventually internalize their actions and reduce impulsivity. Music slows this process down and provides a sense of rhythm and predictability. The coordination of breath involved with singing internalizes this process and provides focus and foundation. When children sing about what they are doing, they are able to make this mind/body connection in a playful way.  This helps with memory, sequencing, impulse control and sense of self. 

Early exposure and active participation are critical for optimizing these music and language benefits. Both music and language have early critical windows of development. Listening to music is wonderful, but providing your child with opportunities to playfully experiment musically creates the most connections.

These connections go beyond the notion that “music makes you smarter” or can raise test scores or academic performance. Music is truly a “language” unto itself. On a much deeper level, music is a way of knowing and experiencing beyond the spoken word. Music for music’s sake is central to appreciating these extra-musical benefits. Through sound, tone, color, rhythm and feeling, music can take us to a place beyond words. This is what drives us, and this is what makes us human.

Jane Smolens, M.Ed is the director of Mountain Song Music Studio, Inc. She directs and teaches the Music Together® Program at the Boulder Piano Gallery on 30th and Walnut. Please call (303) 413-1120 or email Jane for questions.

Sources: The Genesis of Music and Language by Brian Levman

Music and Language: The Good News by Lynn Ransom

44 Intelligence Builders for Every Student by David Lazear 

Special thanks to Kristina Lane, M.A. CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist and Music Together® LLC, and Susan Boennighausen.