There is a ritual that has developed in our house. During dinner clean-up the girls want to have a dance party. This probably developed due to that fact that my husband and I both tend to turn on loud music while cleaning. So while the plates are being cleared someone ends up in charge of playing DJ on Rhapsody with everyone calling out requests. Daddy is a classic rock guy… preferring music from before we were born, Bug bounces between screechy guitars and folksy guitars, Fairy loves pop… something with a beat (please don’t start humming Bad Romance… I can’t get that song out of head once it starts) and Pixie will take anything even classical (Swan Lake is good for ballet practice of course). These photos were taken while a play list of The Shins and Iron and Wine was playing (although her favorites include what my husband has dubbed the "ugg play-list" The Bangles, Cindi Lauper, Go-Gos, etc). Just as I am always amazed by these little people developing their tastes in books, movies and games… their foray into music is equally exciting to witness. Bug and Fairy’s recent heated discussion on the merits of Soul Asylum versus Aerosmith, in choosing a cd for a car ride, was entertaining to say the least. I think Mommy won that one with a little Bare Naked Ladies ;).
But the dance parties start with Pixie shoving the ottoman out of her way. She will then dance her little heart. Often Fairy and I will join in… sometimes even Bug or Daddy but Pixie is perfectly happy with her solo opts too. She spins and twirls watching her reflection in the tv… which we have determined does not infringe on our "nothing with a screen" time rules. Ohhh… the pure joy and freedom of a dancing 4 year old! What do your little ones like to rock out to?
When the children were young, I exposed them to all kinds of music. They knew Glenn Miller songs from Nana and Papa’s generation. They knew all the Beatles songs, plus discovered the talents of other artist from my generation like James Taylor, John Denver, Crosby, Stills Nash and Young and Alice Cooper, to name a few. Then their was the contemporary music and we listen to Bon Jovi and Aerosmith and "the girls" like Debbie Gibson, Tiffany and Belinda Carlyle. I remember sitting around with a group of 4th graders listening to the album "Cloud Nine"… a come back album for George Harrison. Michelle’s friends loved "I’ve Got My Mind Set On You". When I pulled out some old Beatles’ albums, I could not convince them that THERE George Harrison was the same as MY George Harrison 🙂
But the children also embraced classical music and show tunes. So much beauty in all music! (Okay… hate to admit it, but I’m not a fan of opera music, so they had little exposure to that!) My children grew up on show tunes, and to this day my boys enjoy a good musical. (You’re welcome to their significant others 🙂 I remember I did pull the album "Best Little Whore House in Texas" off the shelf when 4 year old Drew started singing in the grocery store at the top of his lungs… "It’s just an itty bitty pissin’ country place, nothin’ much to see". Yikes! Who knew he was paying that much attention 🙂
Your pictures are so sweet! We do this in our home, too! We call it “After-Dinner Disco” and it happens nearly every night while we are doing the washing up. All four of us dance our hearts out and our younger son (at 4) is the most dedicated. If we stop boogying for a moment, he’ll shout, “Mama, dance! Dance, Mama dance!” For us it’s everything from Beethoven to Michael Franti. Asher particularly loves Shakira. It’s so fun to see how exuberantly my children encounter new music. This is one of my favorite family rituals.