Writing My Weekly Blog Entry. Also, My House is Clean. Don't Ask About the Other Goals.

Talmage has never really liked music. This was a little heartbreaking to me as a mother, because in addition to the few songs I made up to sing my child, I still remembered a shocking number of songs that I learned as a preschooler. I kept "Five Little Ducks" in my brain because I knew my kids would love the story as much as I did. Tal let me begin the song where the five little ducks go out to play and fewer of the ducks obey their mother and return when she calls. But he stopped me long before the twist ending when the angry Daddy duck comes out and the baby ducks run back. "Stop, mom," he'd say. "No more singing."

In fact, this post was so adorable, not because of Tal's adorable baby cheeks or backwards humongous whale, but because I think this is the first song I ever heard Talmage sing. And he sang it because it was introduced by magic Aunt Barbara, the source of all things good and wonderful.

Asher, however, does my inner thespian heart proud. Asher LOVES to sing, although he does have his preferences. I used to sing him hymns at night, until he discovered "The Wheels on the Bus" at which point the songs of the restoration got a firm veto. I'd begin, "Come, come, ye saints . . ." and Asher would demand, "BUS! BUS! BUS!" I tell you what, those wheels have been going round and round for the last nine months. He still loves the bus song, but his repertoire has expanded to "Miss Polly," "Pat-a-Cake," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and, of course, "Five Little Ducks"--all songs Talmage never learned because he'd cut me off before I got through the first line.

I decided to support the little performer and signed him up for Kindermusik. Now I was a little worried, because the classes for my almost two year old cost a pretty penny. Would it be worth it? Would Asher spend the entire time running around the room, ignoring the organized activities like my older son would have at that age? Would music improve Asher's ability to think, reason, create, and express, as their website advertised? Would the German spelling of music turn my budding musician into the Mozart he promises to be?

Asher is the valedictorian of Kindermusik.

He dances around the room. He does every action to every song. He beams when they bring the bells out. He beams as he puts them away. He giggles, he laughs, he rolls, he bounces. He shines.

When we got home from the first class with our kit of take-home supplies, Talmage, Asher, and I pulled out the complimentary picture book. We curled up on the couch to look at the words where there was a line of text to be read aloud followed by a line of text to be sung. After I got through two pages with Asher trying to sing every third word, Talmage turned to me and asked, "Mom, can you stop doing the singing parts?"