Singer coming to libraries is in tune with early learners

My grandmother was born in 1898. She grew up on a ranch near the Columbia River, on land later flooded by construction of the Grand Coulee Dam.

An independent lady who rode horses all her life, she died in 1968 when I was in junior high. Her name was Lorraine, but we grandkids called her “Nan.” I thought of my spirited grandmother while talking with Nancy Stewart.

A Mercer Island singer- songwriter, Stewart is the founder of a project called “Sing With Our Kids.” With a website and her outreach to libraries and preschools, Stewart’s project aims to foster early learning through music.

Starting Friday, Stewart, 63, will visit five Sno-Isle Libraries to share with grandparents songs and tips for having fun with grandkids while helping them learn. She’ll present her “Read &Sing With Your Grandkids” program at 4 p.m. Friday at the Lynnwood Library. Next month, on different days, the program will come to Sno-Isle’s libraries in Brier, Mountlake Terrace, Snohomish and Mukilteo.

Talking with Stewart this week, my memory was jogged at the mention of traditional songs she shares. Some of them — “Home on the Range,” “Red River Valley,” “Buffalo Gals” — were favorites of my grandmother, who loved the cowboy music she was raised with. She had these songs on old records we were allowed to play at her house. That was 50 years ago, but I haven’t forgotten those songs.

I’m certain my Nan never used the word “interactive.” But Stewart, who represents a younger generation of grandparents, said simple songs with memorable lyrics aren’t just fun, they’re low-tech two-way communication.

“So much research has been done since we’ve grown up. Grandparents intuitively know how important music is,” said Stewart, whose four grandchildren are 2 months to 6 years old. “So many things are competing for everybody’s time, but just be there with children. Interact with them. Start singing, it’s interactive.”

Stewart, who grew up in Los Angeles, was a member of the folk music group Back Porch Majority in the 1960s. The group was founded by Randy Sparks, who also started the New Christy Minstrels, another popular folk ensemble of that era. A guitar player and singer-songwriter, Stewart toured with the Back Porch Majority for about a decade.

“For that time in my life, it was fantastic. Seattle was the first place we played together as a band,” Stewart said. Her parents were both teachers, and she planned to follow in their footsteps. “I got in that band, and that was that,” she said.

Today, she works twice a week as a music specialist at a Mercer Island preschool. She brings her “Sing With Our Kids” project to libraries, parks and other venues. On her website, there are free songs and other materials to help adults use music to connect with kids. Her target audience is infancy to age 5. “That’s when everything happens,” she said.

Hidden in silly songs are lessons in vocabulary and reading readiness.

When preschoolers sing the lyrics “I’m a little teapot short and stout. Here is my handle. Here is my spout,” they learn words along with the act-out motions that go with the song. “A lot of adults don’t know what ‘stout’ means,” Stewart said.

“Music organizes language into patterns. That’s why babies are so drawn to it. We are wired to respond to music,” she said.

A melody helps with memory, as any child who sings the ABCs to remember the alphabet knows.

Stewart’s Sno-Isle programs will also include tips for using technology. She talks about “the other side of screen time — what is not happening developmentally because a parent is on a cellphone.”

“Babies learn everything by interacting with adults,” she said.

I learned cowboy songs. Stewart remembers when everybody sang.

“Back then people really sang to survive — to get through work, or riding in the car,” she said. “You don’t realize the ramifications. Music is an instant connector.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Sing with kids

Singer-songwriter Nancy Stewart will present “Read &Sing With Your Grandkids” at five Sno-Isle Libraries. Aimed at an adult audience, the events will be held:

4 p.m. Friday, Lynnwood Library, 19200 44th Ave. W.

5:30 p.m. Dec. 2, Brier Library, 23303 Brier Road

6:30 p.m. Dec. 3, Mountlake Terrace Library, 23300 58th Ave. W.

7 p.m. Dec. 4, Snohomish Library, 311 Maple Ave.

4:30 p.m. Dec. 12, Mukilteo Library, 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd.

Learn about Stewart’s Sing With Our Kids Project at: http://singwithourkids.com