Made up of a programme of 4 sessions at each of 20 parent and toddler groups across the Highlands, 10 seminars for childcare workers and the production of a resource CD, Learning with Lullabies aimed “to encourage parents to use singing and lullabies to bond and communicate with their young children; building confidence as parents and developing their musical awareness”

Working on kist o dreams had resulted in me being invited to sing, speak and give presentations at childcare conferences, one of which was the annual general meeting of Highland Pre-School Services.

At the time, HPS was looking for ways to involve more music and song in their provision for under 3s and the adults who care for them and at the same time, the Scottish Arts Council was offering funding to partnerships (a number of groups working together on one project) for music development for that very age group.

Ann Brady, HPS Chief Executive, drew together partners Skye and Lochalsh Childcare and Family Resource Partnership and Inverness Childcare and Family Resource Partnership and formed the structure of Learning with Lullabies, and Highland Council was able to offer assistance in kind in the form of Bob Pegg's input recording and producing the Bairn's Kist CD, so the project was given the green light.

Research for the sessions was partly in the form of making sure I had all the songs I needed for the different aspects of each session and partly reminding myself of the specific requirements and capabilities of children at different stages within the 0-3 years age group.

 

Despite me no longer having a child of the correct age, Eden Court staff were happy to let me join in with their sessions for this age group in dance and drama and I was able to consult with other specialists such as music teacher Monica Neeling, a paediatric physiotherapist and daycare staff.

 

As it happened, the age range of groups varied wildly, since older siblings are welcome to join in, so flexibility turned out to one of my most useful tools.

 

By the end of 2007, over 100 individual children and nearly as many adults had taken part and every parent and toddler group which is a member of CALA (the Care and Learning Alliance, which grew from the foundation of HPS to include after-school and out of school care) has a copy of Bairn's Kist.

 

You can read a more detailed report of Learning with Lullabies here: www.kistodreams.org/learning_with_lullabies_g.asp