"I like Calming Breaths…. [a friend] is also working on his personal space and he can't really handle it so I use Stop Hands every day."
– Kindergarten Student
"When somebody yells, we use Stop Hands and then we all come back and sit and do a Redo."
– Kindergarten Student
"I like This Little Light of Mine… and I like all of them…. I do deep breath sounds [Calming Breaths] when I get scared at night sometimes."
– Kindergarten Student
" I can't say enough [hands to heart gesture] about Mrs D in Musical Moments and how amazing the program is. It's so beneficial for our kin-dees. It's crucial for helping them develop those social emotional skills."
– Kindergarten Teacher
"… not only did you teach him how to use the strategies …he's now teaching another friend how to use the strategies. They are taking the skills and these strategies into themselves without us prompting!"
– Kindergarten Teacher
"It's nice to see them reminding me when I'm frustrated or angry or spoke a little too loud. They're always reminding me to take some Calming Breaths, and that's important for them to teach their families at home too."
– Kindergarten Teacher
" …it's so engaging and so important for us to model, and for them to model at home because a lot's going on at home as well."
– Kindergarten Teacher
"… not only did you teach him how to use the strategies …he's now teaching another friend how to use the strategies. They are taking the skills and these strategies into themselves without us prompting!"
– Kindergarten Teacher
"…to see the kids now interacting without our prompts is amazing! So that's the kids teaching each other, so it's been a domino effect. You’re giving to us and we're giving back to them; it just keeps going around."
– Kindergarten Teacher
"I also feel like there's a gap sometimes between the Core Curriculum that's being taught, and then just teaching the students how to ground themselves emotionally and socially and connecting all of that. So it's that missing piece that you've brought to us, and the programs brought to us."
– Kindergarten Teacher
"We always like a good Redo because we talk a lot, I think, and sometimes you need to see it redone so to take the time to redo something really models the behavior."
– Kindergarten Teacher
"We love the program so much!"
– Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. D’s extensive background in both education and music have come together to create the Musical Moments curriculum. She has an innate ability to bring young children together to sing, laugh, dance, and learn. Her focus on social-emotional development is unique to her music program and is a much needed resource for the early childhood community. The children continue to sing and practice their learned skills long after the lessons have ended. – Barb Price, Child Care and Education Director, Bright Horizons
The students took ownership and sang with pride. Mrs. D taught the learning concepts through the songs. – Chris Whitten, Lucas Valley Elementary School Kindergarten Teacher
I don't normally write testimonials but everyone fell in love with the educational puppets Mrs. D used to show children and adults alike how to become better communicators, and to help us get in touch with our emotions. It was great the way Mrs. D introduced and explained her social-emotional music curriculum! – Debbie Matson, Bread & Roses Volunteer
I have twin boys; one is very outgoing and one is extremely shy and has a hard time expressing his feelings. Mrs. D taught the shy guy how to come out of his shell with use of the social-emotional music curriculum and the background of music that seemed to take the attention off of his fear. She taught my outgoing boy how to be a leader and look out for those who seemed scared, nervous or shy. – Denise Martin, Lucas Valley Elementary School Parent