Please allow this interruption for an urgent message from Sing, Rhyme, and Play.
We all know the storytime rules for kids; but do you know the storytime rules for grownups? These three simple rules not only make storytime better, they also ensure the world we all want for our kids.
Storytime Rules for Grownups
1. All the children at storytime are our children—treat them so.
There is no hierarchy of child value in which some children deserve kindness and others don’t.
2. Support the children at storytime—don’t hurt them.
A choice that is good for some children and bad for others is a bad choice.
3. These rules are not just for storytime.
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Ingrid Christina shares The Lavender Librarian’s storytime song, “I Choose Kindness.”
Welcome to my community media space for music and learning!
Happy New Year!
Enjoy Ingrid Christina’s original song for ringing in the new year.
2025 was a big year for Sing, Rhyme and Play.
One (1) big international move.
Six hundred (600) streams.
One thousand (1k) live show attendees.
One thousand eight hundred (1.8k) website views.
One hundred seven thousand (107k) video views.
What’s missing from this list? Books!
That’s right. Stay tuned for news of books coming out in 2026.
Thank you for being here with us!
Ingrid Christina and family wish you a happy new year! Enjoy this ukulele performance of the classic NYE song, “Auld Lang Syne,” for times past.
Three early learning mistakes to avoid in 2026!
What are your New Year’s Resolutions? Mine are to stop making three common early learning mistakes. Will you join me?
1. Stop thinking you can’t sing.
If you’re self-taught, like me, you’ll never forget those voices that said you couldn’t sing. Maybe those were others’ voices; maybe they were your own. Regardless, you can tell those voices to shut it. It doesn’t matter if you can sing! You don’t have to sound good to get people to feel comfortable and want to learn from you. You only have to sound happy. So enjoy singing, and you’ll sound better than you think.
2. Stop skipping your daily twenty minutes of reading.
Reading aloud to children for just twenty minutes a day exposes them to 1.8 million words per year and sets the stage for all future learning. Yes, it’s that easy and that impactful. Reading together is also just a really good habit and feel-good ritual. We all need to slow down and turn off our screens. We all need to connect with each other in person. So set that twenty minutes aside for reading together and protect it like it’s therapy.
3. Stop thinking your kids are too young. Or too old.
There’s no such thing as a kid that’s too old or too young to read to. In utero is a good time to start. And when they’re older and no longer want to be read to (this will be later than you think) let them see you reading for your own pleasure. Show them that they’re important enough to make the time for. Show them that reading is something you do for yourself too. Bonus points: Apply the same advice to singing.
What do you think? Are these three resolutions doable? If we commit to avoiding these early learning mistakes in 2026, the year will be fun for everyone!
Your Take – What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
Quote of the Week
When we fall down we get back up!
Rose Lani
Featured Creator
Like and comment on this video to propel Rose Lani to full-length albumhood!
Rose Lani, you did it! Please join me in offering huge congratulations to Rose Lani for surpassing 90% of her crowdfunding goal. Rose ran an excellent campaign to fund her upcoming children’s album. She’s almost there with a solid plan for earning the last 10%. I am so proud and inspired. Make sure you subscribe to her newsletter here to get updates as the album gets underway. Go, Rose Lani, go!
In sum, the evidence is mounting that music improves health, happiness, and well-being. Did you know that doctors in Montreal can now prescribe symphony visits? That’s right: music is the medicine! And being a Smart Start symposium, the event focused on the benefits of music to the very young.
Thank you to the RCM for hosting this meaningful event, and to soprano Kate Reynolds for telling me about it. As a children’s musician and early childhood educator, I was reminded anew of why I love what I do.
Your Take – What’s your favorite Rose Lani song?
Featured Creator
Speaking of music as medicine, children’s musician Rose Lani is about to give us a big healthy dose of it!
Watch this video to launch Rose Lani’s new album!
Join me in supporting Rose Lani in getting her first children’s album out. I have streamed her three existing songs after many of my library programs. And I am here to tell you that we need more of her songs! Please watch Rose Lani tell her story in the video, then help launch the album here. Here’s to $5k in 30 days!
Important Dates
◊ November 11 – Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day in Canada is for reflecting on the costs of conflict and the value of peace. It was moving to see people wearing poppies in support of service members. The poppy is referenced in the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” by John McCrae. Here is my solemn musical tribute to this important day.
◊ December 1 – Meteorological Winter Begins
In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological winter (December, January, and February) is just around the corner. We’ve already turned our clocks back, so it’s getting darker earlier. And in Canada, we’ve already had our first snow! Here are some songs to warm you through the cold and dark months ahead.
Sing, Rhyme, and Play 