Jazz Appreciation Month... Celebrate It!

This year marks the 9th year of celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month. It was started in 1992 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in an effort to highlight the history and contributions of jazz music to American history. Throughout April concerts, lectures, films, and other programs were planned to celebrate this influential and amazing music genre.

I know that it is the end of April…not a lot of time to participate in Jazz Appreciation Month, but I still wanted to share. Just because April is over doesn’t mean the celebration of jazz has to end. There are plenty of ways to integrate jazz music into your child’s life on a daily basis and Jazz Appreciation Month is the perfect time to talk about it. Below are a few ideas and resources for you and your family.

Jazz Music for Kids. When we think about jazz it may be hard to see children appreciating the music… Not those little cuties who sing the “Wheels on the Bus” and “Old MacDonald.” But the truth is, there is jazz music specifically for children, including jazz renditions of some children’s favorites. This is music they will love and you will too. Here are a few of the many jazz CDs for kids. Click each CD for more details.

Jazz for Kids. This CD features children’s songs performed to jazz music. This CD includes songs by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s Band among others. Some familiar songs like "Old MacDonald" and the "Muffin Man" and some lesser known, but fun songs such as "Potato Chip"s and "Chicken Rhythm" apprear on the CD

Nikki’s Jazz for Kids. Another great CD with jazz renditions of children’s songs. This CD features several jazz greats including Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald.

Jazz Lullabies. This has all the makings of a favorite for me. Beautiful lullabies composed to jazz music. I have only heard snippets, but they are beautiful. You can find “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.” I am definitely going to get the CD for my little ones. Bath time, bed time… anytime you need the kids to relax, I am convinced this can do it.

You can find these CDs and others in The Soul Mom Bookstore!

Check out the videos of these jazz artists performing children's favorites. They are great!

"Are You Sleeping Brother John" and "Happy Birthday"


"Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"


"Pop Goes the Weasel"


"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (recording from the Jazz Lullabies CD mentioned above)



Books. There are so many jazz-themed books for children, if you don’t have at least one in your home boy are you missing out. There are books for babies and big kids. Books about jazz and jazz greats. Books that scat. Books that deliver the story with a jazzy voice. All fun, all great. Here are a few. Click each book for more details.

You can find these books and others in The Soul Mom Bookstore!

The Web. Let your kids learn about jazz with the interactive wonder of the web. Below are two great sites for kids.

http://pbskids.org/jazz/ - PBS's website for jazz. You can visit the improvisation station, play repeat the beat, learn about jazz history, read about the great jazz artists and about kids who play and study jazz.

http://www.jazzforyoungpeople.org/ - Wynton Marsalis’ website for kids. Get lessons on improvisation, watch films and hear the music of Louis Armstrong

Whether it's a CD, a book, a concert, a visit to a website or possibly even a music lesson, there are many ways to integrate jazz music into your child's life. It exposes them to an incredible part of African American (and American) history, expands their experiences and gives them something new to tap their toe to. Be bop!

Soulful Giveaway Winners Announced!

I am pleased to annouce the winners for the Soulful Giveaway from My Baby Rocks:

Stylish pink sundress- Brandy

Sunny yellow onesie- Stesha Sims

Thank you to all the participants. Please be on the lookout for more soulful giveaways!

Winners selected via random.org

Earth Day Smarts & Asthma- Get Green!

Happy Earth Day! Let's use this day to appreciate Mother Earth and find ways to make our environment better so we all have a better place to live. Unfortunately, some of our children may already be suffering from the impacts of environmental injustices with conditions like asthma, which is why Soul Mom expert panelist, Kimberly Ward, took a look into asthma and how adopting a greener lifestyle can help to reduce this chronic illness. Thanks Kim!

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By Kimberly Ward

Kimberly's cutie, Soul Baby Skylar, is a green baby and will stay asthma-free

According to research data, an estimated 6.1 million children under age 18 currently have asthma and our soul kids are hit hardest. The US Office of Minority Health reported that African American children have a 260% higher emergency visit rate, a 250% higher hospitalization rate and a 500% higher death rate from asthma compared to non-Hispanic White children. And while that news is bad, being smater about asthma can help decrease these numbers and keep our soul babies healthier and alive.

Understanding Asthma

Asthma is a pulmonary disease that makes it hard to breathe by causing swelling and inflammation in the airways that lead to the lungs. In most cases, the exact cause of asthma is unknown, but we do know what can cause an asthma attack- triggers. Triggers are things in the environment that cause allergic reactions such as tobacco smoke, dust mites, mold and pollen.  The good thing is we can eliminate or reduce the number of triggers in our home by first identifying them. Carl Crayton Jr of the Breath of Hope Asthma foundation, worked with me to come up with a few things you can do to reduce the number of triggers in your home. 

What you can do now... Get GREEN

Reduce the amount of irritants in the air by changing out filters regularly and not exposing your child to cigarette smoke or other air pollution. 

Reduce your child's exposure to pet dander by keeping your pet outside. 

Eliminate dust mites. Vacuum and dust your home weekly. Purchase a vacuum that uses a HEPA filter. Also, remember to use a damp cloth while dusting to prevent the spread of dust mites.

Minimize mold. Keep things as dry as possible. Make sure rooms, especially bathrooms, are well ventilated. Use a dehumidifier in damp areas. Remember to empty and clean the water often

For additional information and more tips on coping with insects and animals click here.

I also spoke with Jada Wright of One Touch Wellness  to see what we could do this Earth day to improve the quality of the air and space in our home.  Jada believes in wellness as a lifestyle and not just a passing fad, so she recommends that we incorporate better lifestyle choices gradually, in a manner that will stick. As an interior designer, I work with families on the many issues that affect their homes. So naturally, we want to deal with the health of the home as well. Here are a few things you can start now, to improve the environment of your home.

Keep your home clean. This goes without saying. It is extremely important that you not only avoid collecting and storing unnecessary items (clutter), but that you also take a good look at the chemicals you are using to clean your home. With many safe alternatives on the market, there is no reason to continue to clean your home with harmful chemicals.

Rethink the soft covering in your home. Things such as carpeting and bedding house harmful allergy-causing triggers. Consider replacing carpet with hard woods or tile.  Put covers on your mattresses and pillows and wash them weekly.  Vacuum drapes and all other soft covering that can collect dust.

Control Pests.  No one wants to deal with cockroaches but they are a major cause of allergic reactions in the home.  Have them professionally treated and then do your part. Switch to refillable plastic containers for things like cereal and bread.  This will reduce the amount of food left out and reduce your chances of growing an insect problem.

Keep air quality pure. Replace traditional candles with the flameless variety. You get the same glow without the harmful smoke.  Finally... stop smoking!  Second hand smoke is extremely harmful for children, especially those with asthma.  Ban the smoking, if not for you, do it for your child. 

Get Green!

To learn about Kimberly's inspiring home design visit her blog.

Get Green!

This Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day. Earth Day is a day designed to inspire environmental awareness and appreciation for this place we call earth. And as moms, it’s important that we help to create a healthy earth for our children to inherit. To help inspire and encourage your green efforts, I’d like to share some information on two of the most prominent and influential African American green voices… Majora Carter and Van Jones.

Majora Carter
“I believe that you shouldn’t have to leave your neighborhood to live in a better one.”
This powerful quote sums up Majora Carter’s sentiment, efforts and successes. She is presently president of a private green economic consulting firm, The Majora Carter Group, but began her path of advocacy in 2001 with the founding of the Sustainable South Bronx and the transformation of an illegal garbage dump to beautiful Hunt’s Point Riverside Park. She has worked and advocated to reduce the environmental disparities in urban, primarily African American, communities.

Her contributions towards creating healthier, greener urban communities have been numerous including one of the nation's first urban green collar training and placement systems, fitness programs, food choice programs, and air quality initiatives.

Majora Carter has attained much, well-deserved, notoriety through her efforts. This MacArthur "genius" was named one of Essence magazine's "25 most influential African-Americans" and one of Newsweek's "25 to Watch." She has been interviewed and featured on many programs including HBO's The Black List vol 2, Discovery Communication’s Science Channel, and the Sundance Channel’s The Green program, where she serves as a co-host. In early 2009, she began a public radio show, The Promised Land.

Below you can hear Majora’s memorable 2006 address at TED. An oldie, but a goodie. Her story of environmental injustice and urban renewal are inspiring and her “Green the Ghetto” t-shirt is awesome… can I get one?

Van Jones
"In my neighborhood if you go around talking to people about polar bears... they're not feeling you."
Van Jones is a human rights advocate and a prominent voice for a clean-energy economy. His vision for urban renewal is fueled by green jobs and opportunity for low-income urban communities.

Van's achievements are many. He co-founded three non-profit organizations including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change and Green For All. He is the author of The Green-Collar Economy, a best-selling book on green jobs. He served as the green jobs advisor in the Obama White House in 2009 and was a driving force behind the 2007 Green Jobs Act. In Oakland, he helped begin the nation’s first solar and green job training program for low income.

His thinking and ideas are so innovative and forward-thinking that they helped inspire the creation of thousands of jobs in distressed urban and rural areas. And his efforts have been acknowledged. In 2009 he was given the NAACP President’s Award honoring his outstanding achievements. Go Van!

You have to hear Van speak to feel his energy, passion and vision. Check out the video below on eco-equity.



Majora Carter and Van Jones are both inspiring visionaries who work every day to make Earth and our communities greener, healthier and more economically sound. It will be leaders like these that ensure that our babies will grow up to live on a planet that has clean energy, green communities, green jobs and… polar bears. I hope that they inspire you to bring a little green into your life. Get Green!

Barbie Doll History- African American Barbie Dolls

Being a mom to three girls, my life is filled with dolls, dolls, dolls. And when it comes to dolls, it's important to me that my girls have dolls that represent our African American culture. I believe in this so much, that I even once wrote to Target to complain that a local Target store, smack dab in the middle of an African American community, failed to have African American fairy dolls.

My 11-year-old has pretty much abandoned her doll days for more exciting things like makeup and Skype, but my 4-year-old is still very much in the dolly mix. While she mostly plays with her "babies" I can tell that Barbie… the doll of all dolls… is on the horizon. And I have to admit that I remember, quite fondly, my own Barbie days that lasted way longer than I care to admit. I remember Barbie and Ken, Skipper and Kelly.

Like most things, when you pull back the skin, all kinds of fascinating things appear and Barbie history is no different. After some research, I discovered some very interesting history when it comes to Black Barbie dolls and the efforts Mattel has made in making Barbie and her friends relevant and relatable for African American children.

Below are a few tidbits that I found about Barbie's Black friends, those dolls specifically designed to appeal to African Americans, and few tidbits about Barbie too.

Francie 1967- The first Black doll to make her appearance with Barbie was Black Francie.  Francie was made from the same mold as White Francie, Barbie's cousin, and lacked any African American characteristics other than skin color. Poor Franice. The Franice design was not made to appeal to African Americans, BUT it was worth mentioning and it was the very first step Mattel made in reflecting African American culture in their dolls. And don't worry, it gets better!

Christie 1968-  Christie came along and for many is regarded as the first Black doll in the Barbie range, as she had both darker skin and more ethnic features, and has her own face mold. Christie proves to be here to stay as she continues in the Barbie line up until this day.

Julia 1968-  Julia came dressed as a nurse and was modeled after Diahann Carroll's then TV character. If she looks a little similar to Christie, it's not your eyes playing tricks, she made from the same head mold.

Cara 1971- A beautiful ballerina that came with a beautiful tiara and a pink tutu.

First Black Barbie 1980- The first Black Barbie was introduced... finally. She came with a red business suit and to many, resembled Felicia Rashad, TV's then super mom, Claire Huxtable.  Since then, Black Barbie has stood beside her original in varying skin tones, facial features and hair styles to resemble and reflect African Americans.

Dee Dee 1985- A member of the Rockers, Barbie's 5 person back-up rock band.

Belinda 1987- A member of the Sensations, Barbie's singing group.

 

Devon 1989- Barbie's friend that accompanied she and Ken to the dance club. A party girl! 

Shani 1991- Appeared with her friends Asha and Nichelle. These 3 dolls had varying skin tones and featured clothing with ethnic prints in an effort to reflect African American culture. Many versions were produced under this line, including a Soul Train version of each, sporting, yes…kente cloth.

Nichelle 1991- Shani's friend

Asha 1991- Shani's friend

Oreo Fun Barbie 1997-  This was so worth a mention. Mattel partnered with Nabisco to create Oreo Fun Barbie, which was produced in both a White and Black version. Unfortunately, the Black version did not go over so well and after poor feedback from the public, it was pulled. The first, and only, Barbie doll to ever be recalled (vs discontinued).

Nichelle 1999- The Nichelle was part of the Generation Girls, 6 cool high school girls from all over the world (note, these are not Teen Skipper's friends). Nichelle represented the US with roots in New York.

Shawnee 2002-  A member of the 4 person Mystery Squad, a group of detectives.  Shawnee's role was the information specialist and she found hidden messages.

Nikki 2006- A glam beach gal. 

AKA Barbie 2008- Created in commemoration of Alpha Kappa Alpha's 100 years. The Sorority unveiled the doll during its international convention. I sure hope that the other sorority versions are on the way!

So In Style 2009- Mattel undertook a concentrated effort to reach and appeal to African American girls with the So In Style line of Barbie dolls. There are 6 dolls in total (Grace and Courtney, Janessa and Trichelle, Kara and Kianna). Each of the 3 adult dolls are partnered with a little girl that she mentors. These dolls were designed with more African American features... wider nose, fuller lips, higher cheekbones and a variety of skin tones.

Princess Tiana 2009-  Our beautiful African American Disney princess, in all her Barbie glory.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a few bits that I found and had to share. If there is something missing and you'd like to let everyone know, please leave a comment below!

If this article has spawned a need to buy Black Barbie dolls, check out the Black Barbie section in the Soul Mom Bookstore!

Be on the look out for additional posts on Black Barbie dolls including: special collector's editions including the fantastic Bob Mackie and Byron Lars dolls and celebrities dolls like Diana Ross, Beyonce, Brandy and Kimora Lee Simmons; favorite Black Barbies; plus Ken's, Skipper's and Kelly's Black friends.

Enjoy!

Week of the Young Child- Celebrate!

My preschool daughter came home with her April school calendar and tucked away, starting April 11^th, was something that I knew should know something about but, unfortunately, knew nothing about… the Week of the Young Child. But after a little research I found out everything that I needed to know and just had to share.

The Week of the Young child is an annual event created by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAYCE) with the purpose of raising awareness of and public attention to the needs of our young children and the early childhood programs and services that meet the needs of these children and their families. This year's theme is "Early Years are Learning Years." Research shows that a child's early years (birth - 8) are critical is shaping their learning development, so early childhood programs, resources and initiatives are key. And when we look at our African American children, they are more at risk to not have the proper early childhood resources.

Although The Week of the Young Child is new to me, it's not new at all. It was developed in 1971 and since its' founding, the Week of the Young Child has provided us all a time to focus on meeting the needs of young children.

If your child's school isn't celebrating Week of the Young Child, but you'd like to do something, here are two great ideas (recommended by NAYCE) for how you can celebrate:

-Help raise public awareness. Organize a Week of the Young Child fair at your local community center or park. Invite local early education school and service providers to share information about their services and plan lots of kid friendly fun and games.

-Become an advocate and mobilize families. Find creative ways to encourage families to contact public officials and politicians about key early childhood initiatives. If your local and state funding is anything like mine, then funding for childhood initiatives are on the chopping block and in desperate need for advocacy for saving.

For more information on, and ideas on how to celebrate, the Week of the Young Child visit NAYCE.

Have a happy Week of the Young Child!

Giveaway: Baby & Toddler Gear- CLOSED

I love it when I find something super cute and super unique for my girls. But seeing that I usually shop the latest and greatest from Target and The Children's Place, it's more likely that we'll run into little ladies dressed in the same stylish outfits when we go out. On many a day my 4-year-old has shown up to preschool dressed exactly like one of her classmates. "Oh well," I say, "BOTH of your girls looks so cute!"

I have to admit that I have this thing for afro imagery. Maybe it just reminds me of the groovy, cool 70s. My 4-year-old has a hand-me-down soul sister shirt that sports a cool afro lady that I simply adore. Even though her sister grew out of it years ago, I kept it. Too cute to throw away and I knew she'd grow into it some day. And she looks so cute in it. So, when I saw these super cute afro items from My Baby Rocks, I was so in love.

I had never seen this print before, so CHECK for the unique box and... boy, how CUTE! CHECK the super cute box. And an afro... CHECK the afro box. Perfect.

Although it is hard to part with these items (seeing how much I like them), I am giving them away.
You can win:
- One size 4T pink sundress OR
- One 6-12 mos yellow onesie

These cute clothes can be perfect for your little soul baby (who can grow into them if too large) or make a very cool gift.

The dress is is light and comfy with a simple ruffle around the collar and the bottom. I like simplicity, so this dress is right up my alley. And the onesie is made of nice thick cotton. Thicker than the regular onesie that you'll find in the 5 pack. Perfect for an active soul baby and guaranteed to take all the wear and tear your cutie can provide.

In addition to cool onesie and sundress featured here, My Baby Rocks has additional afro gear including, bibs, T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, sleep-n-plays and even a maternity shirt. And if you are a Bob Marley fan, no problem. There is some neat Bob Marley gear too. Tuff Gong onesies...gotta love it. If you use the coupon code SAVE15, you can get 15% off your order.

HOW TO ENTER:
Leave a comment to this post stating whether you’d like the sunny afro onesie OR the jazzy afro sundress. Comments will close on Monday, April 19, 2010 at 11:59 PM CST. One original entry per person, please.

Want extra entries? Do any, or all, of the below and receive an extra entry for each action. Be sure to leave additional separate comments for each additional entry. Thanks and good luck!

SUBSCRIBE to TheSoulMom via email and confirm that subscription (1 entry)
FOLLOW TheSoulMom blog (1 entry)
Become a FAN of TheSoulMom on Facebook (I entry)
FOLLOW TheSoulMom on Twitter (1 entry)
TWEET about this giveaway. Tweet: “Enter to win cute soulful baby and toddler clothes from My Baby Rocks and @thesoulmom http://bit.ly/bAGR8S #giveaway” You can tweet once a day, but remember to leave the URL to each tweet as a separate comment. You must have at least 50 followers for this entry. (2 entries)
ADD TheSoulMom button to your sidebar. Make sure to include your blog link and let me know where to find the button. (2 entries)
STUMBLE this post (not the site) and leave me your StumbleUpon name in your comment. (2 entries)
VISIT the My Baby Rocks website and let me know one additional item that you’d qualify as “soulful” or just one additional item that you like! (1 entry)
FOR 5 EXTRA ENTRIES - BLOG about this giveaway (it can simply be a blurb about it  when you blog about other giveaways), with a link to my blog and come back and leave the link to your blog post.

Good Luck!

US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email the thesoulmom [at] gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, just make sure to check back for the winner announcement. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be selected.

Spike Lee Please, Baby, Please: Book Review

Upon starting this blog I promised book reviews on African American authors and African American books and until this date have yet to deliver. So here it is my first book review.

In selecting my first book, I wanted to start with something familiar. A book that my kids loved, a book that I loved. A book that was a staple in our home. So, there was no better book to start with than Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Now, most of you may already have this book or be very familiar. It was originally published in 2002 and I know has sold thousands, if not millions of copies. So this is for the unfamiliar, or those just wanting to reminisce.

I first bought the book several years ago when my now 4-year-old was just a baby. I was thumbing through the children's book section of my local Target and the beautiful artwork of Kadir Nelson caught my eye. I was familiar with his work and when I saw the cover, I immediately knew the artist and picked it up. When I saw that Spike Lee was the author, I promptly put it in my cart. "My baby deserves a celebrity-written book and one with artwork by Kadir Nelson too," I thought to myself. I don't even think I even took a good look at it until I got home.  It's then I realized what a real gem, and a real treat, that I introduced to my family.

Please, Baby, Please is a sweet rhyming story that follows a rambunctious tot through her day. The books starts at 3:00 am with the energetic cutie bouncing on her mommy's belly and follows her through a variety of daily activities including breakfast on her head, writing on the wall, eating sand, teasing, a splashy bath and a host of other things. Throughout the daily activites you hear her parents familiar plea of... "please, baby, please"..."baby, baby, please, baby"... "baby, baby, baby" and so on. It ends at 10:00 pm with a final sweet bed time kiss. What a day!

What I like, no love, about this book is…

• My daughter loves it. So much so that she has memorized the book and can recite it verbatim. What makes her happy makes me ecstatic.

• The familiarity of the content for me and my child. Both she and I could relate to every situation and have experienced them all, some daily.
• The sentiment. Boy, can I remember feeling and saying "PLEASE, baby, PLEASE" to my child. And still do, every day.
• It rhymes. I am just a sucker for rhyming books, what can I say. And I know that kids love rhyming books too.
• The artwork. Simply beautiful. I love Kadir Nelson and, as usual, he illustrates this book perfectly. You kind of want to take some of the pages and frame them… ummm… that sounds like a craft idea.
• It's not too long. It won't ramble on and lose your child's (or your) interest. The perfect bed time book.

If you have young children (0-5), Please, Baby, Please should definitely be part of your library. It is a sure fire hit for the family. Cute images, relatable situations. You can't ask for much more. It's a perfect gift for a new mom or a first birthday.



And if you just can't get enough of Please, Baby, Please, then you have to take a peek at Please, Puppy, Please. Same great authors, same amazing artwork.



Happy Reading!