"Sing With Me A-B-C"
by Bente Martinsen and Solveig Pedersen
hosted by Joe Spataro

Joe:

"Sing With Me ABC" works with basic letter recognition, phonemic awareness, and also with numbers and rhythm and rhyme. The books supplement any reading and music curriculum for pre-school and kindergarten. The material consists of a workbook with a song for each letter in the alphabet, and a teacher's guide with a music CD. The CD contains easy to sing lyrics that give children an appreciation of musical and rhythmic expression and it's easy and fun!

In this interview with author Bente Martinsen, she discusses how music is such a valuable part of the learning process, how the program was developed, her perspectives from Europe compared to the US, how the collaboration began with her co-author Solveig Pedersen; and FREE samples of how the program works with the letters A, N, P & the whole alphabet. If you have a question about the program, you are welcome to participate in our discussion group and ask a question.

Music is such a valuable part
of the learning process

Joe:
Welcome to our forum, Bente. Your series includes a workbook, a teacher's guide and a CD and is a multi-sensory program designed for children who are learning the alphabet. How does this approach differ from when we were kids and "sang" the ABC's and how do you feel that your program is superior to other books that teach the alphabet?

Bente
Thank you for this opportunity to tell you about "Sing With Me ABC". I am happy to hear that you "sang" the ABC, because music is such a valuable part of the learning process. When you work with a group of children, you have to realize that they have different areas of strength and you can not limit your teaching to just one method, and therefore the basic thought behind "Sing With Me ABC" is to utilize as many different approaches as possible. Some children learn by seeing, others remember better what they hear. Some get their best motivation from drawing, while others will remember the group activities connected with the lesson.

Our program uses music, singing, drawing and movement to support the learning. In the children's workbook the students work with basic letter recognition and phonemic awareness as they isolate the shape and the sound of the letter and prepare for actual work with phonics. The teacher's guide gives suggestions for use of the program in a "Basic" section which creates a familiar pattern for each page in the workbook, and the "Variations" section gives ideas to work with rhyme and rhythm, storytelling and drawing and much more. We have included sheet music in the teacher's guide, and all the tunes are original. The music CD makes it easy for parents and teachers to help the children learn the songs even if they do not play an instrument. The songs have a fun storyline, so they are easy to remember. Young children can enjoy the CD with the lively new songs long before they get interested in learning the alphabet, and when they start using the workbook, they can follow the text to a familiar song - and be on their way to reading!

How the program was developed

Joe:
I wanted to thank you for supplying some samples of the CD to share with our audience. Who did you work with to produce these and could you tell us what you learned as you developed these resources?

Bente
Producing the CD was a fantastic experience for me.

My friend and co-author, Solveig Pedersen, wrote the music. She is a primary school teacher, and her areas of expertise are music and special education. She has a wonderful ability to produce music, which the children like and can use. I was then very lucky to team up with a wonderful singer, Kathy Walsh, and a very talented musician, Shota Osabe. As they worked with the songs, they added extra "life" through choice of instruments and tone of voice, so now the CD can also be used to learn about musical instruments and sounds and rhythms from special places. I am not a music teacher, but with the CD, I can enjoy the children's enthusiasm and participation, when I use "Sing With Me ABC" in the classroom.

Perspectives from Europe

Joe:
You received your undergraduate degree in Elementary Education in Copenhagen, Denmark. How would you contrast education in Denmark as compared to the system you discovered in San Francisco where you resettled in 1981?

Bente
I feel very privileged that I have had many years of work in a school system with only around 20 students in the classroom, which makes it so much easier to give individual attention. We also had easier access to books and other teaching tools, we wanted to use in our classrooms. With my teacher's education, I was qualified to teach from 1st to 10th grade, and I could stay with a group of children for several years. I would then teach them 2-3 subjects, and other teachers would teach the other subjects. Normally the "home room" teacher will stay with a group of children 3-5 years. I guess I used the system to its full extent, when I stayed with a group of children for 10 years from 1st to 10th grades. It was a great challenge for me as a teacher, and those "children" are still very close to me.

How the collaboration began

Joe:
Could you tell us a bit more about your co-author Solveig Pedersen and how your collaboration started? What did you learn from each other?

Bente
Solveig and I started our teaching careers together at the same school in Denmark. We made several projects and teaching materials together, and I really missed our close cooperation, when I moved to California. Then Solveig produced the Danish version of our ABC book: "Vi Synger Bogstaver" which is used in Danish schools, and we decided to make "Sing With Me ABC" together.

I like the idea of Danish and American children using the same tunes while they learn their alphabet. Using our computers and the Internet, it was as if we were working at the same table again. We know each other well and her music has always been an inspiration for me. Talking about the Internet - I also have to tell you about the illustrator of "Sing With Me ABC", Sheila Bailey, whom I met on the Internet. I wrote to Sheila about my ideas for the book-cover, where I wanted to show the importance of the book and the letters in children's life and play, and she came up with all the children in their circle of friends. See for yourself, didn't she do a wonderful job?

It has been great to produce "Sing With Me ABC" and use some of the ideas, we have collected in our classrooms over the years, and it is wonderful to hear from parents and teachers and children who enjoy the material.

FREE samples of the program

• The Letter "A"
• The Letter "N"
• The Letter "P"
• The Alphabet
• Do you need Real Player - click here