CaChoo It!

When children are struggling with anything, particularly an instrument, they forget that learning can be fun. They need to be reminded that they are "playing," not "working" an instrument! A CaChoo is a fun symbol of accomplishment, no more than a line drawn by a child on a page* with a flourish. We exuberantly exclaim "CaChoo!" in order to inspire him or her to practice and to "do it again" until the material is mastered. Mastery can be an abstract concept but the "CaChoo method" makes it concrete: the children know they have to "get" it on their own and eventually play it with no mistakes. If the piece is challenging, I say a child can get a CaChoo after playing it correctly three times in a row. That's because after three times, our hands revert to automatic and we need to direct our hands with our 'minds' by telling our hands out loud what to do. The beauty of a CaChoo is that it is so simple. It comes from the child, with only the go-ahead from the teacher. This allows for open ended creativity on the child's part to make it truly his or her own. By using a CaChoo even the youngest children can express their uniqueness with their own "signature" without needing to know how to write. I use CaChoos for teaching music but they apply to any subject! The CaChoos are small enough so that they allow the children to still be able to read the material on the page while leaving a proud track of their achievements. I have been utterly delighted at what imaginative variations children have come up with and how they have owned "the concept of CaChooing" so easily. What is more satisfying than crossing off an item on your list? Here we do it with flair! Not to mention pride, joy, and applause. CaChooing has helped the children replace their self-doubt with confidence and push them beyond just "getting by" with a willingness to polish their work as if they were a diamond! No longer do we have to explain what mastery is. We just do it and CaChoo It!
About the Author: Chaia May has been an educator since 1986, focusing on helping children find and express their innate abilities particularly in the arts. She runs a music studio in the Bay Area, offering classes in piano, guitar, voice and general early childhood music education. She has a strong interest in helping those of all ages who learn differently, inspired by her parenting challenges. Her degrees are from Wellesley College (BA in Political Science/Anthropology) and Stanford University (MA in Applied Communication Theory/ Children's Media Development.) She has received director level credits from Foothill College in Early Childhood Administration and taken many post M.A. classes in Education. Chaia has written twelve books on Early Childhood Jewish Education, including original stories for children to teach ethics, manners and spiritual awareness. She has lectured around the country on the Neurological Basis of Prayer and applying Sensory Integration to Early Childhood Classroom Curriculum. A new story-based math series for children is being launched as well! Chaia's other accomplishments include a musical fable for children to teach empathy, a curriculum to teach Classical Music for Young Families as part of her Classical Music Institoot!, and her two beautiful, independent daughters Hannah, and Ami.