Sing along.

My son loves to sing.  He’s not even three years old yet.  He doesn’t quite have the ability to form complete sentences yet.  But that boy loves to sing.  I’m sure this isn’t some grand revelation in child development, but it still blows my mind that my toddler loves to sing little songs.

It’s easy to teach him songs, too.  He’s very good at repeating lyrics and catching on to song patterns.  So, naturally, I’ve begun making up little songs for him to sing with me about stuff he’s not normally excited to do.  Our naptime song may be the favorite of our original compositions.  He’s even begun making up his own songs!  His most famous composition is gibberish sung to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

The ease with which he learns songs has allowed him to bring numerous songs home from preschool.  It’s delightful, but somehow disarming, when he begins singing a song that I’ve never heard before.  Not disarming in a “what are they teaching him at that preschool?” way, but more of a “my boy is learning things without me, which means he’s growing up” sort of way.  And let me tell you, the joy with which he sings a song about cleaning up, which gets him excited to clean up after himself, has been worth the price of admission to that preschool.

Do I have a little musician on my hands?  I hope so.  Music is a huge part of our lives in this family, whether you’re playing it or simply appreciating it.  Seeing my little guy’s face light up when his favorite song is being played or listening to him recite one of the many songs from his growing personal songbook plays a guitar solo on my heartstrings.  Realizing his growing love of music is also a sign of his growing up is, while sometimes disarming, the coolest thing in the world.