Music & Mindset Matters

Kristy Russell

Passionate about Early Childhood Education? Are you a teacher, parent or simply curious about the relationship between Music, Mindfulness, and the Human brain? Join Kristy Russell each week as she discusses all things to do with Music & Mindfulness and why these topics matter so much, especially in early childhood. Be inspired with guest experts, research findings and a whole heap of practical tips so that you can boost your confidence and skills to embed Music & Mindset practices into your daily routines and your early learning programs. Because when we Love Music, we Love Learning... We Love Life! Let’s tune in! 

  1. "For the love of The Music Room" with Dave Durkee

    09/01/2024

    "For the love of The Music Room" with Dave Durkee

    When my family and I travelled to Canada recently we stayed with family in Nova Scotia. My husband and I were keen to keep up our regular musical practice, so we just thought we’d buy a cheap secondhand guitar and keyboard and that would tide us over. Scrolling through Facebook, my husband came across "The Music Room" - a musical instrument lending library that was only a short drive from where we were staying  - we couldn't believe our good fortune! The good fortune continued when we got chatting with the genuinely lovely couple behind this volunteer project - Dave and Judy Durkee. In this episode we'll hear from Dave  about  how the concept started and has grown over the past five yearswhy this service is crucial for family and community engagementthe Award of Excellence programhow the Music Room supports local schools and community groups Note: Happy to report since the recording of this episode The Music Room has hit a total of 500 donated instruments in the collection since it started 5 years ago! What a remarkable achievement and an example of the generosity of musicians and music lovers from Yarmouth and surrounding areas. About The Music Room Dave is a semi retired music teacher living in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (Canada). He and his wife Judy run The Music Room from the basement of their home. They accept donations of used instruments from the general public. With the help of 6 volunteers, the instruments are repaired, adjusted, maintained and made available, free of charge, to individuals and groups in their community. It is such an amazing concept, and one that I hope spreads wide and far! For more info please visit the Facebook page The Music Room *for local Nova Scotians contact +1 902-881-2354 Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic Click here to find out more about the Routines to Rituals online, on-demand workshop Click here to go to the Moovers n Shakers Music website Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life!

    38 min
  2. 07/07/2024

    Episode 36: From Electrician to world-renowned Musician with special guest Daoirí Farrell

    “From Electrician to world-renowned Musician” with special guest Daoirí Farrell It’s such a pleasure to invite a very special guest to the show this week. Dublin-born singer and bouzouki player Daoirí Farrell  is commonly accepted to be one of most important singers to come out of Ireland in recent years and according to “Irish Music” is singlehandedly spearheading a resurgence of the authentic in Irish folk music…he is rightly in demand all over the world.'  Daoirí's live work sees the 2013 All Ireland Champion Singer touring far and wide, performing regularly at festivals around the globe including in Canada, Australia and Europe. He has also toured the USA as vocalist for Lúnasa, performed in the UK in the line-up of the renowned Transatlantic Sessions and played to a live and TV audience at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall. My family and I were so fortunate to see him perform in Tasmania at the magical mountain setting Wilder Tasmania and were mesmerised by his captivating vocals and exquisite bouzouki playing. But what also left our heart-cups full was the fact that he was just so down to earth, very humble, very human and deeply connected to sharing his music with members of the audience - a real Irish story-teller in the purest sense.  Tune in to the full episode to enjoy his story-telling about His unexpected path from electrician to musicianThe connection between the Greek and Irish bouzoukiThe importance of ‘sowing the seeds of music’ in early childhoodTips to look after your physical and mental health while on tour!To connect with Daoirí and find out the dates for the Irish tour in September , head over to his website: https://www.daoiri.com/ Listen to him on:YouTube Follow on socials: Facebook   Thanks for spending your time with me today. Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family  members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic ! Together, we’re helping to spread the word of how much Music & Mindset Matters.  Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life! *Click here to find out more about the MMLL training package Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic Click here to find out more about the Routines to Rituals online, on-demand workshop Click here to go to the Moovers n Shakers Music website Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life!

    1h 1m
  3. “A Calm Brain is a Thinking Brain” with special guest Dr Kathryn Murray

    06/23/2024

    “A Calm Brain is a Thinking Brain” with special guest Dr Kathryn Murray

    Episode 35: “A Calm Brain is a Thinking Brain” with special guest Dr Kathryn Murray It’s an absolute pleasure to invite special guest Dr Kathryn Murray to the show this week. Kathryn radiates calm and joy and is passionate about creating opportunities to give children the best possible start in life. She is proud to be the founder of Future Strong Education Consultancy, based in Australia. She is an international environment design expert and the creator of the Brain-SET Environments Formula©. Kathryn is an award-winning early childhood education specialist, highly sought-after public speaker, workshop facilitator, university lecturer and coach. She has written numerous articles on productive environments, teaching practices and parenting. Kathryn works globally and uses her 40+ years of experience, research and intuition to support children, educators, teams, leaders and parents to be all they can be. Tune in to the full episode to find out more about how we can create calm classrooms that facilitate learning and make learning fun and joyful and stress-free for young people and teachersUsing brain development to guide pedagogy and understand behaviourHow the first five years of life sets the stage for the rest of your life!an exclusive offer just for you dear listener!! To connect with Dr Kathryn please visit her website: futurestrongeducation.com Take advantage of your exclusive membership offer: register here and write "founding member"  I’ve loved our conversation and I know you will get alot out of today’s episode - whether you’re a teacher, educator, parent or curious listener! 😃 🎶Listen here https://www.mooversnshakersmusic.com.au/podcasts/music-mindset-matters/episodes/2148701237 Thanks for spending your time with me today. Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family  members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic ! Together, we’re helping to spread the word of how much Music & Mindset Matters.  Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life! For more information head to Moovers n Shakers Music website Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic Click here to find out more about the Routines to Rituals online, on-demand workshop Click here to go to the Moovers n Shakers Music website Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life!

    1h 5m
  4. Why learning through play is like sneaking veggies into hamburgers!

    06/16/2024

    Why learning through play is like sneaking veggies into hamburgers!

    Woohooo it’s officially Launch Week here at Moovers n Shakers Music headquarters!  So in this week’s episode I continue the conversation connecting Music, Language, play and how we as parents and early years professionals can easily learn how to actively engage in music-making with young children to boost learning, development and wellbeing. With the right tools, resources and support of course! And thanks to Boogie Mites, we’ve got all of that sorted for you - in one amazing ‘taster-training’ package called “Music And Movement = Language and Literacy” (MMLL). This training package is a real game changer, especially for those of you out there that might not have the confidence, or those people looking for some inspiration and new ideas. It has 4 licensed interactive, fun songs to use, educator notes, video tutorials to get you started and access to support via the CustomerHub! If you haven't already - you can register for the free information session all about the connection between Music and Language in early childhood on June 18th 7-7.30pm. Click here to register And if you’re listening to/or reading this after Tuesday 18th June don’t worry - you haven't missed out  - the training package is available for purchase via this link: click here to purchase MMLL Tune in to the full episode to find out more about the skills children need to develop BEFORE they can learn how to read or write (pre-literacy)what phonological awareness iswhy tuning into musical sounds helps develop attention and memory skillswhat my thinking is behind the whole 'veggies in hamburgers' concept!I hope you get alot out of today’s episode and it inspires you to bring musical play into your daily routines! And thanks again for listening and sharing the episode with your friends, colleagues and family  members, tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic ! Together, we’re helping to spread the word of how much Music & Mindset Matters.  Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life! Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic Click here to find out more about the Routines to Rituals online, on-demand workshop Click here to go to the Moovers n Shakers Music website Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life!

    26 min
  5. Episode 32: New projects and the transferable benefits of Musical learning!

    06/02/2024

    Episode 32: New projects and the transferable benefits of Musical learning!

    New projects and the transferable benefits of Musical learning!EDIT: NOW WITH LINKS TO FREE WEBINAR! In this episode I can officially announce a collaboration with international organisation Boogie Mites, a team of really passionate and creative women who like me are on a mission to educate and advocate for musical learning in early childhood! Women who, like me, are committed to supporting not only the children but also the educators, teachers and parents of those young children, so that everyone can take advantage of the TRANSFERABLE benefits of musical learning. This is also the topic of the podcast and my weekly blog. Examples I'll share with you from my own piano students include improved attention, writing and general 'classroom learning', boost in social skills and overcoming performance nerves. I'll also talk about free webinar on the connection between music and language, register here for Music and Movement, Language and Literacy details of the upcoming Australian launch of Boogie Mites programswhy my Routines to Rituals workshop is a great place to start if you're curious but feeling a little overwhelmed! This interactive workshop for educators and parents of young children will arm you with helpful knowledge AND a heap of practical tools to boost your confidence and start experiencing those transferrable benefits for yourself! You can find out more and get tickets here: Routines to Rituals workshopIf you have a story you'd like to share, or would like more info I'd love to hear from you! Send me a message via socials @mooversnshakersmusic or an email at hello@mooversnshakersmusic.com.au Please share the episode with your friends, colleagues and family members, and tag me on socials @mooversnshakersmusic Click here to find out more about the Routines to Rituals online, on-demand workshop Click here to go to the Moovers n Shakers Music website Love Music. Love Learning. Love Life!

    42 min

About

Passionate about Early Childhood Education? Are you a teacher, parent or simply curious about the relationship between Music, Mindfulness, and the Human brain? Join Kristy Russell each week as she discusses all things to do with Music & Mindfulness and why these topics matter so much, especially in early childhood. Be inspired with guest experts, research findings and a whole heap of practical tips so that you can boost your confidence and skills to embed Music & Mindset practices into your daily routines and your early learning programs. Because when we Love Music, we Love Learning... We Love Life! Let’s tune in!