Do you and your children get tingles of pride when you see a large flag waving in the wind, or hear the national anthem, or sing “America, the Beautiful” together? I DO, I proudly put my hand over my heart and often get tears in my eyes as I watch the flag parade by. I cherish the freedom available in our country, appreciate the sacrifices of the veterans and families that helped us achieve it, and recognize our personal responsibilities to maintain it. And I am doing my best to help my children feel the same feelings of pride and connection. I want them to visualize for themselves the “spacious skies”, and “purple mountain majesties”.
This video of “America, The Beautiful” allows the viewer to see snippets of the beauty of this country while listening to a grand chorus which helps build this feeling of awe and wonder. This version also includes the lyrics throughout the video so all can sing along.
The song, “America, the Beautiful” is a perfect simple song, with an appropriate vocal range, to help children FEEL the pride of their country. It is short and slow enough to sing well at a young age, allowing them to mentally visualize the many aspects of the lyrics.
And when the many voices of a family sing it at the same time, it helps build emotional bonds in the child that helps them know they BELONG… with their family, and with their country. This is critical to the emotional health of every child… every person. It also helps our children establish the kind of respect for their natural world that will inspire them to help maintain this healthy beauty far into the future.
During this last two weeks, my family has froliced in the new spring flowers and romped in knee deep snow at Angel Lake in Nevada, taken a tour of an underground wonderland (Timpanogas Cave), floated and bumped down the Colorado River, and hiked to exquisite red rock arches and formations in SouthEastern Utah. Yesterday, we went horseback riding in the mountains of Northern Utah. We are a little sore and achy, but love the connections we have made, with family, with nature, and with our beautiful world.
Many of the treasures of our nation, and of nature in general, can be experienced with a minimal budget. Just go outside, try some new nature activities, find out the “national treasures” that are near you, and explore our wonderful world. I will be sharing some fun ideas for nature activities, and family sing a long songs through Facebook and Twitter, so LIKE my FB Page, and follow @debbiemondale on Twitter, and join in the conversation. I’d LOVE to hear how YOUR family makes the beauty of our country come alive.