Good Taste
Starts at Home
From flash cards to discount tickets, our experts share great ways to cultivate taste in kids. Kathryn Blake, Phoenix Art Museum: Let the child lead, to a certain degree, when he comes to the museum. By following his interests, you’re more likely to engage him in the experience. For younger visitors, you can use the museum as a teaching ground. If your child is learning colors, for instance, ask him to show you red every time he sees it at the museum. This concept works with shapes and words, too. Justin Davidson, New York magazine: Try live performances over recorded music— the visual drama drives home the beauty of the music and the musicians’ commitment to their art—and invest in good seats. The more “barriers” you remove between your child and his experience, the more impact it will have. Kimberly Davis, The Phoenix Symphony: Books, like Meet the Orchestra by Ann Hayes, are excellent tools for familiarizing children with concepts like symphonies, instruments and conductors.
Rosemary Walsh, Childsplay: Read any books the play might be based on, and discuss the theater experience with your child before you go. (“We’ve had kids run screaming because the lights go out,” Walsh says.) Also, talk about the characters you might see and the ways in which theater is different from television. You can’t talk during a performance, for example, and you have to pay attention to learn all the parts of the story being told.
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY
Bart Salzman, founder of the Chandler Jazz Festival, “How Cool Is Jazz?” and Kazoo Kidz: Keep music flash cards around the house, and have your stereo regularly tuned to jazz or classical music. (You may even try a new type of music for each day of the week.) Invest in musical toys for babies, kazoos and CDs for toddlers, and real instruments or older kids. Play-along CDs are also great for encouraging musical experimentation.
The Phoenix Symphony’s Michael Christie lets a budding young maestro have a whirl at the baton.
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