Saturday, June 14, 2008

Giving Meaning to Father's Day Tomorrow


On this particular Father's Day, I will be remembering with fond memories one of our own Kindermusik dads who passed away on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Adam Aguilar, age 44, is survived by wife, Kathy and son, AJ.

You could always spot the curly haired dad & son duo in Saturday's Our Time class-- how "AJ" loved to sing the "Choo-choo" train song last semester! And like all Kindermusik dads, Adam provided his active and energetic son the emotional anchor all little boys need, and together the father and son team made us smile in class.

The loss of a seemingly healthy dad to cancer is deeply felt by every Kindermusik parent and caregiver at Musikandmotion. The outpouring of support for Kathy and AJ has been tremendous-- the cards, email and words of sympathy for the Aguilar family. In the past two weeks, the community of Kindermusik families in Natomas donated $1345 to the Adam Aguilar Jr. Trust Fund-- I am truly humbled to be a part of a one of a kind music community...

I'd like to acknowledge all the families for their support and generous contribution to Adam Aguilar Jr. Trust Fund. I thank each of you for your giving and caring spirit.

Ronald & Candy Carson (Parents of Nico)
Edward & Corey Grundel (Parents of Andrew)
Winnie Chan (Parents of Lauren)
Karla & Ryan Hall (Parents of Angela)
Stephanie & Scott Le (Parents of Courtney)
Christy & Richard Tsai (Parents of Mia)
Sumit & Mrinalini Date (Parents of Yash)
Sherry & Shaun Nealon (Parents of Molly)
Mirna & Philip Tohme (Parents of Melania)
Simon & Jackie Lim (Parents of Shaun)
Susan Iratene (Parents of Kaden)
Melisa & Todd Chase (Parents of Aidan)
Monica Hagan (Aidan’s Aunt)
Nora Knell & Patrick Horne (Parents of Phoebe)
Shelly & Todd Williams (Parents of Madison)
Amber & Scott Husten (Parent of Skylar)
Patrice & Lee Westover (Parents of Luke)
Rachel Lee & Chantha Trinh (Parents of Ajay)
Gina & Charles Hines (Parents of Julia & Grace)
Davita and Seth Levin (Parents of Eliana)
Hope & Matt Gawlick (Parents of Hope)
Surekha & Vinnay Reddy (Parents of Maya & Jaypal)
Richard & Claudia Bow (Parents of Wolfgang)
David Rhoads & KJ Strong-Rhoads (Parents of Kate-Lynn)
Shawn Kanehira-Mar & Daniel Mar (Parents of Tyler)
Eloisa & Alberto Gomez (Parents of Lauren)
Kelly & Jeff Putzke (Parents of Ellery)
Susan Wu & Valentin Chou (Parents of Jason)
Iryna I. Kline (Parents of Sophia)
Kathy & Michael Johannesmeyer (Parents of Nathan)
Mike & Jazmin Gibson (Parents of Mathew)
Carla & Chris Curcuro (Parents of Julia)
Beth & Mike Negrety (Parents of Keira)
Jennifer Rauzon (Parent of Lily)
Carrie & Devin Koehn (Parents of Colina)
Naomi & Enrique Villaruz (Parents of Maya)

And countless others for their support, kind words, thoughts and prayers. Have a wonderful and happy Father's Day, everyone-- be sure to give your dad an extra hug tomorrow!

P.S. In the event you would like to make a donation, please send your check directly to:

Palo Alto Community Federal Credit Union
616 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, Ca. 94301
(650) 329-8900
Make check payable to Adam Jr. Aguilar Trust Fund

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Book of the Summer


If there's one parenting book I'd like to recommend this summer, it's "Bright From the Start: The Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind from Birth to Age 3" by Jill Stamm. A month ago, I was browsing through Border's with a gift card I had received last Christmas and I came upon this fabulous book-- it literally combines science, brain research, child development and practical ideas all in one, and to my delight and surprise, the author references Kindermusik (check out page 266-- sure it's only a 4-liner but it's a positive recommendation)! I hope you'll check this book out-- it will affirm everything you are doing as a Kindermusik parent/caregiver and provide you with even more insight, ideas and inspiration.