Local Musician Educates Children at Home through Song and Dance

When former student English teacher Amy Haywood realized that her high school students could not read well, she knew something had to be done.

Haywood’s two passions in life are music and children. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she has created an intuitive online approach to education, providing children a safe and fun way to stay engaged and educated.

The inspiration for her work with educating children began in high school in Vietnam and Singapore in 1972. Haywood’s father encouraged her to volunteer at a burn clinic for civilians who suffered severe burns as a result of napalm and other warfare tactics used in the Vietnam war. Haywood worked with children by creating fun activities that also were educational from making newspaper pirate hats to drawing and playing cards. 

Just three short years later on Monday, December 8, 1975, American magazine Newsweek published an article titled “Why Johnny Can’t Write.” The article suggested that a national literacy crisis was taking place, finding that prospective employers were discovering that recent college graduates could not read fluently.

After reading the article, Haywood realized that it was not just her students who were struggling with basic English. “They could not write a simple sentence,” said Haywood. “It was nationwide and it was such a relief to realize it was not just in North Carolina, it was everywhere.”

Haywood’s teaching career began in 1981 when she was in college. After realizing that her high school students were struggling, she tried reverting to writing simple sentences, but it was too big a problem, so she decided to no longer teach high school.

“It felt hopeless because they would need to go back to remedial and there is a curriculum you are required to teach a ninth grader but if they are at a first-grade reading level, the curriculum does not work,” said Haywood.

From then on Haywood began moving down grades working at a small private middle school. When she became pregnant in 1982, she began teaching preschoolers. Haywood found herself at a cocktail party in North Carolina four years later when her friend Marie Hopper told her of a preschool and early childhood education program that utilizes music for children that she started called Musicare.

The following year, Haywood was working in the program with three schools. “It did really take off, it was before enrichment programs,” said Haywood.

Enrichment programs consist of after school activities that provide students opportunities to explore new things outside of the classroom. These activities are of a wide variety ranging from sports to music.

Born in Denver, Colo., Haywood, daughter of a chief medical officer of south Vietnam, spent most of her life traveling, living in locations like Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Washington DC, South Dakota and North Carolina before ending up in Colorado.

The youngest of her siblings by six years, Haywood recalls dressing up and putting a song and dance show on for her family. “It was the beginning of my music career,” said Haywood.

While attending high school in Singapore, Haywood found herself at the Methodist Missionary Hostel where she worked with underprivileged children in the Singaporean projects as a recreation counselor. It was here where she blended  her love for music with her love for children, putting together art books, songs, and playing the guitar for the children.

Additionally, Haywood sang in a Christian rock band, at summer camps and even played at her niece’s birthday party. It wasn’t until Haywood had the idea to perform music for kids in childcare centers when her career took off and she was able to support her family. 

“It became the life support of the whole family even though it was not very much,” said Haywood. “It is pretty cool to do because you work hard but it is fulfilling”.

Camp Oonie Koonie Cha, Haywood’s annual summer early childhood camp, focuses on education and music, getting kids involved and learning while they are singing and dancing. Usually, open in the summer for two weeks, the camp was closed this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, Haywood decided to take her talents online during these challenging times. She holds weekly online classes called Amy’s Music that emphasize engaging children during times of social distancing through songs, musical activities, puppets, instruments and more.

“Music is the boat that carries my educational drive,” said Haywood. “Music connects math, literacy and art so you are building amazing pathways in children’s brains.” 

Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Haywood taught nearly 320 students per week at five schools in Boulder County. In May 2020, she was let go from her job at The University of Colorado Boulder Childhood Center.

Now she teaches 40 students through one course via the online communications platform Zoom.

While Haywood longs for the times when she would see students in person, she finds pleasure where others find pain. Haywood has embraced online learning while nearly five of all 22 of her Musicare colleagues have yet to adapt. 

Musicare has techniques for teaching children in person that Haywood would use in schools such as passing instruments or dancing together. However, these techniques are no longer doable online, requiring Haywood to no longer teach under Musicare and restructure her entire teaching lesson to apply to Zoom.

Today, Haywood’s online course has seen children from around the Globe with students from China to Kuwait. Recently, she has implemented “Uku Can Do It” where she teaches an intro ukulele class for young children, teaching one chord songs on the Ukulele.

Haywood plans to develop a base where she teaches English through music to Chinese children. Today she uses her online course to provide connectivity during the pandemic through what she refers to as “talking time” 10 minutes before every class as a social hour making children feel a part of a peer group and a class. 

Parents of children in Haywood’s course have also been benefiting from her lessons by learning ideas for keeping their children entertained while schools have been closed. A few of those ideas can range anywhere from using old boxes and Tupperware to form a car. 

“It is so cool to see the parents engaged, taking suggestions and running with them,” said Haywood. Now they have all this time on their hands and they do not know how to initiate activities so when they come to class and I am doing it, they leave class and start doing those things,” she said.

The five schools Haywood worked with before the COVID-19 outbreak have yet to offer her a job back as many of them are not allowed to have visitors including Haywood in the schools as a safety precaution. Since then the University of Colorado Boulder Childhood Center has written to her about the financial difficulties they are experiencing from COVID-19 asking her to give them a call when life gets back to normal.

Haywood is wary of schools returning in the fall and fears for her safety in regards to being exposed to the virus. Unfortunately, the need for teachers is high as young children cannot take care of themselves. Also, Haywood believes that music fails to receive recognition in the education system nationwide as funding often depends on whether or not the director and or principle of a given school believes it is important enough to receive funding.

Nevertheless, Haywood pushes on, working hard to educate young children in fun and innovative ways during these demanding times.

“There is a light you can see go off when kids get something and that is so precious,” said Haywood.

For more information regarding Music with Amy, visit:https://musicarewithamy.com/# or call 336 978-1121