{"id":173,"date":"2016-08-09T07:20:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T07:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artmfineart.com\/drool\/?p=173"},"modified":"2023-07-10T19:38:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T23:38:05","slug":"rock-n-roll-baby-the-drool-of-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/droolofrock.com\/blog\/rock-n-roll-baby-the-drool-of-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll, Baby: The Drool of Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"
Article Attributed To: Nick Gestido, Editor at Hunt Valley Patch<\/em><\/p>\n Kids, before we get started, there\u2019s just one question I have for you.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you ready to rock?\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the philosophy behind Drool of Rock, a new preschool learning center in Cockeysville, with a curriculum focused on teaching kids about the power of music.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a music-powered learning center for preschool aged kids with a curriculum that stresses the power and impact of music education,\u201d Crawford, the preschool\u2019s president, said. \u201cThere\u2019s music every day for our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Crawford, 33, and longtime friend Alicia Redifer, 37, the center director, opened Drool of Rock after working together running a home daycare.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we were doing that together, we were discussing how to make it cooler, better, bigger,\u201d Crawford said.<\/p>\n Crawford, a musician and artist, and Redifer, who has years of experience working and and operating daycare facilities, were inspired by a Towson-area kindergarten teacher who always put music first, Crawford said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a kindergarten teacher named Pat Hunley who taught at Stoneleigh Elementary,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cHe wrote music and performed every day it was the most incredible kindergarten class I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe would expose the kids to this music-powered curriculum. Not a single kid would forget him. If there was one teacher you remembered when you were 70, it would be Pat Hunley,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Of course, not every kid can have a teacher like that but Crawford thought \u201cit would be really cool to build a center where every kid had Pat Hunley.\u201d<\/p>\n So with that vision in mind, the duo opened Drool of Rock at 532 Cranbrook Road in April.<\/p>\n The brightly colored preschool walls are covered with images of musical instruments, vinyl records, ticket stubs and lyrics. The 64 preschool aged kids enrolled have some sort of music-related activity every day, from break dancing instruction to live performances.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a break dancing instructor on Tuesdays. He gets the kids to stretch and circle up. They take turns getting in, he teaches them different cool moves. It\u2019s really cool that our 2-year-olds get into it,\u201d Crawford said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do movement exercises: move, stretch, dance, and play games to music \u2026 It\u2019s fantastic for preschool aged kids. Good for them developmentally and physically.\u201d<\/p>\n Crawford said that Kevin Sherry, a local children\u2019s author, writes songs and performs pop music in costume and another performer writes songs that coincide with the curriculum.<\/p>\n The kids get to perform, too.<\/p>\n \u201cParents are so stoked about it; kids are so happy there,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cEvery Friday, the parents, siblings can come and see our performances \u2026 it\u2019s awesome to watch your kids get so into it.\u201d<\/p>\n On the weekends Drool of Rock also plays host to the community for free family-friendly concerts.<\/p>\n