“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” – John Lennon

Music educators, Beatles fans, and friends of John Lennon shared a dream to create a unique way to cultivate and inspire future generations of musicians. The greatest way to honor Lennon’s legacy is for early childhood educators who work in the Reggio Emilia approach to empower children to express themselves through the arts.

As Loris Malaguzzi, a pioneer of the Reggio Emilia philosophy, said, “Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands, their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds and colors.” Williamsburg Northside Schools’ Lower School children recently had an amazing opportunity to experience musical creativity in a whole new way right here in Brooklyn, thanks to the creators of The Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

Through the direct support of Yoko Ono Lennon and the generosity of sponsors, The Lennon Bus was founded in 1998. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) state-of-the-art mobile Pro Audio and HD video recording and production facility, it brings music to students across the US and Canada. Counting down to October 9, 2014, in celebration of John Lennon’s 74thbirthday, The Lennon Bus began a tour of New York City schools and culminated their NYC residency with a big birthday bash with our Northside Schools children.

The excitement in our school and in the Brooklyn community for this event has been tremendous, and we thank everyone for their support. Special thanks to Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, 50th District for helping us welcome The Lennon Bus.

This incredible event is one of the many ways we weave the world-at-large through music education into our diverse emergent curricula. Affording our children the opportunity to express what Malaguzzi termed “the hundred languages” of children is paramount. As he noted, children possess “a hundred ways of listening, of marveling, of loving, a hundred joys for singing…the child has a hundred languages…”

We’re grateful for all of the coverage of this beautiful opportunity for our children to experience The Lennon Bus and to celebrate the legacy of John Lennon – here at our school! To read more about this amazing event, check out these great articles from News 12 Brooklyn, The NY Daily News, The Brooklyn Eagle, and Brooklyn Based.

To learn more about our approach to education, please view our Williamsburg Northside Schools Curriculum and Program Guide.