Lullabies
An Iris Collective and Memphis Oral School for the Deaf Partnership
Memphis Oral School for the Deaf (MOSD) is located in Germantown, Tennessee and works to empower deaf children to listen, learn, and talk. MOSD has been serving families from all over the Mid-South since 1959. We help profoundly deaf and hearing impaired children ages birth to six years old learn language during the most critical developmental stages of their lives. We believe that through early intervention and diagnosis, speech and language therapies, and advanced technologies and audiological services, deaf children can develop necessary listening and spoken language skills to become a part of, rather than apart from, a world of sound. We serve our Spanish population with an on-staff interpreter for MOSD parents while promoting bilingual language development for our Spanish-speaking children.
Our Story
Through this partnership, Iris Collective collaborates with Memphis Oral School for the Deaf’s Sound Beginnings program to integrate music-making into early intervention services, using songwriting as a tool to support parent-child connection, language development, and emotional expression within the home.
Within this framework, families are guided through a structured, six-session workshop series where parents and caregivers create personalized lullabies for their children. Through collaborative songwriting, reflection, and playful musical interaction, participants explore themes of love, identity, and hope while developing songs that both celebrate their child’s unique journey and support ongoing communication and bonding beyond the workshop experience.
Our Results
Families created lullabies for their children that reflected their hopes, stories, and deep emotional connections. Each song became a personal expression of love, identity, and aspiration, while also supporting meaningful parent-child bonding. Alongside these individual creations, a sense of shared experience emerged as families participated in group reflection, musical play, and storytelling, fostering connection within a supportive community of caregivers.
As families heard their words take musical shape, ideas and emotions were expressed in ways that extended beyond everyday language. Caregivers engaged in singing, listening, and interactive music-making with their children, reinforcing the role of music as both a communication tool and a source of comfort. These shared musical moments mirrored the program’s core goal: strengthening connection and confidence through accessible, joyful engagement.
The experience culminated in the recording of each family’s lullaby and the creation of personalized keepsakes, ensuring that these songs can continue to support bonding and language development at home. Together, Iris Collective and Memphis Oral School for the Deaf created a nurturing environment where each family’s voice is honored and where music becomes a lasting tool for connection, growth, and celebration.