Grand opening and such

I enjoyed being a part of the grand opening at the Cherubs Clubhouse in Pelham this past weekend. We gave away a lot of prizes, the kids all had a good time and I got to meet a lot of people.

Today was the official ribbon cutting with the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and I was very glad to be there. We had our pictures taken doing the official "ribbon cutting" with the big pair of scissors and everything. It was very nice. We also had a Halloween party at the clubhouse tonight. My children really enjoyed getting to play there! Part of what they enjoy has not just been the neat equipment, but making new friends there. My daughter asks to go back all the time and jumps out of the car when we arrive.

On Tuesday, November 3 at 10:00 I am going to do a Kindermusik playgroup class. This will be a free class for anyone who is interested in learning more about Kindermusik and/or the Cherubs Clubhouse. We will have class and play time on the equipment.

The Cherubs Clubhouse is booked for birthday parties through November I think! If you are looking for somewhere different to have your child's party, call 621-2123 and book your event. Our openings are filling up fast. Many people are asking for Kindermusik birthday parties. For a Kindermusik party, we would have class, party time and play time. This gives them something different to do other than the average "go wild" party. If you are considering booking a party, come by on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 10:00 am and see what we are all about!

FREE Kindermusik Demo in Pelham Al!

The Cherubs Clubhouse opening this past weekend! Everyone who came to the Grand Opening had a great time and many went home with prizes.

Come to our official ribbon cutting with the Shelby County chamber of commerce on Thursday at 10:00. We are also having a Halloween Party at the Clubhouse on Thursday from 6 to 8. Admission is $8.00. Clubhouse members are free.

On Tuesday, November 3 at 10:00 am, we will be hosting a Free Kindermusik playgroup. Come by for 15 minutes of free instrument exploration, a 30 minute Kindermusik demo class, and 15 minutes of free play gym time. Our class will include singing, movement, instrument play, instrument demonstration, story time, bubbles, and puppets. Kids aged 0 and up are invited. Please bring a blanket or towel for each family and a pair of socks (non skid is best for the kids).

Hope to see you there! We will give away door prizes, goody bags, and discounts for membership and Kindermusik classes!

GRAND OPENING

Its today! I am so excited about the grand opening at the clubhouse. Having the opportunity to teach Kindermusik there is so exciting to me! I cannot think of a better place to teach with the play gym, the beautiful room and all the kids who are so excited to join the "club". Come by anytime today to meet us. Don't forget to get a membership to the clubhouse for free parties, discounts on birthday parties, and paly time. Also, pick up some information on our Kindermusik classes that will be held there.

Don't forget to book your child's birthday party! Come check out our birthday room! (it will also be the room where I teach Kindermusik) It is perfect for any occasion. Unlike some birthday places, you can come in a do whatever them your child wants. Boys, girls, even adults will feel at home there. There is even seating for adults!! Kindermusik birthday parties are becoming popular so book yours in advance!!!

We are located conveiently off of highway 31 in Pelham-- close to the Alabaster line. We are in the Keystone Plaza shopping center-- close to Staples and Big Lots. Our address is 3548 Pelham Parkway, Pelham. Directions are on my website!

Musical Halloween Activities

A few rhythmic bewitching poems to share with your little ones!

Miss White-- always gets a laugh!

Miss White,
had a fright,
in the middle of the night!
Saw a ghost!
Eating toast!
Halfway up the lamp post!

(Say the poem and clap along with each syllable of each word. The children will copy and internalize the rhythm.)

Hey! How! For Halloween!

Hey! How! For Halloween! When all the witches can be seen! Some in black and some in green! Hey! How! For Halloween!

(whisper this one as if it were a secret and softly clap each syllable)

Grow a pumpkin, grow a pumpkin, fat and round. (make round arms)
Cut a pumpkin, cut a pumpkin, smile or frown. (pretend to carve pumpkin)
Cook a pumpkin, cook a pumpkin, make a pie. (stir the bowl)
Eat a pumpkin, eat a pumpkin, my oh my! (pretend to eat and pat tummy when done!)

So, if you are tired of "trick or treat, smell my feet" you can try some of these! Your kids will be the only ones in the neighborhood to say these rhymes at the door! Or come up with your own ideas and post them in the comments!

Grand Opening!

Come to the Grand Opening celebration at the Cherubs Clubhouse this Saturday, October 24. Drop by and see what the clubhouse is all about. Follow this link for directions:

Take Kindermusik and get 15 minutes of FREE Play Gym time!

Join us for Kindermusik at the Cherubs Clubhouse, and enjoy 15 free minutes of play gym time after class. What a great way to get to know some of the other families from our class!

Why perform on recital?

My daughter just performed on her first piano recital. She has been taking piano (from someone else) for less than a year. She is young, but is learning to read music and memorize pieces. I am impressed with how well she can translate what she sees on the written page to her hands. She can also sing quite well.

She performed on her first major recital yesterday. It was a very short piece and she had practiced it diligently for such a young child. She is a little younger than I recommend a child start piano lessons, but she is doing well. Sometimes students will tell me that they just don't want to play the recitals. They like piano, but the recital process makes them too nervous. Being nervous can be a learned behavior. The younger they are when they become accustomed to singing and playing before others, the better chance that they will not become so nervous. The only way to overcome being nervous, is by performance.

I never force a student (or my child for that matter) to perform on recital. But I strongly encourage it. Performing on recitals tests you to see how well do you really know your piece? How well have you really practiced your technique? Recitals reveal to the student areas where they need to improve. A recital is the best teacher.

Recitals also build confidence. With experience, the child becomes more and more comfortable playing for an audience. This translates to into other fields like presentations at school, performance in sports, and later on job interviews. From recital experience, they learn to simply try to do their best and have a good time during performance and not to worry about impressing others.

Free Demo Classes coming soon

We have had to postpone our demo classes for this coming weekend at the Cherubs Clubhouse. Stay tuned for details for upcoming classes...

The Cherubs Clubhouse, LLC in Pelham, Al: A unique place to play party and learn

Kathy Sciarrotta, the managing partner of the Cherubs Clubhouse, LLC was born in North Miami and lived most of her life in Florida. In July of 2005, she and her husband Joe moved to the Birmingham area when he took an executive chef position at a hotel and resort in the area. Kathy was pregnant with her first child and knew no one in the city. After her son was born, she began to look for activities within her community. She discovered a true need in the Shelby and Jeffereson county area for a way for new moms to get togther and support each other. To meet this need, she started the Chubby Cherubs meet up group. It started with 5 members in 2006 and has grown to over 70 members in three years. Kathy has been interviewed by ABC 33/40, The City of Helena news, and has been seen on shelbyspotted.com. From this, she decided to start the Cherubs Clubhouse which is opening in mid October in the Pelham area. The Cherubs Clubhouse will provide a magical and unique, family-focused, fun learning environment based on mind and motion. Kathy’s love of dancing, drama, gymnastics, music and people-especially children- led her and her family to create the Cherubs Clubhouse, LLC.
The clubhouse, located off of highway 31 in Pelham, will provide a unique offering of enrichment classes, activities and events for children and families. Some of these classes will include, mind and motion development classes, dance and movement, arts and crafts, fitness and fun, drama and imaginative role play, Kindermusik and private music lessons, tutoring and reading readiness classes. Some of the services provided will be birthday parties, private parties (with sitting service), daily sitting services, sitting services for parent’s night out, and open gym play time. There will also be a game room for older kids. The sitting service will particularly useful to parents who have moved to this area and do not have family in town to babysit, those homeschooling children, or parents who simply do not have any daytime childcare options. The Cherubs Clubhouse will provide a safe and fun atmosphere for kids so mom or dad can go to a doctor’s appointment, an event or even just to run errands.
The Cherubs Clubhouse, LLC will also provide activities for a wide age range of children. From infants in the Kindermusik classes to school aged kids coming for tutoring, all ages will have a place at the Cherubs Clubhouse. Sharron Hughes, managing partner and education director of the Cherubs Cluhouse, has an AA in early childhood development from Miama Dade College, a BS in English from St. Thomas Univeristy, and a Master’s degree in reading from Barry University. Sharron, who has been a teaching for almost all of her life, has been featured in Who’s Who American teachers two times. From tutoring to enrichment classes, the clubhouse will have a wide variety of educational opportunities for kids of all ages. Classes will be taught by highly trained and experienced experts in various fields of study.
In addition to the sitting services and the enrichment classes, the Cherubs Clubhouse will also be the events hosted there. Some upcoming events will begin in mid October and continue through the beginning of November. The clubhouse will be hosting Halloween parties for kids of all ages as well as free Kindermusik demonstrations. Birthday parties will be unique at the Cherubs Clubhouse. The birthday party room will be have a “homey kitchen” feel. There is also a wide variety of entertainment options for the birthday events. In addition to children’s birthday parties, the clubhouse will also be a location to host other events. Joe Sciarrotta, the managing partner and private parties coordinator, will be able to provide superior advice for these events due to his extensive background in catering. Joe has an associate’s degree from the Culinary Institute of America and is the executive chef of a major hotel and resort in the Birmingham area. His expertise will make the Cherubs Clubhouse a unique place for hosting parties and events.
The Cherubs Clubhouse, LLC in Pelham will have the most unique gathering of children’s services and enrichment. Please visit www.cherubsclubhouse.com for more information!

A new week

We are starting a new week tomorrow! I am excited about my piano lessons coming up. I am starting a new student at my Inverness studio this week and trying a new series of books with her. I am so excited! I am also moving a student to the next level in her books either this week or the next and I am so excited to start her on some new things.

Friday, I was sight reading through a new Chopin piece I decided to start. I was thinking of my students and my recent lessons as I read through it a couple of times. I was thinking about how all the time we spend working on scales, fingering, and theory really pays off. It may take a while to get to this point, but when you want to sit down and learn something new, it makes such a difference to be able to spot a scale, an inversion of a chord, or to write your own fingering right away and not have to decipher each note.

The final goal with piano lessons is to put me out of a job. I strive in each lesson to teach my students to be able to teach themselves. I often ask the question, "why?" Why are we practicing this particular piece? Why do you think the music was written this way? What do you think you could improve about your performance? How do you think you need to practice this at home? Sometime the best thing you can do as a teacher or parent is to sit back and let them make a mistake that you see coming. Give the child the opportunity to notice and correct the mistake on their own before swooping in to the rescue. That can be a major challenge because as teachers and parents we always want to fix everything, but it gives the child the chance to do it on their own and the sense of self accomplishment when they know that they figured it out.

The goal of piano lessons is to get to a point where the student can sit down and enjoy their music. Spending time in lessons on scales, technique and written theory assignments help the student to progress to that point. I cannot express this enough to the child and to the parents. Constistant practice is the key to progressing to a point where playing becomes more about experiencing the joy of practicing a new piece rather than the burden of having to practice.

Cherubs Clubhouse

I spent the day at the Cherubs Clubhouse today planning and coming up with ideas for the upcoming months. The play gym set arrived today and the place is really taking shape! I didn't quite realize all that is going to be offered there until my visit there today. There is going to be a big play gym area that looks like an outdoor playground! There is also going to be a smaller play area with inflatables and a ball pit. There is also a "deck" where there will be water exploration! Cool! If you come and take one of my classes there, you will also have some time after class to enjoy the equipment. My classes will mostly be in a birthday party room which is going to be a great space for a Kindermusik class. I also was impressed with the safety measures taken by the Cherubs Clubhouse. They are really taking care to make sure every aspect of their space is as safe as possible. I am so excited and can't wait till the grand opening!