Solo Recital

Our solo recital last week went very well. Ten students performed in this recital with some playing 2 pieces. We had a few on this recital performing for the first time. Our group classes will be putting on a small recital during their last class. They have been preparing to play together as 8 hand ensemble classes.

Thanks to all who played! We had a great time!

Times are a changin'

If you have not heard by now, the Cherubs Clubhouse is closing down this week. It was about this time last year that we were just getting started at the clubhouse and so it seems so strange to be closing down. I remember driving over to the location every week before it was finished to check on the progress. My own children were so excited to be some of the first kids to get to play there. We had just finished Grand Opening at this time last year and were having piano and Kindermusik demo classes. Looking back at some of the pictures from last year, it is amazing to see how all of the kids have grown! Especially the Kindermusik kids!

But, like I have explained to my piano students last week, these things happen. Life changes and you just have to go with it. Miss Erika is continuing to teach Kindermusik at the Bell Center in Homewood and piano at Arts music on 280. Rita is continuing with her violin students in the Pelham area and is enrolling more students for violin and clarinet.

I will be continuing to teach private piano at Bruno Montessori and in the Oak Mountain area. I will now be adding my Thursday group piano students from Cherubs Clubhouse to the Oak Mountain location. Fortunately, this will not be too far from the Cherubs Clubhouse location and we should be able to keep close to the same schedule. I have my keyboards, computer lab and 2 acoustic pianos at this location so our classes should more over very well!

I am now also the ABC Music and Me account manager for Kindermusik in this area so I will be going to different schools to do demonstrations of our language and literacy program for at risk learners. It is really rewarding to bring Kindermusik to kids who may not have the opportunity to participate in a studio class.

I enjoyed teaching at the Cherubs Clubhouse and my children LOVED coming to play while mommy taught there! They really enjoyed getting to meet my students and their siblings during their class time. We will all have good memories and have enjoyed getting to meet new people there. Please continue to follow us on facebook to keep in touch and for more updates for new classes and locations! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Hearing with your whole body

After watching the video I posted earlier about Evelyn Glennie, a world famous percussionist who lost most of her hearing at the age of 12, I began thinking about some of our activities in Kindermusik classes in a different light.

As adults, we tend to focus on listening with our ears only. Many of us tend to be very reserved about the way we interact with music and sounds around us. Well, maybe interact is the wrong word. We often only just hear, rather than actively listen.

Children, given the opportunity, naturally interact with music and sounds around them. They spontaneously move to music and feel it in their bodies. They cannot contain the emotions that are brought about by music. They express it with their entire being.

With the simple percussion instruments featured in Kindermusik classes, the children are uninhibited in how they play the instruments. They explore not only the audible sounds, but the feeling of playing the instrument as they play rhythm sticks or egg shakers in different ways. As their arms and hands move in different ways, they explore hearing with their arms, hands and fingers.

This is really evident with the zig zag blocks. Some of their favorite ways to play the blocks make sounds so soft that they can hardly be heard but can be felt by the children. They tap them on their faces, their shoes, or their knees. They hear the sound in their bodies. With their shoes off in class they hear the sounds with the bare feet on the floor as the music causes the floor to vibrate.

In music class, they watch other kids keeping a steady beat with sticks or moving a scarf expressively. They see the form of the music in our circle dances as we move in different ways to different sections on the music. They are hearing with their eyes.

One thing that was mentioned in the video was experiencing the sounds around us- not just music. As adults, we do not stop to enjoy everyday sounds. Children are naturally drawn to different sounds in their world and enjoy listening to a train, running water, animals sounds or even the sound of feet walking like we do in class. They absorb these sounds and make them part of their very being.

I know I cannot do justice to the words that were expressed in this video so go see it for yourself! My point is, that somewhere along the way, as a culture we stop experiencing sound with the same wonderment and awe as we had as children. We need to nurture this tendency in children and as adults strive to be a little more childlike in our musical experiences.

To watch the entire video, click here.

Great Kindermusik Deal!

Have you wanted to try out Kindermusik but not had the chance? Our Kindermusik playdates are the perfect solution! Playdates are a single session "pay to play" Kindermusik class. Just like all of our other Kindermusik classes, playdates include a research based curriculum, a take home instrument, recorded music from class and a lot of fun! Classes are scheduled all over Birmingham on mornings, afternoons, evenings and even weekends! This is perfect for mom's group activities, gifts, or just for trying Kindermusik with low cost or commitment.

Each 45 class is regularly $15.00. For today and tomorrow only, you can purchase your playdate at 53% off through Big Bham!

Once you have taken advantage of the deal, visit our playdate website for a list of classes and locations. Choose what is best for your schedule. When you register, be sure to indicate that you purchased through Big Bham and enter your gift certificate code.

Then, forward the information to all of your friends, post it on your facebook page and let everyone else know about it. Playdates are always more fun with friends!

Family Time Starts Soon

Its time! Our Family Time Kindermusik class will be starting back up this week! Family Time is a one room schoolhouse experience. This is our mixed age class for "only" children as well as families with more than one child. Only one home kit is purchased per family which makes this class a great deal for families wit mulitple siblings.

I enjoy teaching this class, and observing the younger children learning from the older children as well as seeing the older children become leaders in the classroom. Last year as we offered this class at the Cherubs Clubhouse, we played at the water table during our aquarium unit, visited the play equipment during our trip to the park, had a bunny rabbit visitor during our farm unit and had demonstrations on the trumpet and violin. I particularly enjoyed hearing the students learn the welcome song during the term, seeing them make friends with each other, and being a part of the new connections being made by the moms in the class.

We still have room in our class so don't miss out on the fun! Come join us at 9:00 am for Family Time!

ABC Music and Me and language development

Ms. Erika attended a conference on teaching English as a second language this summer and had these thoughts about language and ABC Music and Me


Communication is a vital and essential part of each of our lives! Since I have been overseas 8 times, I have experienced firsthand the joys and trials of communicating to those of other languages and cultures. I first discovered my love for working with Internationals at 17 years when I went on my first mission trip to Taiwan. Since that time, I have been overseas 6 more times and at one time, I even anticipated living long-term in the Middle East. I did not end up living in the Middle East but I have had the opportunity to work with Internationals stateside! While living in Auburn the past 2 years, I loved working within an ESL ministry in my former church with those learning English as a second language.

The training I recently received was designed to equip us to teach Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced levels in English language proficiency. We learned how to conduct student placement interviews, basic language learning skills, planning our ESL lesson, how to introduce new vocabulary, teaching pronunciation and communication practice activities. There are four basic skills that are necessary to learn a language - listening, speaking, reading and writing. When we learned our first language, listening was the first and foremost foundational language skill. We then slowly learned how to create and mimic sounds that we heard. It is important to hear the language's individual sounds, rhythm, stress and intonation patterns so that we learned how to speak the language correctly. So it is when learning a second language! It is vital to develop and practice listening skills for any language learning.

Now that I have been teaching with Kindermusik, it is so rewarding to see that one of the major focuses of the ABC Music and Me is listening! According to Kindermusik's ABC Music and Me research "Learning to listen is a prerequisite to listening to learn, " stresses research Mayesky (1986). Listening is the first language mode that children acquire, and it provides a foundation for all aspects of language and reading development. Listening is a very large part of school learning, with students spending an estimated 50 to 75 percent of classroom time listening to the teacher,to other students, or to media" (Smith, 1992). ABC Music and Me is actually a research driven and proven method for increasing language and vocabulary. During classtime, the children are exposed to actively listening to music as well as non-musical sounds and language. We develop routines to help focus the children's attention on listening and following directions, reading stories out loud and even imitation of sounds and words, developing new vocabulary. The best part is that the child is having fun the entire time while learning!

Our ABC classes are all taught in English but we love to diversify and sometimes incorporate songs and instruments from other cultures. Occasionally we have Spanish speaking children and it is fun to see their eyes light up when we start singing a Spanish song. Kindermusik also offers Spanish home materials to help with reinforce the child's first language at home and help Spanish speaking parents connect with their child at home. No matter your first language, we hope you come join us for ABC Music and Me to Listen, Learn and Love music! We believe that music's affect on cognition and skill development is undeniable!

Erika Stewart

Reaching every child with the magic of music!

I am excited to say that in addition to the private lessons and classes that I teach, I will now be this area's representative of the school edition of ABC Music and Me, which is our language and literacy program for preK and Kindergarten classrooms! This research based program has benefits for all children, but particularly benefits those who have intellectual and physical challenges, as well as those who are learning English as a second language.

One of the unique aspects of this program is that it uses music and movement as the vehicle for learning. It is not an official "music curriculum"- it simply uses the magic of music to reach children in all areas of development. This program also involves families at home with the use of the family magazine and home materials.

I look forward to visiting schools in the area to present the program in the classrooms! If you are a teacher or an administrator in a school and would like to have a demonstration of the program, please let me know!

Check out the ABC Website: ABC Music and Me