Fall classes

The Chelsea Library story time was a hit! I was very happy with how many kids were there. We did a sample class from the Family Time curriculum. What a great library! It was a lot of fun. I have had a lot of interest after these demos.

In order to make sure there is a spot for your child this fall, be sure to go ahead and sign up. If you sign up before August 18, you will get an early bird discount. The Tuesday morning ABC Music and Me class in particular is filling up really quickly.

My next demo will be at the North Shelby Library on Sunday, August 24 at 2:00. At 2:00, we will do a sample from the ABC curriculum. I am very excited about this lesson! At 2:30, we will do a sample Our Time class for toddlers. Be sure to be there!

Included in your tuition, are the At Home Materials which all the learning to continue into the home. They include age appropriate instruments, an activity book, and a CD of the songs from our class. Your child will get much more out of each class if you spend time with the materials at home. They will enjoy that special time with you as well. We will also have family night once a semester, and I will also be conducting story time demos from time to time which are like a free class!


Chelsea Story Time
At the Chelsea story time, I was so surprised at the response!
We started out with our Hello How Do You Do song-- which begins every class. We always want to start and end each class the same way to provide emotional security for the child and so they will be able to predict what comes next.

Next, we explored with a little vocal play to extend the vocal ranges of the children as we sang Wishy Washy Wee! The children then played the zig zag blocks and rhythm sticks as the moms sang the new song. The moms did great with the expressive vocal play and singing!

Then we did some focused listening as we listened to Frog Sounds. The kids love to hear recordings of real animal sounds and imitate them! It is not only fun for the kids, but it is important to spend time at class and at home practicing active listening skills. We all need to turn down the noise level in our homes and sit and listen. It is not only good for our verbal skills, but also extends the attention span.

After that, we imitated the frogs by making our own frog callers. This is something that can be done at home out of everyday objects around the house. Ever notice how the kids love to make drums out of pots, pans, tupperware, cans and shakers? After some exploration with the instruments, we played our new instruments with a recording of a song about frogs. Working on a steady beat is not only important to future musicians, but it is also important in every day life. Walking, running, bouncing a ball, riding a bike, and cutting with scissors are all examples of activities that are done in a steady repeated pattern like a steady beat.

Next, I showed everyone my trumpet. This is something I added to the Kindermusik demonstration because I thought everyone would enjoy it. I used the trumpet to work on inhibitory control with the class. I played a theme from the opera Carmen and let the children gallop around to the music. When I stopped playing, they had to freeze. This is an important step towards learning the musical concept of a rest. It is also a first step towards self control, and learning to follow directions.

After that, it was everyone's favorite time-- instrument exploration! I let everyone try one of the many instruments I had. There were so many kids though, that I ran out! This activity is fun in a large group, but in a smaller group like an actual class, there is more time for the kids to trade instruments and for me to spend individual time with each child instructing them about the proper way to play the instrument. This exploration is not only fun, but it is important for their cognitive development as they learn to discern which instrument make which sound. It is also good for their fine motor skills because each instrument is played in a different way. This helps prepare them for eating with a spoon, writing, or playing another instrument such as piano. After exploration, we played along to She'll be Coming Around the Mountain.

Then we read the Going to Bed Book and the children signed along with me as we read. It is important to actively engage the children in listening to a story at this age. Ask questions about the pictures, put movement or music to the plot, have them do the hand motions or sign language.

At the very end, we pretended we were on the boat that we had just read about as we all rocked and moved to a Barcarolle or a boat song. This gave the children an opportunity to wind down after the class and learn to relax. Learning to relax is an important skills that needs to be implemented in the child's day during times other than bedtime and nap time. Turn the TV off and play some soft music during that mid-afternoon fussy time. Sit and read books before dinner. Children are so active during the day that they need time to wind down before they get overstimulated. We usually see the symptoms of over-stimulation too late when they have a meltdown. The rocking motion is a very calming activity and we saw many different methods of rocking in our class! I was so excited to see the moms coming up with new ways to rock their children! Rocking is not only calming, but it also stimulated the vesitibular system in the ears, which is the system that working with our cooridination and balance. I bet you didn't know that Kindermusik could prepare your child for sports!