Piano this week

We had wonderful piano classes this week! We had an instrument demonstration on the violin. Each class played computer theory games. My older classes learned how to set up algebraic equations to determine the missing beats in the measure.

My private piano students are beginning their music history research projects. We will all be choosing recital music soon and we will all be researching our composers. Our recital is held at a nursing home as a special treat for those who live there.

Our practice-a-thon is still going strong! I know a lot of kids have worked very hard on practicing and on raising pledges for the Free Wheelchair Mission. We have until your lesson or class this week to continue working toward our goal. Contribution can be made on our fundraiser website (a link is on the right side of the blog)

A trip to the aquarium!

Bring your cameras next week!

Today our family time class took a trip to the aquarium! We started out in our blue tulle "ocean" with sea animal puzzles and toys. Then we worked on gross motor skills while swimming to the music. We used scarves to pretend to be whales deep in the ocean and used our scarves to leap out of the sea. The large tulle "water" made great waves and currents during this song!

The kids are really starting to respond to story time! I remember the first few weeks of class, when we would have a few attempted escapes from the room or crying during reading time. They are enjoying the story time a lot more and this is showing great progress in attention skills and school readiness!

The parachute "waves" were a fun activity we used to help the children hear, see and feel beats in groupings of three. The organization of steady beat at an early age not only prepares them for future music study, but also helps with early reading and math skills. A few of use were "bonked" with the balls during this activity, but it was fun anyway!

I thought the children would enjoy a quick demonstration on the trumpet today! We noticed that the mouthpeice by itself sounds a lot like a duck but not much like a trumpet. Each child was able to press the valves or buttons on the trumpet. Kids love to see instruments like this and it inspires them to learn more about music.

The children loved the free movement with the bubbles today! Hopefully, we can use our bubble machine a little more next week! This is one wonderful thing about teaching at the Cherubs Clubhouse. There are so many great props to use that I wouldn't have any where else!

Our last main activity was the water table we the sea creatures! Next week, I plan to add a few new items to the table. Playing in water is very relaxing to children so we incorporated this into our relaxation time at the end of class while we listened to one of our Spanish songs from the CD. I thought by using the water table at the Cherubs Clubhouse, we could have a hands on, multi-sensory experience to go along with our aquarium theme. Just another on of those perks of Kindermusik classes at the clubhouse :-)

We are already registering for our April term of Family time and Sign and Sing. Be sure to sign up if you are interested. Those currently enrolled will have first priority to register if they sign up before spring break. I will be doing a demo class during spring break and we may have several sign up then! We already have 2 interested in joining our class in April so sign up before all the spots are gone!

Music for Mobility

This week our practice-a-thon has begun for the piano students at the Imaginations Music Studio. We will be raising money to send wheelchairs across the world to those in need in faraway places like Haiti through the Free Wheelchair Mission. One wheelchair can be bought for less than $60! Think of the impact even ONE wheelchair can make to its recipient and their family. Our goal is to raise enough money for 10 wheelchairs. Help your child to get pledges per minute, hour or day of practice for the next 2 weeks. Flat donations of any demonination are also accepted. Log your child's practice time in minutes for the next 2 weeks on the form that came home this week after their class or lesson. The child with the most practice time at the end of the 2 week period will recieve a prize!

Check out our Fundraising website, Music for Mobility

Logging practice time also helps your child to see the direct correlation between practice and progress. The competition of a "practice-a-thon" can also spur your child on to practice more than they might usually practice. There will be more info about practice time on your child's log.

I would like to encourage Kindermusik student to participate as well. I will make a jar available to collect loose change at the Cherubs Clubhouse. So bring by your loose change or cash to your next class if you would like to participate. The next time you buy your child a freezy pop or a drink at the Cherubs Clubhouse, donate the leftover change to mobility for those in need. Also, feel free to post our offical Music for Mobility fundraiser site and email it to all your friends as well. Let's raise awareness for this need and see if we can make a difference in someone's life!
Music for Mobility

Summer camp expo, Kidsfest, and Mom's market

The Cherubs Clubhouse and the Imaginations Music Studio was represented today at the Birmingham Parent magazine summer camp expo at Brookwood mall. We will also be represented soon at the Mom's Market in Pelham, and at the Birmingham Kids Directory Kidsfest in Hoover. We have a lot of classes going on at the Cherubs Clubhouse and some great summer programs and camps coming up! Contact me for more information at imaginationsmusic@bellsouth.net

We also just finished up our "Share the Love" fundraiser at the Cherubs Clubhouse. The event was a sucess and fun for all. Our piano studio will be doing a fundraiser to help raise money for Haiti very soon as well.

ABC Music and Me finishes up Sounds Abound!

Tomorrow in Lesson 4, your child will :
• Read graphic notation by associating symbols with
sound effects.
• Played cups as part of an ensemble.
• Used cups, a one-bell jingle, and lummi sticks to create
sound effects.
• Played high notes, low notes, an elbow-to-wrist
glissando, or knocked on the keyboard to create
sound effects.
• Hummed along to a familiar tune.
• Created vocal sound effects for a story.
• Listen to the trumpet and observe how a cup mute changes the timbre of the instrument.

Humming is the perfect way to
practice pitch and melody without being distracted or encumbered by the words. In class tomorrow, your child will pretend to be in a boat an hum the tune “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”


Bring the learning home!
Turn travel time into quality time with a game of “Name That Tune”! Take
turns humming a tune to be identified.
If your child seems to be struggling, sprinkle some words in as a hint. For example, for “Happy Birthday” you might do the following: “hm-hm hm hm to you, hm-hm hm hm to you.” How fun to discover you can sing with your mouth closed!

Next week we will begin our next unit...

An Outing at the Park

I couldn't think of a better location to teach today's Kindermusik class than an indoor park like at the Cherubs Clubhouse! Our Family Time class this morning was focused on an outing at the park. We made animal sounds, took a walk, shooed flies, and had a picnic. After class, the group went to play on our indoor playground equipment. Our class seems to be growing a little each week and that is wonderful!! We had 3 new students this week!

One activity that can be carried into the home is the water bottles we used as a scraping instrument to sound like a croaking frog. Our bottles had beans in them which also turned them into shakers. Another alternative would be water with a touch of food coloring. So many parents are interested in getting their toddler into piano, guitar or violin lessons. I enjoyed watching our class this morning enjoy the simple water bottle instruments. There is no limit to creative exploration with the simple instruments like shakers, scrapers and sticks. There is also not a "wrong way" to play them. The children this morning even seemed to enjoy just looking at the instruments. This provides them with much more creative options and sensory stimulation than a more complicated instrument like piano as well as preparing them for the piano by working different groups of fine motor muscles in their arms.

Our circle "dance" today was a big hit too. The younger kids were carried in their mother's arms as they watched, listened and physically felt the steady beat. Some of the older kids participated on their own and did a great job of following along with the class! Way to go! Our circle dances also draw the child's attention the form of music. Most music has an A and B section. By changing our movement on the B section, the child experiences this in an auditory, visual and kinesthetic way.

In several of our activities, we were providing an example of how to follow directions to the child. The younger children may not be able to follow multi-step directions yet, but they will learn as they hear their parents echo the teacher, as they see the older kids participate in the stop/start activities, and as they are carried through the motions of the circle dances according to the instructions.

Music for Mobility

Our first studio service project is coming up soon! We will be participating in a “Music for Mobility” practice-a-thon from February 21- March 7. This type of service project not only gets the children involved in a worthy cause, but it also encourages them to practice more and become more aware of their practice habits.
We will be donating the money we make towards a program called Free Wheelchair Mission. It is an international development organization working in seventy-five countries across the world to transform lives through the gift of mobility. Free Wheelchair Mission distributes wheelchairs for free to the disabled poor in developing countries – all for $59.20! Through their organization we will be able to help restore dignity and hope in children and adults who have a disability, empower families to be productive citizens in their community, and allow individuals to gain mobility! These are just a few of the things the money we raise will help do for these recipients.

All money donated to Free Wheelchair Mission is tax deductible if anyone asks you and the tax ID will be listed on the sponsor form. Please call me if you have any questions or would like to get involved.
We are so excited about this year’s practice-a-thon—we know it’s going to be great!