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!

How do I practice?

This may be my shortest post ever- how to practice piano:
1. count out loud
2. say the letter names of the notes
3. tap the music
4. listen to the recording
5. play through the piece at a slow, steady speed
6. all of the above

Kindermusik Challenge of the Week

This week in our Family Time class, I am going to focus a little more on relaxation time in class. One thing I have noticed lately in my own home is the need to have quiet time. Whether it is reading time, listening to soft music, cuddling or even watching a movie all bundled up in blankets with the lights down low; we all need some down time. This is particularly important for older preschoolers who may have dropped their nap time.

When I notice that my children are restless and irritable, its usually time for a break from the stimulation either in the form of a nap or quiet time. The busier we are, the more we need this time but unfortunately, when we are busy we devote less time to it. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes of singing, snuggling, or reading with your child to totally change their (and your) behavior. Think of it like a "pre-time-out." Sometimes all that is needed to prevent the need of a time out is a little special quiet time spent with your child.

I have been very busy lately with all the new classes that have just started at the Cherubs Clubhouse but I am going to challenge myself to spend at least 10 minutes a day in relaxation with my children at times other than bedtime or nap time. In our class tomorrow we are going to practice implementing relaxation time and work on some techniques to promote bonding and peace in the home. Would you take the challenge too? Turn to tracks 6, 8,11 and 24 of your Family Time CD for relaxing music. Gather up a pile of books, a blanket and your puppets to cuddle and follow your child's lead as to how he needs to relax. Try to plan relaxation time for 5 to 10 minutes each day. It is not only good for you, but it is also good for your children.

We will be working on some intentional touch techniques in our class this week during our relaxation time. Check out the huggies website for more information about the strokes we will be using. Huggies Website You don't have to have any kind of training or supplies to learn these new ways to touch your baby or toddler. Check it out!

Yesterday, my 5 year old was still feeling sick from a cold. She received a lot of comfort from the intentional touch activities from the Huggies website as well as rocking to relaxing music. Even at 5 she benefited from these techniques and was asking for more! If you child learns to slow down and relax at a young age, it is something they can carry with them as they grow older and mature.

Four common mistakes concerning piano practice

1. Giving the child a set amount of practice time for each day, but not supervising the practice.
When I graduated college I taught private lessons for a while in the prep department where I graduated. I once had a young student who simply was not progressing like she should from week to week. The parents were concerned about her lack of progress. They told me how she practiced every day all on her own. As it turned out, the child was spending all of her time at the piano banging around and playing music from previous recitals. She was spending adequate time at the piano, but not really "practicing". She was not practicing her new music at all nor was she completing her written theory assignments. While do not want to extinguish the child's exploration at the keyboard or repetition of old music, we do need to encourage the child to accurately practice new assignments before composing their own pieces and working on old songs. New concepts can also be incorporated in the child's exploration in order to reinforce the new theory lessons learned each week.

2. Simply "running through" the pieces assigned without giving adequate time to the music.Another common mistake is to simply run through all of the assigned pieces like running through a checklist. Sometimes the student plays through the assignments too fast, and does not play accurate rhythms or notes. Other times, there may be a more difficult passage within the music that needs more attention. When a mistake is made, the student needs to go back to the point of mistake, study the music and isolate that section slowly until it improves. It is worthless to mindlessly practice music without trying to make improvement each time. Work to set goals each time you practice. Ask your child to set these goals in practice. Ask, "What can you improve about your performance of this piece?" "What do you think you could do better next time?" Seek a more specific answer than "I want to get more notes, or I want to play it faster." Specifically ask about their use of expression, their rhythm, or their memory work. Let the child learn to critique himself.

3. Practicing the same WAY each time.
Get creative in practice. Don't just sit and have your child play the same thing over and over in the same way. Count it out loud. Say the letter names of the notes. Search for hidden patterns in the music. Sing the words. Listen to the recording. Have you child teach the song to YOU, or to a sibling. Make it a game. Interact with your child during the practice but keep it light and fun. Instead of always generically praising your child for a job well done, point out specific things that you noticed during practice. Or better yet, ask your child to point them out. Asking them how THEY felt about the way they played a piece can help build confidence from within that is not based on outside praise.

4. Pushing the child too hard to practice a certain length of time, progress to the next "level" or learn a new piece.
It is much better to have a few short practice sessions than to try to push your child for a longer period of practice. If the child feels pressured or overly critiqued, they will not enjoy practice time. Let them progress at their own pace. Reward them for their time, praise them and make it a game.

One of my favorite Maria Montessori quotes is "teach teaching, not correcting." We do have to correct mistakes from time to time, but let's try not to ALWAYS be correcting. We want to set the child up for success by progressing at the child's pace and presenting each lesson in a way to prepare them ahead of time for the more difficult concepts.

Keep practice fun and always try to end the session on a positive note. You want to leave your child looking forward to the next practice session and lesson.

ABC Music and Me activities from class

Sounds Abound


Yesterday, in Lesson 2, your child:
• Discussed the concept of sound effects.
• Listened to and created sound effects with instruments
and his or her voice.
• Heard stories with sound effects presented aurally
and visually.
• Reviewed the sound of temple blocks
• Explored ways to make sound effects using
the keyboard.
• Practiced humming and engaged in pretend play.
• Moved expressively with scarves to music.
• Played a singing game with cumulative movements.



Imaginary play is the perfect way to foster creativity and explore what is and is not possible. Children often enjoy taking creative license, enabling the impossible to be possible through play.

Bring the learning home!
In songs like “Put a Rock in My Pocket,” opportunities to imagine and pretend stretch your little one’s imagination. You can promote creativity by challenging your child to answer some open-ended questions. Try:

• What would happen if all cars were made of jelly?
• What toy would be more fun if it were slippery?
• If rain came in colors, what color would you like?

In class, your child pretended to find various objects and put them into his or her pocket: a rock, a leaf, a feather, and more. Use imagination to play your own “in my pocket” game at home. What could you pretend to put in your pocket? A bean? A wish? An elephant? Listen to CD Track 9 as you sing, hum, and imagine or pretend.

Piano!

Here, There and Everywhere

We had a great Kindermusik class this morning! We will begin and end each class the same way every week to get the children accustomed to the routine of our class. The more they use the home materials, the more they will become familiar with all the activities from class. I can really tell when a family has listened to their CD at home and when they read their books at home as well. The home materials are what makes Kindermusik unique. They allow you to continue learning at home and get the most out of class.

Our theme today was visiting a friend. In your family guide, you can read about more activities for the home that go along with our theme. Today we worked on developing gross motor skills with our free movement activities. We flew like butterflies and kites with our scarves. Our props from today like the scarves and balls provide a visual and tactile representation of sound and steady beat. We worked on fine motor skills as the kids experimented with different instruments and participated in our finger play. The simple songs that we sang unaccompanied allowed the children to focus on the melody so that they can learn to sing. The children seemed to enjoy story time and relaxation time at the end of class. As we rocked our puppets, I enjoyed rocking with 2 of the kids from our class. Rocking is not only relaxing, but provides stimulation for the vestibular system to help with their sense of balance. Everyone had a great time on the play gym afterwards and did not want to leave. We are looking forward to next week!