Hello Everyone!

This has already proven to be a very fun unit. There is so much that we will learn through the fun songs and activities.

One area that we are going to focus on is speech development. The vocal play activities we do in class aren’t just fun but are beneficial to not only your child’s speech development but for early reading skills as well.

When we use small, "nonsense" syllables like "vvvrrrrrooooommm" or "rrrrrrrrnnnnnnn" to drive our pretend car up and down our arms we are not just sparking the imagination. We are isolating syllables for your child to both hear and try to say back. These sounds will eventually be used to form spoken and written words.

Make sure you use these sounds as you play with your child at home or in the car.  The little chant in the Shiny Dinah book gives your child a lot of practice on those difficult "sh" and "ch" sounds. Try singing some of the silly sounds we have used in place of actions for the Our Time Hello Song. "It’s our time to beep-a-beep-beep together! (Or click-click; bbrmmmm; or ho-onk.)

I’m looking forward to class!

SuzAnne

We started this semester out with a focus on steady beat. A beat is the most fundamental property of music. It’s an underlying, unchanging, repeating pulse. Feeling and moving to steady beat develops a sense of time and the ability to organize and coordiante movements within time. At week six we shifted out focus to tempo which is the speed of the beat. So while we are still working on keeping that steady beat we are now experiencing the contrast of opposites such as slow and fast. One of the bonuses of early childhood music is that your child will learn more than music during our simple activities. Coordinating movements within time for instance is a math skill. As we use colorful words to describe our opposite movements we are aiding early reading skills. At home this week try singing A Ram Sam Sam to different tempos. Dance with your child as you find different words to decribe your movements. You can glide slowly like an ice skater, plod along like a turtle, swoosh quickly like an airplace, or burst like fireworks.

Today we had a lot of opportunities to share in class. It’s so hard sometimes at this age, but the children did really well. I so appreciate how all of you handled the different situations as well. Sometimes you chose to gently encourage your child to give up the wanted item and sometimes you found a compromise. Waiting for their turn with the ball was a little bit different because they didn’t have anything to takes it’s place. They all did really well though and seemed to get the idea the second time around.

This age is so fun because you don’t have to do everything for them yet they want you close by. All of the children participated really well during the BINGO dance and Walk Along Rover. They all followed our actions during both activities.

I will see you all on the 31st for our last class. Remember it is open to everyone.

The children did a great job in class this week as they used their developing listening skills. Listening is a habit we must learn and then sharpen. We worked on this important skill this week when we tried playing a steady beat on the resonator bars to Hop, Old Squirrel.  We also gave it a try during our musical version of hide and seek as we tried to discover which parent was playing an instrument.

I enjoyed watching the children with their “turtle shell scarves.” You can pretend to be a turtle at home by using a towel. The chant we used in class is as follows:

Little turtle, little turtle
Hide inside your shell.
Little turtle, little turtle
Come and crawl with me.
Little turtle, little turtle
I SEE YOU!

I’m looking forward to seeing all of you in class on Tuesday!

Remaining classes: July 17, Makeup class August 1
I will be on vacation July 24!

Our late summer and fall schedule is finished and can now be viewed at: http://www.bravamusic.net/kindermusik-classes.html. Below are two ways you can save: 

• Recommend a family to our Kindermusik program. If they enroll, you both receive $10 off the price of tuition for that semester. 
• Enroll by August 6 and receive $10 off.

If you want to enroll your child in a class, but want to wait until August 6 to make the deposit, please let me know. Classes fill quickly and I want to make sure our current students get the spots they want.

What a fun class today! I get such a kick out of each child. I love their stories.

To celebrate the Fourth, how about singing “What shall we do on the 4th of July?” to our song “What shall we do when we all go out?” We can watch fireworks, go boom like fireworks, sparkle like sparklers, or sing about the many other things your child will experience on this fun holiday.

Below you will find some more holiday ideas. I hope you all have a safe and fun day!

SuzAnne

Fourth of July Songs
It’s America’s Birthday!       
Sing to “London Bridge is Falling Down”

Beat a drum, march along, march along, march along.
Beat a drum march along, It’s America’s birthday!

Wave a flag, sing a song, sing a song, sing a song.
Wave a flag sing a song, It’s America’s Birthday!

Fireworks go snap,snap,snap! Crack,crack,crack! Zap,zap,zap!
Fireworks make me clap! On Independence Day!

Fun Fireworks Sounds
(Chant)
Boom Bang! Boom, bang, boom bang!
Rumpety, lumpety, hump!
Zoom, zam, zoom, zam!
Clippety, clappety, clump!
Rustles and bustles And swishes and zings!
What wonderful noises Fireworks bring!
I’m a Little Firework
To the tune of “I’m A Little Teapot”

I’m a little firework
Up in the sky.
I dance and I shimmer
Way up, up high.

Sometimes I’m red.
Sometimes I’m blue.
But I always sparkle
Just for you.

Blueberry Chills
24 Vanilla Wafers
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 can Blueberry pie filling
Spread crushed wafers into the bottom of a cookie sheet. Beat cream cheese, whipping cream, and powdered sugar until smooth. Pour over crumbs. Freeze. Add 1 can of blueberry pie filling. Freeze for 2 hours before serving.
 

Digging in the dirt! Is there anything that kids love more? (Except maybe collecting rocks!) Children bring such wonder back into our lives about things that we had probably stopped thinking about quite some time ago. When my five year old decided to join me this week as I pulled weeds in our flowerbeds it went from a mundane task to one of discovery. My plan to “just get it done” was soon taken over with the tiny world of spiders, ants carrying other bugs, and of course the beautiful dandelions. What a joy each child brings to our lives!

Below you will find some ideas for some more “Creatures” activites and other family resources.

For those of you who will be traveling, I hope you have a fun and safe time. We’ll see everyone else in class!

Happy 4th to everyone!

SuzAnne

Remaining Classes: July 3, 10, 17 (Makeup: July 31–all are invited even if you didn’t miss a class.)

http://www.bravamusic.net/resources.htm We will constantly be adding to this page as we find different activities, vacation spots, recipes, books and etcetera, that are of interest to families. Check back often for fun ideas.

http://www.bravamusic.net/africam.html Check out the Creatures in someone elses backyard! Our family has greatly enjoyed this live webcam in South Africa. We’ve seen baboons, kudus, wildebeests, elephants, and much more. The best time to view this site is between midnight and noon. Be careful! It’s addicting.

www.shiawasseecountyfair.com I have it on good authority (from one of our KM moms) that this is a great fair. Below is the information our KM mom sent.

August 5th-11th. Well worth the $3 adult/$2 kids (6 and up)! Check out the entertainment link for the free shows tent and FREE Draft Horse Pull (on Monday). Great 4-H Barns!!

The Benefits of Sign Language for the hearing child:

Recent studies show that children who use words and signs together display higher literacy rates than children who don’t. Even hearing children who are not exposed to signs until the preschool years go on to display enhanced vocabulary, spelling, and reading skills over non-signing children.  

• While the average 12 month old will have 3-5 spoken words, a signing child will have 25 signs and 16 words.
• At 18 months, the average child will have 10-50 spoken words. In contrast, a child who signs will have 79 signs and 105 words.
• In addition, signing children begin to form little sentences at 11-14 months. Compare this to non-signers, who do not begin to combine words into short sentences (e.g., “Da-da car”) until 20 months old on average.

The Importance of Games: 

I am not a game person. My children love games, though, and we use them a lot in their schooling and even in their music practice. Playing games within a family allows children to develop social skills in an emotionally secure environment. Games develop good school skills as well. In one study, preschool children taught with games and songs tested 10 to 20 points higher on IQ tests; by age 15 those same children had higher math and reading scores. Through games your children learn the importance of taking turns, sharing, and playing just for fun.  Make sure your bunny puppet can be a team player with your child!