Hi Everyone!

What great classes we had this week. I loved watching the children pretend to be robins, kites, and stars. What imaginations and what fun. I learn from the children each week as they express their own ideas and ways of doing things. When they play with us in class, they in turn are learning from their best teacher–YOU!!

Play CD Track 2 this week at home and try the simple finger play below with your child. Watch how rapt he/she becomes when listening, watching, and moving all at once. When you’re ready, try it on your own without the CD. A great way to do this with the babies is while they are at their highchairs. They may not be able to mimic you yet, but you will soon see signs that they are anticipating what’s next. You’re sure to get big smiles as they watch you sing and play.

Activities that integrate a young child’s senses are an extraordinary way to get–and keep–a young child’s attention. They provide a multiplicity of learning benefits, including exercising listening skills, enhancing vocabulary development, and building and refining motor skills.

I hope you all have a great week! I look forward to next weeks classes.

SuzAnne

Mr. Sun

Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, (Make a sun shape with your hands over your head.)
Please shine down on me. (Wiggle your fingers while lowering your hands, then point to yourself on “me.”)
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, (Make a sun shape with your hands over your head.)
Hiding behind a tree. (Put your hands behind your back.)
These little children are asking you (Point to your child.)
To please come out so we can play with you. (Make a “come here” motion with your hand.)
Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, (Make a sun shape with your hands over your head.)
Please shine down on, (Wiggle your fingers while lowering your hands.)
Please shine down on,
Please shine down on,
Me! (Point to yourself with great emphasis!)

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying this great fall weather.

We are going to be offering free classes at the Pumpkin Festival on a first-come first-serve basis. You are all welcome to come and join in the fun. The classes will be held at 9:30; 10:30; and 11:30. If they are a success in the morning, we will add more in the afternoon. If you have any friends that may be interested in checking us out, this is a great opportunity.

The Pumpkin Festival, in my opinion, is the best festival in Michigan for little kids. This is not your typical carnival type festival. There will be inflatables, local entertainment, Pumpkin Derby, Hayrides, a kiddie train, and much more. Wristbands are $3.00/person. It’s a great fall activity. You can learn more at: http://www.cityofdavison.org/index2.asp?nguid={1607509E-2C0D-4D2C-B94C-4513CEEC4B94}. I hope to see you all there.

Below are the dates for the classes we have left:

Pumpkins and Turkeys: Oct 20, 27, Nov 3, 10, 17

Dreidels and Candy Canes: Dec 1, 8

Monday Evening Family Time: Oct 6, 13, 20, 27 (dress-up day), Nov 3, 10, 17 (I will be offering a two week Christmas class after this one is done on Dec 1 and 8. The cost will be $23.00/child.)

Tuesday Our Time Class: Oct 7, 14, 21, 28 (dress-up day), Nov 4, 11, 18, Dec 2, 9, 16, Jan 6, & 13.

Please note that we will be off the week of Thanksgiving.

Looking forward to another great week of classes,

SuzAnne

MILK & COOKIES STUDENTS

With singing, listening and moving, we enjoyed another class of fun and play centered upon the theme of “home.” As you listen to your recording of In My House, notice the words “dust, dust, dust” which continues throughout the song. Engage your child in vocal play as you speak these words, changing the inflection of your voice (high, low, quiet, loud). Have fun dancing and dusting to the recording. Also, explore other words and movements such as “swish, swish, swish” and “rub, rub, rub,” or even make up your own phrases! Engaging in such vocal play can increase your child’s vocal expressiveness. We will talk about the importance of vocal play and how it helps in early reading in the coming weeks. Believe it or not, even nonsense words are very important.

Taking the Kindermusik classroom experience into the home will help your child adapt to the Kindermusik environment by familiarizing him/her with the routines of class. Refer to pages 8-9 of your Home Activity Book for more play ideas.

APPLES AND SCARECROWS

We have two more weeks of Apples and Scarecrows left. Don’t forget to sign up this week for our next class: Pumpkins and Turkeys.

EVERYONE

I’m having a lot of fun with the fall songs/activities we are doing. A great stop on your way home from class is Jack Abernathy Park in Davison. The nature trail is beautiful this time of year. Make sure you have a bag with you to collect some leaves.

See you in class!

Are you and your little one feeling a little shut-in? Below are some ideas to liven up these cold winter days.

Have your own Kindermusik class! Gather some doll and animal friends, your CD, and Family Activity Guide for your very own class. You have a lot of instruments you can use right at home: pots, pans, spoons, buckets, etc. Take turns with your child teaching the class. You can also find Kindermusik classes at www.youtube.com to use.

Start an Art Wall. Designate a wall in your house to display all your young artists masterpieces. Below are some ideas on how you can get started:

• Put freezer paper on the bottom of your art wall (dull side up). Cut out winter scenes from a catalog or magazine. Draw roads on the freezer paper. Using stick glue, help your child design their "town" using the magazine clippings.
• Tape a piece of freezer paper to the wall. Draw a snow globe on the paper. Have your child draw a scene in the globe or use some of the above clippings to decorate the snow globe.
• Put a piece of freezer paper on your wall that is as tall as your child. (You may need to use two pieces for width.) With your child standing up against the paper, trace around their whole body. Using markers, crayons, yarn, fabric scraps etc. let your child make their self-portrait.
• When displaying artwork, put your child’s initial and the date on the masterpiece. Take a picture before taking it down. Your child will love seeing their work again and it eases the pain when their beloved art has to be thrown away. Grandparents that live far away will also enjoy the pictures.

Snow Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream
Sugar (to taste)
Vanilla (to taste)
4 cups of clean snow.

Whip the cream. Fold in sugar and vanilla to taste. Fold snow into cream mixture. Eat immediately or freeze until ice cream is hardened. Makes about 6 servings. My girls think this is so neat.

Do You Know My Valentine
(To the tune of ‘Do You Know the Muffin Man?’)

Do you know my Valentine,
My Valentine, my Valentine,
(Child’s name) is my Valentine,
Stand up and take a bow! (I will hug him/her now.)

A Valentine Finger Play

I put my hands together (put the "heels" of your palms" together)
This is how I start;
I curve my fingers right around (curve fingers in so they touch)
And I can make a heart!

Next week is the last week for the Family Time Classes. If there are any songs/activities that your child particularly enjoyed, please e-mail them to me so that we can do them one more time.

The schedule for next semester will be posted by Thursday. Please sign up as soon as you can so I can reserve a spot for you. Even though the first payment is not due until December 21, all current students can reserve a spot.  Take note though, that I won’t be able to order your child’s At Home Materials until you make the first payment.

Below you will find the Thanksgiving songs we did in class.

I hope you all enjoy this week off and have a wonderful time with your family. One of the things I’m most thankful for is all the dear children that I teach. Each one is very special.

Happy Thanksgiving!

SuzAnne

Hello Mr. Turkey!
(Tune: If You’re Happy and You Know It)

Hello Mr. Turkey! How are you? (clap, clap)
Hello Mr. Turkey! How are you?
With a gobble, gobble, gobble, and a wobble, wobble, wobble,
Hello Mr. Turkey! How are you?

Gobble, Gobble is the Sound
(Military Chant)

Gobble, gobble is the sound. (repeat)
Of the turkey fat and round. (repeat)
Thanksgiving Day will soon be here. (repeat)
Then he’ll surely disapprear. (repeat)

Thank You Song
(Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Thank you for the sun so bright.
Thank you for the moon at night.
Thank you for my family.
Thanks for friends who play with me.
Thanks for everything I see
I am thankful, yes sirree!

I’m Glad I’m Not a Turkey
(Tune: Did You Ever See a Lassie?)

I’m glad I’m not a turkey, a turkey, a turkey.
I’m glad I’m not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
They stuff you and baste you,
And then they will taste you.
I’m glad I’m not a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

Jenna was sick this morning so I stayed home from church with her. It’s always nice to have a few hours of one on one time.

 The first few years that Jenna was in school she loved her poetry books and would beg me to read more or to reread her favorites. Last year we had a poetry book that even I couldn’t wait to finish. When I brought out this years poetry book, she moaned and groaned. It made me sad to think of how much she had loved poetry before that last book. I promised her that this year would be better. (And I promised myself to never use last years book again.)

This morning, as I was reading to her from the new book, I was amazed to see how she is growing up on the inside. As we read, and laughed, and talked over the different poems I was amazed at the new relationship that is developing between us. I do miss those baby and toddler days but this new phase is fun, too. It really does go too fast but each new phase is so precious. Hopefully, she won’t lose her desire to cuddle up with me and a good book anytime soon!

Last Tuesday I took the girls on a field trip to the Flint Children’s Museum. We had not been since Eva used a pacifier! We had so much fun.It’s definitely a children’s museum. It’s perfect for the little guys. My older girls enjoyed it too because it was so fun playing make believe with Eva. They pretended to be firefighters, Mom’s grocery shopping, helicopter pilots, and princesses. There is a mini-rock climbing wall, mini-puppet theatre, music room, a really nice, playhouse,  princess carriage, and much more. I think the part they enjoyed the most was the stage that is fully equipped with costumes and a TV monitor on which they can watch their impromptu productions. You can the details of the museum at: http://www.flintchildrensmuseum.org/. There’s a lot of construction in the area so make sure you call the museum before you go to find out the best route.

So far in our classes we have explored tempo (moving to different speeds), levels (the extremes of high and low), pathways (different ways to get from one place to another), and weight (the force of our movement). These units have allowed us to get out of the comfort zone of medium, middle, and straight. As we explore these different elements of movement, it’s good to use all kinds of decriptive words. By doing so we are not only giving the children a precise description for the movement we want but we are also helping them to develop a larger vocabulary. This will prove to be very beneficial to them when they begin to read. So see this week how many words you can come up with to describe the different movements you and your child try: sway, swing, leap, swoop, burst, wring, or twirl.  Don’t forget to try some activites found in the Family Activity Guide.

Tomorrow is the Pumpkin Festival in Davison. In my opinion it’s the best festival in Michigan for little kids. You can find out more about it at: http://www.cityofdavison.org/.

When we lived in Illionois, our family went to a great cider mill every year. It was small enough for kids but had a nice store and great cider and donuts. Since we’ve been back to Michigan we haven’t found a cider mill that we just loved-until now. Porters Apple Orchard on Hegel Road in Goodrich is just what we’ve been looking for. They have really good cider and donuts. There little store has a lot of neat things in it. Outside is a fast slide, zipline, and a small petting zoo. They also have a corn maize and apple picking.  You’re family is sure to enjoy this very child friendly orchard. (If you do get to northern Illionois the name of the other Cider Mill is Edward’s Apple Orchard. Another great one out there is Royal Oak Fruit Farm.)

Please let me know of other family friendly activities as you find them and I will share it with everyone else!

 The Fall songs we have been singing in Kindermusik are as follows:

The Leaf Song

One little leaf,
Two little leaves,
Three little leaves today.
Four little leaves,
Five little leaves…
Whew! Blow them all away.

Pumpkins are Growing

Pumpkins are growing
Pumpkins are growing
In the patch
In the patch
Look at all the pumpkins
Look at all the pumpkins
Orange and round
Orange and round

I hope you are all having a great Autumn!