We had a great time in class today “visiting” the beach. There were so many big smiles as we played with hoops, beachballs, and of course the sponges and water.  The children also enjoyed playing with the instruments. I think the part they loved the best though was dancing with mom.

We had lots of opportunites today to work on visual tracking. Try to do some of these activities at home to help those little eye muscles develop. Our familiy has experienced firsthand how this can affect a child’s early reading attempts. And what a better way to help them in this area than with music and fun activities.

Remember you do have class next week even though my other classes won’t be meeting. Our last class will be August 1.

A Visit to the Doctor–We had a good time this week singing and dancing to songs that featured labeling the parts of our bodies. Most of the signs for body parts are made by just pointing to that body part. 

We also do another type of labeling during class–labeling sound qualities or timbres (pronounced ‘tambers’) when we use the various instruments.  By listening to interesting sounds, we exercise the children’s ability to focus and listen attentively. When we label the sounds by using a variety of descriptive words we are helping the children develop their emerging language abilities. 

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 familiy 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.

I’ll see you on Wednesday when we take a trip to the beach!

Classes left: July 18, 25, Makeup class August 1

Hi Everyone!

Just a reminder that there isn’t class tomorrow.

Below are some Fourth of July activities. I hope you all have a great holiday!

 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.
 

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had a good time “at the park” this week in class. Visiting the park is one of the best ways to engage your child in Sign Language.  You have a captive audience while they are swinging or going down the slide. Remember if there are additional signs you wish to learn, please let me know.

On raining days you can make your own park indoors by sliding and swinging to music. Don’t forget to hammock your child for some additional swinging. You can also bring balls in and roll them while listening to your Busy Days! CD. The boys really enjoyed our indoor “stroller” ride as we pulled them in the laundry baskets (string a rope or towel through the holes in the basket).

Below are some ideas for family fun and developmental information.

Remember there won’t be class this week. I hope you all have a great 4th of July.

SuzAnne

Remaining classes: July 11, 18, & 25 (Makeup August 1–All are invited to this class even if you don’t miss a class.)

Take a trip to South Africa–

Visit http://www.bravamusic.net/africam.html to see baboons, kudus, wildebeests, elephants, and much more. Africam is a live webcam in South Africa. The best time to view this site is between midnight and noon. Be careful! It’s addicting.

Fun Family Activities: http://www.bravamusic.net/resources.html 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.

Go the Fair!– www.shiawasseecountyfair.com I have it on good authority (from one of our KM moms) that this is a great fair. She says the $3/adult and $2/child ages 6 and up is well worth it. Check out the entertainment link for the free shows tent and FREE Draft Horse Pull. The 4-H barns are great!

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.