Motor Skill Development: Easter Edition

We love to hear from our Kindermusik Moms what you're doing to simulate and educate your children at home! Kindermusik Mom Shara recently shared an idea with us to capitalize on Easter, that allows you to get more use out of those plastic eggs!

Shara took a few eggs and filled them with healthy snacks for her adorable daughter Elaina. Inside the eggs were items such as pretzels and fruit. Elaina loved the novelty of seeing the eggs, and it is very beneficial for toddlers around Elaina's age (12-24 months) to practice opening the eggs and trying to fit the halves back together! Easy motor skill practice at home!

Here is sweet Elaina in action:

Courtesy: Shara Sulkov

Courtesy: Shara Sulkov

Courtesy: Shara Sulkov

As always, we encourage you to email us to share what activities you're doing at home! You could be featured on our blog!

Community Highlight- Laurie Berkner Band

www.laurieberkner.com

This Saturday the Laurie Berkner Band is coming to Dallas! Laurie and her band put on an awesome musical show that children of all ages will love! You can buy ticketes HERE. The details:

WHEN

March 23rd, 2013 at 11:00 AM (1 hour 15 mins)
Doors open at 10:30:00

WHAT

A live Animal Party concert performance by The Laurie Berkner Band

WHERE

AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201

TICKETS

Pre-Sale: Available Now
Sale Date: Available Now

Ticket Price: $25-35, plus applicable fees

Music Teachers National Association Conference 2013

This week, Ms. Susan traveled to Anaheim, California, to present before the Music Teachers National Association Conference, where she discussed teaching music to adults! Ms. Susan has been a music educator for many years, and is gifted in teaching people of all ages. We are so pleased to have her as part of the Love & Grow Music Studio team! Here, in her own words, is a summary of her lecture:

Get Happy! The Magic of Recreational Music Making

Susan Geffen, NCTM

Mature Recreational Music Making students often come to classes with a lifelong dream of playing an instrument. Many of them have waited a long time for music lessons, sometimes since childhood, postponing instruction because of personal or professional obligations, economic challenges, or even the simple fear of failure.

Now these grown-ups are tuning the pianos their kids played, or perhaps they are buying new electronic keyboards for their apartments. After years of waiting, these students know what they want: they are ready to play—right now—and you the RMM teacher are there to jump-start their wish fulfillment. Not only that, you might fulfill a dream of your own: delighting in every adult class you teach.

The session is for both new and veteran RMM teachers. New RMM educators will get an idea of why teaching RMM is so invigorating, and veteran teachers will take home new teaching ideas they can put to use as soon as they return to their classrooms.

Craft Time: St. Patrick's Day

Nothing is more inspiring than seeing other mom's bring creativity to life in their own homes! No Time For Flashcards is a blog comprised of moms and their brilliance in home activities and crafts focused on  educating your pre-school aged children at home.

For St. Patrick's Day, they are featuring a very simple craft that will result in this:

No Time For Flashcards

All you need is a salad spinner, some non-toxic paints, and paper plates! For a beautiful, detailed photo tutorial, click here. Trace a design on your plate, put it in the spinner, add some paint and SPINNNNN! When the paint dries, cut out your shape!

Spring Break 2013

Next week is Spring Break and there will be no classes. Follow us on Pinterest for lots of creative play ideas and recipes for home!

Lemon Rolls

Recently I had some items in my pantry that I needed to use up so I turned to my friend The Internet. I found a recipe for some lemon rolls. They were so easy, they were literally prepared in less than 10 minutes, which is a necessity for a busy mom! Don't you love The Internet? So many creative people and ideas!

Ingredients:

1 Pop tube of crescent rolls (I used the "sheet" kind so I didn't have to pinch the seams shut - easy!)

1/4 cup of sugar 

1 block of Cream cheese

Lemon juice

Vanilla

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Milk

Instructions: 

• Unroll your crescent dough. Pinch the seams shut unless you're using the sheet. 
• Mix the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. You should know I just eyeballed the lemon juice and vanilla, as I wasn't about to unnecessarily dirty extra measuring utensils! (I'd say approximately 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a pinch of vanilla.)
• I smeared the mixture all over the dough and then rolled it into a log. 
• I then cut 8 "rolls" from the log and put them into a greased pan where I baked them for 23 minutes at 350 degrees. 
• For the glaze whisk powdered sugar, more lemon juice, and a teaspoon of milk together. You can add a little melted butter if you'd like but I didn't and they were just fine! Just pour the goodness over your rolls after you take them out!

Original recipe found here. 

Playdate: It's Your Lucky Day!

We will dance an Irish jig, sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and much more! 

Playdate: It's Your Lucky Day (themed for St. Patrick's Day)

When: March 12, 2013

Time: 10-10:45 a.m.

Where: Holford Recreation Center (2314 Homestead Place, Garland TX 75044)