Spring Break

We hope you're enjoying Spring Break with your little ones! As a reminder, classes will resume in Allen, McKinney and Murphy next week. See you soon!

Mrs. Cara On the Band Wagon!

Source: www.allenimage.com

Mrs. Cara was recently featured on the cover of Allen Image magazine. Mrs. Cara will be playing the French horn for the Allen Community Band under her father, celebrated Director Craig Logan. To read all about the Allen Community Band, visit Allen Image for the full article.

Join Us Tomorrow for a FREE Preschool Preview Class!

Tomorrow is the beginning of our FREE preview week for our preschool program. It is not too late to RSVP to join us in Allen. Simply email us at kindermusikloveandgrow@gmail.com to reserve your spot!

Now Accepting Monthly Payments

Our studio is committed to making music education accessible to all children. Music education is our passion! To that end, we are now accepting lowered monthly payments. We always endeavor to make enrollment easy on families, so please visit our website or email us with any questions! Our Fall semester is currently enrolling for McKinney, Allen and Garland!

Introducing: Laugh & Learn

For 3 through 4.5 year olds
Each week in class we combine your preschooler’s natural love of music, storytelling, and imaginative play with age-appropriate activities that introduce early music concepts and foster independence, social and emotional skills, language growth, and self-control. We also connect you with other parents who share in the wonder of parenting a preschooler. Parents join class for the final activities. The Kindermusik@Home digital home materials bring the music, activities, and each month’s story everywhere you go. The repetition enhances the learning—and the fun!

Our Fall semester will debut the following Laugh & Learn classes:

• Monday at 11:30a.m. in Allen
• Tuesday at 11:30a.m. in Allen
• Wednesday at 11:30a.m. in McKinney

Here is a sample activity featuring the new Digital Home Materials:

Let's Make a Hand Craft  

Introducing: Wiggle & Grow

For 2 year olds
This music-filled class celebrates the unique joys of your growing child. Each week your child will love singing, dancing, and playing instruments with you and her new friends and you’ll love helping her practice a wide variety of abilities such as gross and fine motor skills, turn-taking, social skills, and active listening. In class, we’ll also share tips and ideas for using music throughout the week. Plus, the fun (and learning!) continue with the Kindermusik@Home digital home materials, including music from class, musical activities, and each month’s story.

Our Fall semester will debut the following Wiggle and Grow classes:

• Monday at 10:30a.m. in Allen
• Tuesday at 10:30a.m. in Allen
• Wednesday at 9:30a.m. in Allen
• Wednesday at 10:30a.m. in McKinney
• Thursday at 10:00a.m. in McKinney

Here is a sample activity featuring the new Digital Home Materials: 

Find the Matching Rhyme

Introducing: Sing & Play

For 1 year olds.
Get ready to sing, play, and move with your little one in this high-energy music class designed to be just right for children under two years of age. This new Kindermusik curriculum focuses on your child's beginning movement, helping to build the muscles your baby needs to walk, and vocal development, helping to nurture your child’s speaking and singing voice. With a mix of both parent-child joint activities and child-focused activities, you’ll be able to join right in on all the singing and dancing while also getting the chance to observe how your older baby or toddler learns on her own. Embark on Kindermusik’s fun new exploration of singing, swaying, laughing, and playing through Sing & Play, a just-right mix of early-childhood vocal play and language development, together time, and music and movement activities!

Our Fall semester will debut the following Sing & Play classes:

• Monday at 9:30a.m. in Allen
• Tuesday at 12:30p.m. in Allen
• Wednesday at 9:30a.m. in McKinney
• Thursday at 11:00a.m. in McKinney
• Thursday at 12:30p.m. in Firewheel

Introducing: Cuddle & Bounce

Ages Newborn - 12 months
Cuddle, bounce, and bop with your baby in Kindermusik's newest curriculum. Whether your baby is five weeks or five months, this class will be perfect for you! With age-appropriate activities for newborns, infants and crawlers, this parent-child music and movement class will help you strengthen those early parent-child bonds, understand your baby’s development, and heavily focus on child development and communication with your baby. You and your baby will enjoy instrument play, dance, exploration time, and together time—and you’ll get expert advice and parenting resources based on the most recent research in baby development.

Our Fall semester will debut the following Cuddle & Bounce classes:

• Monday at 12:30p.m. in Allen
• Tuesday at 9:30a.m. in Allen
• Thursday at 12:00p.m. in McKinney

New Themes for Fall!

We are so excited about the upcoming Fall curriculum! In addition to new age groupings, we will have new class themes, too! Here is what you have to look forward to:

Cuddle & Bounce:

1. Little Red Caboose
2. Bluebird, Bluebird
3. Peas & Carrots

 Sing & Play: 

1. Family All Around Me
2. Around the House 
3. Big Red Barn

Wiggle & Grow:

1. How Do You Feel
2. Rhymes Around Town
3. Time for Lunch

Laugh & Learn:

1. Make Believe
2. Wild Animal Park 
3. Let's Play        

Everybody Loves Apps!

We know you lead a busy lifestyle, but we want you to enjoy the benefits of Kindermusik while on the go! Here is a link to mobile applications that can be downloaded on Itunes for your listening pleasure!

Belated Photo Friday

Whoops! We forgot to share our Photo Friday memory with you! Nothing warms the heart like seeing children dancing and playing with one another!

Ms. Susan Critiques the Cliburn Competition

Courtesy: www.TheCliburn.org

The very prestigious Cliburn competition is well underway. Here is a snippet about the competition from the Cliburn website:

"Cliburn President and CEO Jacques Marquis says: "We are looking for a true artist who can connect with audiences and touch their hearts. We give the competitors multiple platforms to present us with their artistic personality and communicative power. The winners will be offered an unparalleled opportunity to build a meaningful concert career, and we are honored to be a part of launching them onto the world stage and celebrating classical music.""

This year, Ms. Susan has been included in a list of critics invited to the June 6-9 finals. This is an exceptional honor. To read Ms. Susan's critiques and keep up-to-date on the Cliburn competition, visit the Ms. Susan's blogs here for the Clavier Companion. 

Congratulations to Ms. Susan for her inclusion with this year's critics!

There's Still Time to Register!

Summer classes are in full swing and we're very excited with the curriculum! If you miss the fun Kindermusik brings to your week, or if you're thinking of trying it for the first time, you can still register in Allen, McKinney and Garland. Visit our website for class information, pricing and more. And of course, you can always contact us here with any questions.

Photo Friday

Happy Friday! Hope to see some of you later this morning at our Bubble Party! This sweet face is a regular at our Wednesday Our Time class in McKinney. 

Pinterest Pairings

Did you know? We create boards on Pinterest to coincide with our current curriculum. The boards have educational activities for you to do at home! If you'd like to follow us on Pinterest, click here! We also have sensory bin suggestions, mom-approved recipes and more!

Here is my son Lucas experimenting with a Pinterest project!

Summer Class Registration is Here!

We are pleased to announce that our summer schedule has been released! For a complete list of our classes, and to enroll, click here.

Summer classes will take place in the following cities:

McKinney - McKinney Community Center

Allen - Joe Farmer Recreation Center

North Garland - Holford Recreation Center

If you're new to Kindermusik and would like to preview a class, email us any time! You can also be added to our mailing list to get information on our playdates, FREE events, and discounts on classes.

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.

Fun at Home: Hickory Dickory Tickle and Bounce

Visit our Pinterest Board for all kinds of Nursery Rhyme-themed activities.  Perfect for those of you in the Hickory Dickory Tickle and Bounce class!  Pair your child's favorite songs from Kindermusik class with crafts and sensory activities to create a multi-sensory learning experience. 

Lovely Lullabies

With the cold weather surrounding us, I love to work in some extra snuggle time with my little ones for warmth, especially at night.  How can I resist?  I also love to sing a song or two while they are wrapped up tight and dozing off. 

I love that Kindermusik has provided me with a collection of sweet songs to sing to my children in bed.  I must admit that when my son was a newborn I didn’t know any lullabies.  He was a Thanksgiving birthday, so I sang a lot of  “Silent Night,” and “What Child is This.”  After being exposed to the Kindermusik curriculum, among my favorites are “That’s an Irish Lullaby,” “White Coral Bells,” “Hush Little Baby.”  Other popular lullabies include: “Sleep, My Little Bird,” “Simple Gifts,” “Sweetest Little Baby,” “Rurru,” and “You are My Sunshine.”

You can find all of these, plus hundreds of song downloads on play.kindermusik.com. 

I do hope that you are treasuring your moments with your little ones, and taking time to sing to them everyday.  And, I hope that Kindermusik is providing you with songs and activities so you can sing throughout your week.  They grow so quickly, and these special moments slip by us, so sing your heart out!   And, don’t worry what you sound like—your voice is your child’s favorite!!