Hello, Everybody!

It was great to see everyone after a winter break, and we really enjoyed the new 10:00 a.m. class!  We’re going to have a great time in both classes, so hang on to your hats!

As usual, the second week will have the same songs as the first week, so you can get used to the new materials.  Weeks 3 and 4 also follow below.

Weeks 1-4

Weeks 1&2

  1. Water Play
  2. Ridin’ in the Car
  3. Follow Me Down to Carlow
  4. Mary Wore a Red Dress
  5. Rocketship
  6. Spin & Stop
  7. Stick Tune
  8. Don Alfredo Baila
  9. When the Saints Go Marchin’ In
  10. May All Children

 

Week 3

  1. I’m Freezing
  2. Trot to Grandma’s
  3. Mix it Up
  4. Happy Puppy, Silly Cat
  5. Water Play
  6. Nigun
  7. Roll that Little Ball
  8. Blow the Wind
  9. Play Along Too
  10. Husha my Baby

 

Week 4*

  1. Blow the Wind
  2. Trot to Grandma’s
  3. The Tailor and the Mouse
  4. Mary Wore a Red Dress
  5. Jack in the Box
  6. Don Alfredo
  7. Spin & Stop
  8. When the Saints Go Marchin’ In
  9. Nigun
  10. May All Children
    *Take a look at your growth chart before coming to class.  If you are new, we’ll give these out at this class!

 

Educational Focus weeks 1-3

During our first few weeks we’ll be zeroing in on the concept of keeping your children engaged in class.  This is something you (parents) can practice at home by trying to make every activity a musical one.  Don’t limit yourselves to our collection of music, either – any music (except for maybe gangster rap) will do excellently!

When we’re in the class the most important thing you can do as a parent is to engage in the class activity.  Regardless of your child or children’s age(s), their behaviours will vary from week to week.  Our classes aren’t ‘classes’ in the sense that children should be made to sit or to pay attention for 45 minutes straight.  The length of our classes, in fact, shouldn’t work.  The only reason they do is because of the structure that years of research has helped to develop.  Your kids will naturally stray, and that is OK!  The required planning that we must do as teachers will assure that they get the right exposure to all the songs over the course of the collection.  They are aware of you, your behaviours, and will pick up on them given the opportunity and time do do so…just think about why we avoid swearing in front of our kids – because they will repeat the behaviour.  This is no different.

So, this week’s sub concept was about engaging by participating in the class activity, and to invite them by seeing you actively participate.  This is a bit counter-intuitive, particularly for families that are new to our classes.  The simplest way to explain why this works best is to highlight how your child learns best, most of the time, when they are not in the class.  They learn from their primary caregivers, and they learn by example.  If you try to approach our class like a school class, you’ll likely only end up frustrating yourselves.  This is why leading by example in class is the most effective way of engaging your children.  On those occasions when your child drifts from the group, you should find opportunities to sing and show them your engagement (which can be tricky depending on where they are in the room and what they are doing!).

That’s a lot to say about one particular area, but consider it a work in progress, because as your children evolve into more sophisticated music makers, so too will you have to evolve in your efforts to keep them engaged.

Class start times

If you are in the 10:00 a.m. class time, please do come to class so we can start directly at 10.  Because there is another class directly after this, we want to be considerate of their scheduled time, and wrap up our class on schedule.  Likewise, if you are in the 11:00 class, please arrive so we can start on time.

Please Help Us, and Get 20% Off

We still have spaces in our classes, particularly the 10:00 a.m. slot.  If you know of anyone that you can refer to us before (or up to) our 3rd class on January 26th, we’ll offer both you and them 20% off – through June 2014.  Thank you for your help and kind consideration.

One thing not mentioned in class about this discount is that you can use it more than once.  If you have multiple families that you think might register, we’ll take the 20% off for each family that registers, without any limit.  You can pay for all of your classes to the end of June by referring 5 families, if you like!  This will be applied to one child at a time until you have no further payments to make…if you end up referring beyond that we’ll start crediting you for next year.  We certainly appreciate any referrals you can offer – Thank You!