Red Balloons #11

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Red Balloons #11: Thank you for coming to class and being great parents. I hope you are enjoying this musical journey as much as I am! I love watching your kids absorb, and I love having parent days and seeing you interact with them. So much love!

KIDS ARE INDIVIDUALS: Some students are involved and excited, some are more introspective and withdrawn, and others are energetic but seem lost in their own world. It's okay! All of these reactions are just fine and all will foster learning! Some kids need extra sensory input. On student-only days, I frequently will have them lay on their backs or their tummies for different activities. Some of my best 2nd and 3rd year students in the past spent most of their 1st year classes rolling on the floor but it turned out that they were soaking up everything! Let your student experience class at their own pace. And know that they are absorbing the musical information they need.

LPM STORE: If you are looking for musical additions to Christmas lists, there are some fun things in the Let's Play Music online shop. Here is a link to that. My favorite things are the 8 Note Songbooks, which were made especially for LPM 1st Year students and are used to expand experience with the bell set. One includes songs that we use in class, and another is a Christmas Edition with holiday songs. I also love the Student Magnet Staff Board with the correlating magnet sets. None of these things are required, but your students might have fun with them, and they'd be great Christmas presents!

GOOD TO KNOW

BABY STEPS: We have been reading baby steps on the staff for a few weeks. Today we added another layer: playing baby steps on the bells. Don't worry if your student is having trouble understanding this. They're all totally on track and will get it! They're amazing!

LAYERED LEARNING: This week in my 2nd year classes, this skill (reading steps from the staff and playing them) is in full play. They're looking at different patterns of notes on the staff, figuring out what it means, and playing them on the keyboard. We're starting those sight-reading skills now by identifying baby steps on the staff and playing those baby steps on the bells. 

FUN TO KNOW

Have a snuggle-moment with your Red Balloon when you share this amazing marble run production synced perfectly to the Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker. Enjoy!

Red Balloons #10

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Red Balloons #10: I just can't tell you how great your kids are! I have had so much fun getting to know them and I'm so grateful that you share them with me!

HOMEWORK: In the Parent Orientation section of the Red Balloons workbook it states, "Young children will assimilate the concepts I introduce in class ONLY if they experience repetition and consistency at home during the week." I can tell you are doing that! Besides raising great kids, you're creating great musicians! 

GOOD TO KNOW

ONLINE VIDEO CLASS: As a reminder, if you miss a class or want some extra exposure, you're always invited to purchase access to any of the videos from the online LPM curriculum. They are very well done, and some kids watch them over and over because they're so fun! These are totally optional, but I don't want you to forget they exist! The link to purchase is is here.

PRIMARY CHORD SONG: Your students are playing the autoharp and totally rocking it! They used their eyes to see the color of chord to play and their ears to hear if they were right. When it wasn't right, they fixed it! They're getting so good!

PUPPET SHOW MINI PUPPETS AND COLORING SHEETS: We used mini puppets in class this week, and some of your students asked to have some at home. You can print them out! The links were in the Parent Notes last week (lesson #9), and I'll put them here as well.

* Here is a link to printable coloring pages for the Waltz of the Flowers puppet show.

* Here is a link to printable mini puppets for the Waltz of the Flowers puppet show.

FUN TO KNOW

This week in class and in your homework, we are working on notating baby steps on the staff. It's fun to make staves and notes with other things... Playdough is a great tool! Have your child roll out 5 lines with the 4 spaces in between, and then some baby steps. Or you can ditch the dough and use other supplies. Pipe cleaners and balloons, licorice sticks and skittles, chalk on the sidewalk... the options are limitless! You could even just use the staff in the back of your book and put the tiny treats on them as the baby steps!

Red Balloons #9

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Red Balloons #9: Parent weeks are so much fun! Thank you to all the moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas for coming to class!

ATTENDANCE: Thank you for keeping me informed on family trips and when your kid is too sick to come. It helps me to know who to expect for class! The curriculum is built with lots of repetition, so your student will be fine missing class every once in a while. If you'd like to purchase access to the video classes, you can find more info on that here. 

TUITION: Thank you for paying tuition on time! It makes it so much easier for me when everything comes in at the same time. If you didn't get it in, I'll send a request/reminder.

GOOD TO KNOW

BABY STEP, LEAP: We are introducing steps and leaps when we sing and dance this song. This is an introduction to steps and skips, which we will solidify during 1st year, and intervals, which we will label in 2nd year.

OOOOO HALLOWEEN: The students are learning to feel the beat of the song even when there is silence, and to anticipate the beat. In this song, we audiate (hear in the brain rather than the ears) the beats that aren't played aloud to know when to say BOO. It's so much fun to scare (or at least surprise!) the grownups!

FUN TO KNOW

We started our new puppet show! Waltz of the Flowers by Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky is from the Nutcracker ballet.

* Here is a link to printable coloring pages for the Waltz of the Flowers puppet show.

* Here is a link to printable mini puppets for the Waltz of the Flowers puppet show.

The recording of Waltz of the Flowers on the LPM app is cut where the butterfly comes back in to help the cloud. The song is a lot longer than we have time to do in class, and it needed to be shortened. I was so unsatisfied by how that ending worked that I did my own edit that shortens the song from the original but includes the finale ending. In class, we'll use my version that has a "everybody all together" ending for our characters. If you'd like to access the mp3 of my edit, here is a link.

Red Balloons #8

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Red Balloons #8: We are having so much fun in class! It makes me so happy to see how much your students understand the musical concepts we are learning. I'm always striving to have fun with each activity, and also making sure the kids are experiencing the musical focus.

HOMEWORK HELP: This week's homework is a little abstract, but its not as complicated as it seems. Before the actual draw-in-the-book-activity, it asks the parents to "Perform the two patterns (MI-RE-DO and SOL-SOL-DO) for your child. Have your child identify the pattern." Just have a conversation about the two different patterns, what's different about them, what songs they're in, and sing and sign each of them while talking about them. You could even play them on the bells or on the virtual bells in the LPM app! Then color the patterns on the page! 

PARENT DAY/TUITION DUE: Next week is a parent day and the third installment of tuition is due. I'll send an invoice later this week. If you don't get one, it means you already paid for this portion. Thank you!

GOOD TO KNOW

LET'S PLAY MUSIC: I threw both a MI RE DO and a SOL SOL DO into our Let's Play Music song and your student got to identify which one I was singing. We do the same thing with our Fox in a Box game at the end of classs. Those ears are getting smarter every day!

PUPPET SHOW: We did the Magic Lamp puppet show for the last time. We celebrated in style using the parachute! Next week we'll introduce a new puppet show 😁**Squeal in excitement!!**

FUN TO KNOW

Parents, you are so wise for having your kids learn music! Here are a couple of articles that show you HOW smart you actually are! 

Article from the University of Washington titled "Music improves baby brain responses to music and speech."

Blogpost by guest blogger Sharlene Habermeyer, author of "Good Music Brighter Children."

We also did our Barnyard Song again. I can't clap the duck part without thinking of this song!

Red Balloons #7

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Red Balloons #7: Can you believe we are halfway through the semester?! Everyone is doing such a great job identifying the lines and spaces of the staff, audiating, finding do, and all sorts of great musical skills!

GREAT WORK!: Your students are so much fun to have in class, and I can tell they have supportive parents. Thanks for sharing your amazing kids!

LINES AND SPACES: We have been talking a LOT about the lines and spaces on the staff. Your students understand about line notes, space notes, and how to verbally tell (with numbers) which line or space the notes are on. They are doing so great!

SOL SOL DO: We added a second pattern to our Let's Play Music song! These patterns will help develop your ear (and your students' ears) to have a stronger pull to do. For a reminder video of playing Hickety Pickety on the bells with our new pattern, check out this skills video. 

GOOD TO KNOW

OOOO HALLOWEEN: Singing like a ghost is a great channeling exercise, used in vocal singing lessons and choir warmups. We can practice a pure, natural head tone while extending the child's vocal range and helping them experiment with the sounds their voices can make. Here is a link to a printable coloring page that goes along with our Halloween song!

MAGIC LAMP PUPPET SHOW: The puppet shows help students to hear and identify the classical music, which helps the music to come alive! We have one more week of Magic Lamp, and then we'll introduce a BRAND NEW PUPPET SHOW on week 9! So exciting!

FUN TO KNOW

In most music for western ears and in Let's Play Music, we use the diatonic "major scale," which is a combination of 8 notes going from DO to DO with a specific pattern of whole and half steps. Other world music traditions have other scales with other patterns. But nearly every music system incorporates a pattern based on the same five notes, called the pentatonic scale. Some scientists say these notes are "hardwired" or "pre-installed" in our human brains. In this video, Bobby McFerrin uses the pentatonic scale to "play" an audience and shows how our brains are musically wired. It's amazing! You can find the pentatonic scale in a few ways. It uses the do-re-mi-sol-la of our major scale, and you can pull those notes out from your bell sets and experiment. On a keyboard, the easiest pentatonic scale includes all the black keys and only the black keys. In our classes, Hickety Pickety Bumblebee and Scotland's Burning both use notes from the pentatonic scale. So do Amazing Grace, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, My Girl, Old McDonald, and so many others! It really is a natural scale for your brain to love! For a lot more information on the diatonic "Major scale" and the pentatonic scale, along with other scales used in western music and around the world, check out this amazing blogpost!

Red Balloons #6

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Red Balloons #6: Your Red Balloons are so much fun! They make me so happy!

EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT: Each student is going to act and react differently. Some love having turns, some say no. Both are okay! Some kids need more observation time before they open up, but they are still getting great musical input!

HOMEWORK HELP: This week's homework has the kids cutting out puppet parts and taping or gluing them in the right order on a puppet show map. If you and your student need help, check out page 63 in the Reference Section of the Homework Booklet.

INSTAGRAM: If you Instagram, be sure and follow @letsplaymusic_official. There are lots of tips and motivations, as well as freebies and giveaways.

PARENT WEEK: Keep up the good work and consistent effort! Parent week is next week so I'll see you then!

GOOD TO KNOW

GOIN' ON A LION HUNT: We're learning to keep a steady beat. We use the varying tempo in the song to feel fast and slow. What fun! It is a simple but powerful way to help internalize rhythm.

MELODIC PATTERNS: We learned a new melodic pattern today!! The SOL SOL DO pattern joins our beloved MI RE DO. This is getting exciting, folks! Ask your students to show you the hand signs.

FUN TO KNOW

Here is a video of an orchestra playing our Magic Lamp puppet show, also known as Aragonaise from the ballet Carmen by the French composer Georges Bizet. It's so much fun seeing the instruments that make the sounds they know so well!

Red Balloons #5

NEED TO KNOW

Red Balloons #5: Thanks for coming to class this week! YOU are a vital part of your child's music education!

NEW CONCEPTS: You'll notice that the bulk of new concepts and skills are presented on Parent Days. I want you to see how the activities are done so you know what your child has experienced. If you ever have any questions about anything, just let me know.

STAFF: It was fun to finally identify the 5 lines and 4 spaces of the staff today! And so lucky to have 5-year-olds and 4-year-olds to solidify it! We are taking time to let the kids visually familiarize themselves with the single staff. Remember when counting the lines and the spaces, we start from the bottom of the staff and count up. Like an elevator!

TUITION: Thanks for getting tuition in on time! It helps me so much!

GOOD TO KNOW

MAY THERE ALWAYS BE ME: We taught the kids to feel their heartbeats and introduced the concept of keeping a steady beat. This skill will help them to internally feel the value of notes. Plus it's nice to cuddle for a minute before they're off and going again!

DING DONG, DING DONG: The ability to correctly imitate pitches is important in learning to sing in tune, which puts us on a path to becoming a complete musician.

 

CHORDS IN PIECES: We actually read music today! Our eyes followed a chord map while our fingers pointed to the triangles and we sang the broken chords. The map guides the eyes to see the color while the ears hear the music and the fingers follow along. It really is the first step in reading music! 

FUN TO KNOW

You are doing great things for your students by having them in music class. Check out this article written in conjunction with the author of  "Good Music, Brighter Children" for some insights on how this powerful tool works. Great job, parents!