Blue Bugs #11

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #11: Thank you! For getting fall registrations in, for having great kids, and for being part of my studio!

FALL CLASSES: The most exciting part of 2nd Year is that we get to start on keyboards! Yay! As a reminder, your kids will need access to a piano or keyboard for practice throughout the week. If you don't have a piano accessible, check out this blog post for some thoughts on getting one. 

REGISTRATION: And if you didn't get registered for fall classes yet, here is the link for that. It helps me more than I can tell to get classes set for fall. Also, once classes end, the supplies for fall 2nd and 3rd year classes will ship from the LPM offices to me. If you register after that, there will be an additional fee from the corporate office.

END-OF-YEAR RECITAL: Our End-of-Year Recital will be on Saturday, April 25 at 5pm. 1st Year students will wear their LPM shirts and black or denim bottoms. Among other things, each student will get a "bell spotlight," where they can play whatever they want to on the bells. A major scale, the Dinosaur Song, the Do Mi Mi-Mi Sol Sol part of Do Re Mi, How to Skip, Old Paint, the “bells up” glissandos, etc. some kids with take about five seconds and some closer to 30. We'll talk about this in class and they'll totally be prepared. Everybody will get a chance to shine on anything they want to do! We will be talking about their options in classes. You don't need to worry about what they're going to do!

**We are not a performing group, and the recital is more of a celebration of what we’ve learned rather than the pinnacle of the year’s activities. If your child can’t (or doesn’t want to) participate, is really no big deal. What we do in class is the real payback. With that being said, it would help me to know what folks are not planning on attending so that I can know what to expect for that day. Thank you!!

GOOD TO KNOW

ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI: This week in class we talked about the word "harmony" as we sang "On Top of Spaghetti." The students know that harmony is two different sounds that sound good together. Learning to sing harmony helps them to sing in tune and stay on their part. It develops the inner ear and lays a solid foundation for becoming a complete musician.

MINI TRIANGLES: In class we put together mini chord triangles. Your kids did so great! Some parents asked if you could make them at home. Yes! Here is a link to the files. There are a few options: the triangles with color to print on white paper, or just the outline of the triangles to print on colored paper. You could also print the outlines on white paper and color them. There is also a separate sheet for the black and white solfege notes, unless of course you print on white paper. Then just don't color them! 

SKILLS VIDEO: Check out this skills video from the LPM company that shows the Frog Went a-Hoppin' song! 

FUN TO KNOW

These little frogs LOVE to go a'hoppin'!! Check out this video to make your own hoppin' frog.

Blue Bugs #10

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #10: I love this point in the year when the kids truly and honestly understand how to read music, how to play it on the bells, and are ready to move forward!

REGISTRATION FOR FALL CLASSES: Thank you to those who have registered for next year! If you haven't, head to this link for all the information. I have had some parents wonder if their student is ready for 2nd Year. Expectations both in and outside of classes are greater when compared to 1st Year, but I feel confident about where your kids are and advancing them to 2nd year. This is a checklist of what skills they should have before going to 2nd year.

1. Can sing and sign solfege (mostly) accurately at the same time.

2. Knows the solfege signs.

3. Understands the concept of a step, skip, and a leap on both the staff and the bells.

4. Understands that their claps should match the syllables of the bug names.

5. Usually gains an understanding of new concepts and skills.

6. Usually pays attention during activities.

END-OF-YEAR RECITAL: The End-of-Year Recital will be on Saturday, April 25 at 5pm. Thank you for your responses to my timing question. I'm going to keep it as originally scheduled. First year students will wear LPM shirts (that I will give out during class once they arrive) with denim or black pants/shorts/skirts/leggings. 

GOOD TO KNOW

DINOSAUR SONG: Your kiddo is reading music! They played the "Dinosaur Song" on bells while reading the written notation. They did it by looking at the patterns of steps and skips. You should be so proud of them! Here is a Skills Video to get a visual of the Dinosaur Song on the bells if you'd like to see it again!

DICTATION: The homework assignment is the first step of a skill called "dictation," where you write down music that you hear. In 3rd year, I play a few notes on the piano starting on DO and using guiding questions, the kids write what they hear. This is the first step in developing that skill! As always, you can check out the "answer sheet" for homework at this link. 

FUN TO KNOW

I'm honored to be a part of your kids' lives!

Blue Bugs #9

 

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #9: Hooray for Let's Play Music Spirit Week!

SPRING BREAK: No class next week due to Spring Break. Check the calendar in your student's workbook for details. See you on the 24th!

LET'S PLAY MUSIC SPIRIT WEEK: Let's Play Music Spirit Week is all about sharing, and this year I have requested specifically that you share with adding a Google review to my business listing. THANK YOU to those already submitting Google reviews. I am so grateful, and so humbled by your kind words!

* Here is a link to the flyer I gave out in class in case it got misplaced.

* Here is a link to share a Google review.

* Here is a link to share FAQs of the program and my studio with your local friends. Your not-local friends probably have a Let's Play Music teacher by them, so share with them too! 

* Use the hashtag #WeLoveLPM2026 to see what other folks are sharing on social media. 

* The LPM corporate office is hosting giveaways all month long. Check out their IG (@letsplaymusic_official) or FB (Let's Play Music - Making Musicians) for details on how to enter.

REGISTRATION FOR FALL: Register for 2nd Year! Thank you to all those who have already registered! It makes it so much easier for me to have the "paperwork" part be done! If you haven't done it, here is a link to all the registration information. Also, if you have students who will be 4 before September, they can start 1st Year! And if you have friends with littles who are interested, send them the link from above!

END OF YEAR RECITAL: The End-of-Year Recital will be on Saturday, April 25 at 5pm at the church at 5900 Castle Drive. Get it on your calendar now! And if you can't make that date, it will be just fine. The growth and magic of Let's Play Music happens in class. The End-of-Year Recital is just a bonus.

TUITION: Thank you for getting tuition in! If you didn't get it in, I'll send a reminder/request.

GOOD TO KNOW

JUNGLE RHYTHM: We introduced a poster chart for our Jungle Rhythm chant. Seeing the chart visually divide space while hearing the song aurally divide time helps to introduce the student to subdivision of notes.

CAN'T BUG ME: Your students are getting more and more familiar with the bugs and the notations of the rhythms. They clapped the notes today without the bugs to guide them. They're so smart! They each left today with a set of bug cards to be able to play Bug Memory. 

FUN TO KNOW

Our new puppet show was written by Giaochino Antonio Rossini, who was born on February 29 (leap day!) in 1792. His father played the horn and his mother was a singer. When he was six years old he joined his father's band as the triangle player. When he was ten, he was often asked to play the piano and sing at church. He began composing and soon became the most celebrated composer of Italian Opera. Our puppet show "The Fox Hunt" is from the William Tell Overture, and originally had nothing to do with horses, but was used in The Lone Ranger which added to the fun. This famous piece has been adopted and adapted by musicians around the world. Take a gander at few fun ones! Here is the link to the printable mini puppets and the link to the coloring pages. 

Here are two silly guys with a melodica.

And here's a "Lone Ranger meets Metal" rendition.

And here's a clip from the Let's Play Music virtual classes!

Blue Bugs #8

 

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #8: We have a lot of fun on parent days, but it's a whole different brand of fun on students-only days! We had a blast this week!

REGISTRATION FOR FALL: Registration for fall classes is open. You can scroll down to the next post, or click on this link which will take you there. I plan to have two 2nd Year classes on Wednesdays, one during school hours from 2:00-2:50, and the other after school from 4:10-5:00. Know that invariably, I have students transfer to and from different area teachers due to class scheduling. It will all work out. And thank you! Scheduling fall classes is the hardest part of this. 

SPIRIT WEEK: Next week is Spirit Week! I love Let's Play Music, and I truly believe it is the best music education introduction for your children! We'll have an extra fun class for Spirit Week! There is also an online contest from the corporate office. Find details on Instagram (@letsplaymusic_official) or Facebook (Let's Play Music - Making Musicians).

PARENT WEEK: Along with Spirit Week, next week's Parent Week is when the third installment of tuition is due. I'll send an invoice later this week, and I'll see you and your student in class!

GOOD TO KNOW

CHORDS IN PIECES: As we sang this song this week, we left out some of the chords and audiated them in our heads instead of singing them aloud. There is so much development happening in their brains.

BUG RHYTHMS: We mixed up the order of the bugs while we chanted and clapped the bug rhythms. Your amazing kiddos are learning so quickly!

FUN TO KNOW

BINGO is one of the new songs we started the week. It's a classic, and there's a lot musically going on in the song. Audiation, steady rhythm, bug rhythms, harmonic patterns, and maybe an existential crisis?

Registration for 2026-2027 classes

CLASSES FOR THE 2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR

BRAND NEW FIRST YEARS: Hooray! I'm so excited for you to start your Let's Play Music journey! There will be two 1st Year classes. One will be on Tuesdays from 11-11:45 and the other on Tuesdays from 12:30-1:15. During first year, parents come to every other class, and younger siblings are not invited.

FIRST YEARS GOING TO SECOND YEAR: I am planning on two 2nd year classes. One will be on Wednesdays from 2-2:50, and the other on Wednesdays from 4:10-5:00. Parents come to class only once a month (rather than every other week like in 1st Year), and siblings are still not invited to attend classes.

SECOND YEARS GOING TO THIRD YEAR: I am planning on three 3rd year classes. They will be on Tuesdays, one from 2:00-3:00, one from 4:10-5:10, and another from 5:20-6:20. Parents come to class only once a month like in 2nd year, and siblings are still not invited to attend classes.

ALL STUDENTS: I am hoping that your family can fit somewhere into these options. If not, please let me know. I can't fit everyone's preferences and schedule into my calendar, and some may have to look at transferring to other teachers, but I have learned that more communication is better than less during this process. If you prefer another class time that is full, let me know and I'll make a note. There are always students who shift around between registration and class starting. I may ask you sometime between registration and classes starting if you are able to switch do a different time option. If I do, know that I'm just gathering information to try to accomodate the most students. If a change would work for you, great. If not, don't feel bad about that. Scheduling is pretty tricky, and I chant my "It will all work out" mantra regularly during this time of year! Classes will start the week of August 25/26.

STEP ONE: REGISTRATION FEE

The registration fee is $25 per student and covers my sundry office fees like copies, T-shirts, beads, stickers, pins, balloons, corporate student support fees, random supplies, end-of-year recital stuff, etc. Because I really just want to get people registered and get back to teaching, I am going to waive this registration fee for any returning student who registers before April, and for any new 1st Year student who registers within a week of their studio tour.

Here is my venmo link to pay the registration fee.

STEP TWO: ENROLL AND ORDER MATERIALS

1. Go to my registration page (I'll put a link at the end of the list, but I want you to read this list first).

2. Select your classtime and enter my enrollment ID: 95761

3. Log in using your LetsPlayMusic account info.

4. When ordering materials, check which BUNDLE you'd like from the drop down menu. If this is your first child going through Let's Play Music, you'll need the FULL SET. If you have had older kids go through the program, you already have access to the recorded music on the app, so choose the SIBLING SET. Everything you need is included in the BUNDLES, so don't select any extras unless you want multiple of the same item.

For 1st Year, the full set contains everything (booklets, tote bag, audio access, bells, and bug cards), and the sibling bundle includes only the booklets and the tote bag. The sibling set does NOT include audio access, but if you are looking at the sibling set option, you still have access from your earlier students. The sibling set does not include the bells or the bug flashcards. If you don't have your original student's bells or bug flashcards, order an additional set of these.

For 2nd and 3rd Years, the only difference between the full set and the sibling set is access to the audio. The sibling bundles include both the 2nd year bubble hands and the 3rd year flashcards for your younger students, so you don't need to order those unless you want multiple.

Now that you know the steps to register at the LPM corporate website, here is the link to my registration page!

LET ME KNOW 

If you have any questions or issues with the registration site, let me know! From other teachers' reports, it seems to be working very smoothly this year. I hope that's your experience!

TUITION RATES

*Tuition for all students will be $70/month for 8 months, or $280/semester for 2 semesters each year. This tuition level will remain in place for the three years of your student's Let's Play Music journey.

*The first tuition payment will be due the first week of class on August 25/26.

Blue Bugs #7

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #7: Thanks for coming to class this week!

PUPPET SHOW COLORING PAGES: We used the Puppet Show coloring pages as a puppet show activity in a came I call "One Color Character." Some of the students wanted to color the pages on their own with whatever colors they wanted. Here is a link to the printable pages if you'd like! And all the puppet show materials are always available on the 1st Year landing page of my website.

HOW TO SKIP: For extra help on playing this song on your bells, check out this clip from the virtual LPM lessons as a Skills Video!

REGISTRATION: Registration for fall will open in March. That's next week! 

*I am planning on having 2nd year classes on Wednesdays, with one class from 2:00-2:50, and one from 4:10-5:00. 

*If you have a rising 1st Year student, you'll be able to register them as well! 1st Year classes will be on Tuesdays, with one class from 11:00-11:45, and another from 12:30-1:15.

*If you have friends who are interested in having their kids in LPM, that's awesome! Send them my contact, send me theirs, or send them the link to my introduction-to-LPM page on my website.

END OF YEAR RECITAL: Our End-of-Year Recital is going to be so much fun! This is a fun chance to show off the things your student has learned. In the past I've taken a poll and chosen a date from there. But over the years I realized I love having the End-of-Year Recital the weekend between Lessons #14 and #15 (the last of the semester). So this year, the End-of-Year Recital will be Saturday, April 25th at 5pm. Get it on your calendar now! And if you already have plans and can't make it, it will be absolutely fine.

GOOD TO KNOW

I'VE BEEN TO HARLEM: We use the DO-MI-SOL bells and play them at the same time to make a MAJOR red chord. The blue and yellow chords are also major. We call major the "happy" sound. If we change the middle bell, we can make the chord sound minor, or "sad." We are training the ears to recognize the difference between the two tonalities. This helps your student to recognize that music can express emotions and influence listeners. When we change the red chord to minor with the bells, I change the E to an Eb. You don't have an Eb with your bell set, but the D chord on your bells (D F A) is naturally minor. If your student wants to play a minor chord on the bells, use those!

DINOSAUR SONG: We introduced this song and traced the spikes on the dinosaur's back. The more senses we use in learning, the more our brains cement the concepts.

STAFF SKILLS: I always get a little amazed at this point in the semester at how much the kids have learned! They can totally read music on the staff and play it on the bells! Ahhhh! It's a miracle what can happen when small and simple things occur on a daily and weekly basis. Keep up the good work!

FUN TO KNOW

In the Parent Notes for Blue Bugs #2, the Fun to Know section has a video of a visual of what is happening on stage during the Triumphal March of Aida, our current puppet show. Here is a video showing a full orchestra playing the piece. It's so interesting to see which instruments make which sounds! Share it with your Blue Bug in a cuddle moment!

Blue Bugs #6

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #6: We had great classes this week! Your kids are so much fun!

REGISTRATION: Registration for fall will open in March. I am planning on having 2nd year classes on Wednesdays, with one class during the afternoon of the school day and one at 4:15ish. 

NEW FIRST YEARS: Let me know if you know anybody who wants their child in my 1st year classes in the fall. 

HOMEWORK HELP: The homework for this week is a puppet show map. Play the music for them so they can follow the map and tape/glue the characters where they belong. All the music is on the app, or you can download it yourself. If you have a Yoto player or a Tonie box or something else similar, you can absolutely play the music on those devices. Listening to the music (puppet show plus all the others!) is a way for your child's brain to review the things we have done in class and solidify the skills we've been working on!

PARENT WEEK: See you next week!

GOOD TO KNOW

EL GALLO: El Gallo means "The Rooster" in Spanish. We laughed and laughed about how serious and dramatic this song is, and we translated the words. "Cu-cu-ru-cu-ri" is what Spanish speakers use to describe a rooster crow. (The sounds that animals make is actually one of my favorite thing about languages!) We'll use the song to find harmonic rhythm.

FROG WENT A'HOPPIN': We introduced this song this week, and we will soon use it to read leaps on the staff and play leaps on the bells!

I'VE BEEN TO HARLEM: We showed in class that in order to change a chord from major to minor, we change the middle note. Hearing and identifying the difference between major and minor tonalities can help us recognize why music has such emotional power. Here's a skills video from LPM virtual classes.

FUN TO KNOW

Your student has been taking baby steps and skipping around in class. Now we get to take the concepts that they've been experiencing and start applying them to reading music on the staff! This approach to reading music is somewhat unique to Let's Play Music, and I think it's brilliant. You don't need to know note names to read from the staff! Read more details on how this effective method works. This is a GREAT overview of how incredibly awesome your kids will be at reading music!

And speaking of using different words to describe animal sounds...