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...

Blue Bugs #5

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #5: Thanks for being such great supportive parents! Your students come to class ready to learn and have fun. They are just soaking up the musical concepts and skills presented in class. They couldn't do it without great parents like you, working right alongside them. Give yourselves a gold star and a donut 😉. Great work!

NEXT YEAR: 2nd Year classes for the 2026-2027 school year will be on Wednesdays. One will be at 2pm and the other at 4:10. Based on those who responded to my survey, I think we'll have a good balance of students interested in each class and we won't have to go too late into the evening. Phew! Registration for classes will be available in March. If you have scheduling input and haven't yet, please let me know your fall schedule so I can have classes at the best times for the majority of students.

FREE VIDEO: The Let's Play Music company is celebrating Valentine's Day by giving a free video to each family enrolled in LPM. Go to this link to choose the video, and use the code FREE VIDEO. You will have access to the video for four weeks. This is a great option to check out the videos and see what the setup is like.

TUITION: Thank you for getting tuition in on time! If I haven't gotten it, I'll send a request/reminder.

GOOD TO KNOW

HOW TO SKIP: The bells introduce piano skills because they are set up like the keys on the keyboard. As we learn to read skips and steps on the bells, it will transfer directly to the piano next year. We are teaching them to read music by first using "relationships" like steps and skips. It reduces the brain's processing time by not having to translate every note to their letter but just compares it to each other. The letter names of the notes are important too! We'll cover the names of the keys on the keyboard in 2nd year and the names of the notes on the staff in 3rd year.

RHYTHMIC NOTATION: We added another layer of knowledge to our bugs! We matched up the musical bugs with their musical rhythms!

FUN TO KNOW

Let's take a walk in the jungle! "Walking in the Jungle" uses full body movement (walking, stomping, jumping, skipping) with some creative play to practice a steady beat.

Blue Bugs #4

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #4: Your kids are doing so great! I love watching their little personalities come out in class! Thank you for sharing them with me <3

LPM APP/CD LISTENING: We are going to be learning a lot of new songs over the next few weeks. Make sure the music is being played in your home and car and wherever else works for you! Let me know if you need help with access to the app, or if you'd like a CD copy of the music.

SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR: And be sure to fill out my scheduling questionnaire form for the fall! Thank you to those who have done this already! I'll have my schedule solidified soon. Second Year classes will be held on Wednesdays, and I'll set class times before next week's Parent Day.

T-SHIRT ORDER FORM: Thank you to those who have placed your shirt order! If you haven't yet, here is the link again so you can finish it up. Yay for shirts!

PARENT WEEK/TUITION DUE: Next week is Lesson #5, so parents get to come, and the next installment of tuition is due! I'll send an invoice this week. If you don't get one, it means you've paid for this portion already!

GOOD TO KNOW

JUNGLE RHYTHM: Our Jungle Rhythm song helps us move to a steady beat, divide and subdivide the beat, and do it all simultaneously! It's pretty cool to see how it all works together!

I'VE BEEN TO HARLEM: Learning to hear the difference between major ('happy') and minor ('sad') is the objective of this song and activity. We're experiencing first and labeling later... today we talked about how the words of both verses are the same but one is happy and one is sad. The music vocabulary is "major" and "minor." Understanding this concept can help build sensitive music listeners and caring, intuitive individuals. Yep, music can teach life lessons and build character. You can read more about identifying major and minor chords at this LPM blogpost. 

*You can also practice playing major and minor on the autoharp in the Let's Play Music app. From the landing screen, click on the two notes (it's a beetle!) in the bottom left corner. Select the Autoharp feature, and there will be a menu option in the top right corner. Select F Major/F Minor. Push the red or black triangle and strum the strings slowly from bottom to top. It works better on a bigger screen, but have fun either way! 

FUN TO KNOW

Here's a fun video highlighting major :) and minor :(

And for those who grew up in the Toys R Us generation, I love this minor adaptation from when they filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

Blue Bugs #3

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #3: Your kiddos are learning SOL ;) quickly now! I am thrilled with their progress!

BELLS REMINDER: Our 'sol-la-ti-do' pattern is played on the lowercase letter solfeg when playing on the bells (it's in the key of F). The 'sol' is the big red bell and then step up from there. All of the "Let's Play Music" song patterns will be with the lowercase bells, while "Old Paint" is with the CAPITAL LETTERS. You can tell because in your practice outline, it will say to play the "sol-la-ti-do" (in lowercase) or the DO-MI-SOL (in CAPITALS).

FALL ENROLLMENT: If you haven't yet, please fill out my fall schedule questionnaire at this link. I will be opening registration for fall classes in March, and need to know who will be available at what times of day for optimal class schedules. If you want your schedule to be considered, please let me know about it! Thank you to those who have already answered! It helps me so much!

T-SHIRTS: I buy Let's Play Music T-shirts for all of my 1st Year students. Fill out this form to place your order! We talked about this in class, but let me know if you have any questions about it!

GOOD TO KNOW

CAN'T BUG ME: It's fabulous how we are learning to read rhythms from the pictures. We mixed up the order of the bugs this week, and they still clapped them correctly! That means that they are internalizing the rhythm of each bug. Fantastic progress!

BILL GROGAN'S GOAT: This week in class we introduced a silly story about Bill Grogan's goat. Here is a version that tells a longer story about the goat, including where he goes when he rides on the train and what he gets to eat when he meets the queen! The words and melody here are a bit different than what we use, which is very common with folk songs.

FUN TO KNOW

Grab a basketball and use the Let's Play Music bugs to PLAY a game after you check out this fun STOMP and Harlem Globtrotters video!