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!

Blue Bugs #2

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #2: Once again, we had a great week! Your kids are so much fun!

CLASSES FOR FALL: I know we just started Blue Bugs, but I'm planning ahead for what my fall class schedule will be. Here is a link to some questions about your student's schedule for the next school year.  Registration opens in March!

KEYBOARDS: During 2nd year (starting in the fall), your musician will need access to a keyboard. HOORAY! If you don't have a piano or keyboard already, here is a link to a blogpost about what you need to know when looking to buy a keyboard or a piano for your Let's Play Music student.

GOOD TO KNOW

BUG RHYTHMS: The song "Can't Bug Me" is our foundational song for counting rhythms. I love this approach to introducing musical notation to young musicians. You can read more about it at this blogpost.

ECHO ED: If your child isn't quite singing on pitch yet, don't despair! One of the best ways to get them to hear the pitch is to have them sing. That's why in class I keep inviting them to sing with me on Echo Ed and all the other songs. Even if they aren't right on pitch, they should sing, sing, sing! Singing out loud is one of the keys to hearing it inside. 

FUN TO KNOW

Our new puppet show, which we call "Triumphant March," is officially named "Triumphal March" from the opera Aida. It comes from the part of the story where Ramades, the captain of hte Egyptian guard, returns from a successful battle. Check out this clip of an actual production. It's so much fun seeing the costumes and sets. And animals!

Blue Bugs #1

NEED TO KNOW

Blue Bugs #1: It was so nice to have you and your students back after such a long break. Next week is students-only, so send them in with their new Blue Bugs Homework Booklet!

BLUE BUGS MUSIC: If you haven't yet, make sure that your Blue Bugs music is working! You should have access to it on the app. If you don't, contact the Let's Play Music office at 877.840.1969. You can also download them digitally directly to your computer at this link. I also have CDs for those who requested them (during the Parent Orientation last summer) but I totally forgot to hand them out. I'll get them to you next week.

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

GOOD TO KNOW

ONLINE CLASSES: The online video of the first class of each semester is available for free on YouTube. If you missed class this week or are interested in checking out what the "makeup videos" are like, check it out here!

NEW MELODIC PATTERN: We added "sol-la-ti-do" to our arsenal of cadence patterns. We did the hand signs and notated it on the staff and played it on the bells. We'll be hearing, singing, and signing this pattern a lot! 

NEW MUSIC: At the beginning of a semester, we have a bunch of new songs, and the Blue Bugs ones are great! This week we started Clickety Clickety Clack, Can't Bug Me, Old Paint, How to Skip, and the puppet show Triumphant March. Every activity has a music lesson hidden inside, and the exciting part is that it seems like we are just PLAYING!

OLD PAINT: This folk song is a powerful teaching tool and we'll revisit it every year in Let's Play Music. If you're interested, here's an official LPM blogpost on Old Paint and how we harness its power.

FUN TO KNOW

Our new puppet show is Triumphant March, and it comes from the opera Aida by Giuseppi Verdi. Here is a link to printable mini puppets and here is a link to a coloring page.

Tuition Guidelines Review

Tuition Information

At the beginning of each semester, I send out an invoice that includes the entire tuition that will be due for that semester. If you look at the invoice, you will see that it is broken down to four payments, each due at a different date throughout the semester. This semester the dates are January 9/10, February 6/7, March 5/6, and April 9/10. These dates are also marked on your class calendar (inside the front cover of your student's workbook). (Lessons #1, #5, #9, and #13... I do it this way because those are the lessons that parents attend during 2nd and 3rd year classes. When I started teaching, most people were paying by check, and it made sense to have it due on days parents attended. I've just stayed with that schedule because it makes sense to my own brain.)

TIMEFRAME

*You can pay all of the semester tuition at once and not have to deal with it any more after that.

If you pay it in full, I'll send a receipt that you've paid and you won't get any other invoices throughout the semester.

*You can pay in installments and not have to pay it all at once. 

If you pay it in installments, you'll get a receipt recording the portion that you've paid for, and you'll also get another invoice the week before the next installment is due. 

METHOD

You can pay with:

*a check in class

*through Venmo (@MusicAdventureswithPaigeMoore)

*with a card through the Wave app with the link on the invoice. 

It honestly doesn't matter to me which way you pay, but because so many folks ask, I do pay a fee when I am paid through Venmo or Wave. If you pay by check, there are no fees. 

PROBLEMS

If something seems off with the payments and/or receipts, let me know and I'll recheck the details on my end. I'm quite careful, but I'm not perfect!

THANK YOU!

I appreciate more than I can express when folks pay tuition on time. It makes it so I can focus more on your kids and their music!

Red Balloons #15

NEED TO KNOW

Red Balloons #15: I love teaching your kids and am grateful to work with parents that are so involved in their children's lives.

PRINTABLE CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR BELLS: If your student loves playing the bells, you can print off some Christmas songs at this link. Not required and just for fun!

BLUE BUGS MUSIC: The Blue Bugs music should be available on the app. Start listening to it now! You can also access the music here in a Google file with all the tracks available. If you'd like a CD, I will have one for you the first week of classes. 

SCHEDULE: Our next class will be Blue Bugs #1, on Wednesday, January 13, same time same place! The first day is a Parent Day, so I'll see you and your student then. Class calendars will be taped into your Blue Bugs workbooks. If you'd like it earlier, you can access it from this blog under "Calendars." The first tuition payment of the new semester will be due that day. I'll send an invoice during the week before.

PARENT EVALUATION: At the end of each semester, I like to give you the opportunity to give me feedback. I also have a spot on the form for you to add anybody to the email/text list to get Parent Note notifications if you'd like to include dad or grandma or anybody else. Let me know how you're doing at this link!

GOOD TO KNOW

ESCAPE ROOM: For a fun extention, see if your Red Balloon can solve the puzzles in this Let's Play Music Red Balloons Escape Room! It works better for me on a computer rather than a phone, but do whatever works for you!

FUN TO KNOW

This is one of my favorite Christmas commercials of all time! Enjoy it and have a very Merry Christmas!

Red Balloons #14

 

NEED TO KNOW

Red Balloons #14: Your students are so much fun and they have come so far! I can't believe we only have one class left of Red Balloons. Our last class will be next week on December 9. It will be a Parent Day and a fun review of everything we've learned.

NEXT SEMESTER: We'll start up with Blue Bugs on Tuesday, January 13. The first day IS a Parent Day to kick things off! The class calendar will be taped into the student workbook you'll get that first day of class. It is also available now and you can always find it at the Calendar part of the website.

GOOD TO KNOW

LET'S PLAY MUSIC: In our Let's Play Music song, we learned what MI RE DO and SOL SOL DO look like on the staff. We sang "baby-steps going down" and "down same leap-up" to help describe the notation.

WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS: Listening for specific sounds and having an expectation of what they're about to hear increases your students' ear sensitivity. We used the flower puppets again this week, and some of your students asked to have them at home. The link for the printable mini puppets is in the Parent Notes for Lesson #9, and can always be found in the Puppet Show section of the website.

FUN TO KNOW

Here is one of my favorite NBA commercials that shows how sports teamwork and musical ensemble practice can highlight similar skills! They are using the sound of the bouncing basketballs like tone bells, and the result is so much fun! As a heads up, I love this so much you'll get it every year! 

We've been experimenting with the Tongue Drum for the past few weeks. I love being able to show how musicians use the same basic chords no matter what instrument we play! Here is a video of some Christmas songs on a tongue drum. It's just so dreamy!

Red Balloons #13

NEED TO KNOW

Red Balloons #13: It's always nice to have growups in class!

TUITION DUE: The last tuition payment of Red Balloons is due this week. Thank you for getting things in on time! The next tuition payment will be on the first day of Blue Bugs,  January 13.

CALENDAR REMINDER: Next week, November 25, there is no class due to Thanksgiving. The week after, December 2, will be a regular kid-only class.  December 9 will be Lesson #15, which is a parent day and the last Red Balloon class. Then there will be a break for the holiday. The first class of Blue Bugs will be Tuesday, January 13. It will be a parent day to kick off the semester. 

BLUE BUGS: We start Blue Bugs in January! Hooray! The first class will be January 13, and it will be a parent day. I will have your students' Blue Bugs materials that first day of class, including the calendar taped to the inside cover. If you'd like to check out the calendar earlier than that, it's available now at this link, and you can always find it under the Calendar link on the website.

GOOD TO KNOW

LET'S PLAY MUSIC: Our ears heard layers of sound this week as we sang the MI RE DO and the SOL SOL DO endings at the same time. Singing in harmony helps us to sing in tune.

DO RE MI: We're learning to read notated music by relationships (steps, skips, leaps) rather than depending on note names alone. This is a more natural way to teach children to read music, and it produces better sight readers. Don't worry, we'll learn the staff note names! We'll introduce a few during 2nd Year, then the rest of them in 3rd Year.

FIVE FAT TURKEYS: We love our fun turkey song! If you are looking for something to do over the break, here is a link to a blogpost with 5-Fat-Turkey-based activities for all levels of LPM students. And if your student is a fan of crafts, here is a printable activity sheet that your student can cut out and act out the Five Fat Turkeys song.

FUN TO KNOW

If you're looking to add a music-based gift to the holiday mix, here is a blogpost with some ideas. In 2nd year, your student will need access to a piano or electronic keyboard for regular practice. Here is an outline of some things to look for. For LPM, the minimum size you need is 61 full-sized keys. Keep in mind, though, that a full-sized keyboard with 88 touch-sensitive keys (or an acoustic piano) will make practicing much more satisfying, especially as they continue through 3rd year and post-LPM play. Some people swear by the Black Friday deals on keyboards, so if you don't have one yet, be sure and check out the options!