NEED TO KNOW
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KIDS ARE INDIVIDUALS: Some students are involved and excited, some are more introspective and withdrawn, and others are energetic but seem lost in their own world.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 learning 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!
