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! It helps me so much! The next tuition payment will be on the first day of Blue Bugs, January 9.
CALENDAR REMINDER: Next week, November 19, there is no class due to my son's surgery. The next week, November 26, there is no class due to Thanksgiving. The week after, December 3, will be a regular kid-only class for Lesson #14 followed by Lesson #15 on December 10, 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 7. 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 7, 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.
NUTCRACKER: Along with teaching Let's Play Music, I sometimes present music-based programs at local libraries. Lots of movement, lots of classical music, and lots of fun! I'm doing my "Nutcracker" program at the Nampa Library on Saturday, December 7 at 10:30am, and at the Star Branch Library on Thursday, December 12 at 10:30am. You are absolutely invited to attend and totally not expected!
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 all 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! It's an old list and doesn't include the Student Magnet Staff Board or the 8-Note Songbooks I've mentioned from the new Let's Play Music shop you can find here. Also, keep in mind that some of the recorded music (CDs) mentioned in the blogpost are on Spotify and other streaming services, and I've seen them available at the library to checkout as well (can you tell I'm cheap and would rather NOT buy things if I don't have to!?).
