Tuesday, January 14, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons

Lesson #2

We're beginning a fun new way to celebrate how fast the kids know their note flashcards. It's called the "In a Flash Club" and the kids get to compete against their own best time for how fast they can go over all their PURPLE NOTE FLASHCARDS. There's a place in the homework each week where the kids are supposed to time themselves for how long it takes. This only needs to be done 3 times each week, not every practice. We will record their best time on a card in class so they can see how much better they get each week!

We also began counting rhythms (very simple ones) today. If you would like to print out some practice counting pages for home, you can download them from your student portal. (If you don't know how to access that, please just let me know.) You can either cut each card apart, or you can randomly pick one for your child to clap and count. Just know this is completely optional and have fun with it! 

Echo Edison
The newest member of our Echo family has arrived. He is Echo Ed and Echo Edna’s grandfather! He doesn't like when he gets echoed though. He likes to ask musical questions and have the kids give him musical answers. He will not only help us learn technique and play finger exercises in 5 keys, but is the vehicle for helping us create our compositions this semester!  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_composition  
  
Cadence Blues 
Cadence Blues is actually ONLY printed in the key of C in your songbooks, but on your CD you have the 'Blues' in other keys. While playing in the key of F or G, you still have to read the song written in the key of C. That's right! Your little musician will be transposing! Woot woot! Be sure to keep the CD player near the keyboard to make practicing fun!  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposition_(music)  
  
Monsters 
The new puppet show is entitled Monsters. However, the real name of the puppet show is Montagues and Capulets, also known as Dance of the Knights and is from the ballet 'Romeo and Juliet' composed by Sergei Prokofiev. This puppet show is similar to many of our past puppet shows--it follows the ABA formula that composers love! But the themes are layered on top of each other, and we will further develop our ear training to distinguish the individual layers of sound.

Musicians definitely have a sense of humor! Check out this fun video of a trick played on an orchestra conductor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oipg71dSem0

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 | Blue Bugs Lessons

Lesson #2

Once again, we had a great week. I just love my 1st year students! They are smart and so fun. Just a reminder parents come next week with tote bags, bells, and home fun activity books! Also, the home fun activity goes with whatever lesson # we JUST DID in class. So this week the kids will do #2.Thank you for helping them each week!

Don't forget that your child can earn a fun bag tag by doing the virtual escape room: https://escaperoomlpm.wixsite.com/magicallamp This is a great review for what we learned in Red Balloons. If they are struggling with any of the concepts, this will help you identify them and work with them. Or ask me for help if needed!

The kids are very used to me by now and I hope, feel quite comfortable. I am starting to watch them more closely and can see that you parents are doing such a great job helping them. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for making their education a priority. If you’re child isn’t quite singing on pitch yet, don’t despair, it will come. One of the best ways to get them to hear it is to have them sing. That is why in class I keep telling them to sing with me. Even if they aren’t right on they should sing, sing, sing. As nonsensical as it sounds, singing out loud is one of the keys to hearing it inside.

Bug Rhythms
The song “Can’t Bug Me” is the foundational song for counting our rhythms. We'll be using these bugs for the rest of the curriculum. This will become second nature very quickly! Have fun clapping to your bug cards!

Meet the Blue Bugs... enjoy reading about why we use rhythm syllables in Let's Play Music.

(If you check out this link and you like the "food language" chart in the middle, just know that I've created a game with that! I'll share it in a few weeks, after the kids are more familiar with the rhythms.)

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, January 9, 2025 | Bridge Lessons

Thursday, January 9, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #1

What a great class this week! We learned so many new things and reviewed many others. Remember, tuition is due if you didn't pay for the whole year up front. Please be sure to look at the calendar in your student portal so you can be aware when scheduling for parent days. Remember, to access your student portal, go to www.musikandme.com and find the login section (either on the right if using a computer, or the bottom if you're on a phone). Once you're logged in with your username and password, click the calendar icon on the left (3rd icon down). You can sync it to your own digital personal calendar too!

If your child wants to still work on the Christmas Break Challenge this week, I'll still give out rewards next week, if they bring it back signed!

Don't forget that the keyboard stickers are like training wheels. Once the children know where your fingers should go, they don't need them anymore! Left Hand Red Sticker PlacementIf your child needs to use the right hand stickers a few more practices, that is fine, but please remove them before next class! (Although the electrical tape stickers I gave you should come off clean, Goo Gone can get any leftover residue if there is any.) Now that we're learning to use our left hand, you may add your RED chord stickers for the LEFT HAND! We will hold off on the blue and yellow chords for now.

Tuition is due this week and is $280 for the Yellow Arrows semester. You can pay via Zelle using my phone number (preferred, so I don't have to pay Venmo transaction fees). Zelle is a way to transfer money from your bank account to my bank account without needing to wait or pay extra fees. It's easy to set up through your bank and even easier to use once it has been set up. You could pay via Venmo @musikandme if you really can't set up Zelle. If you need to make monthly payments, rather than paying for the semester, it will be $75/month. (You will save $20 by paying for the semester up front!) 

Celebrate Connection

A new semester and a fresh start! Focus on making practice time as fun and loving as possible – give your child warm, friendly eye contact, smile with your voice, be a little silly, show you are relaxed and happy to sit with your child, and look for the good in your child's effort. Notice the joy in your child's eyes. Verbalize the good you see and hug your child often. This is the beginning of the practice relationship that will be essential to your child's success in Let's Play Music. The more you invest your energy into positive interaction, the more solid and successful this habit will become.     
      
After doing your assignment for class, allow your child to fool around and experiment if he wants to, and play a song he knows -- no matter how simple. This can be done anytime or multiple times throughout the week. Model joy as YOU play the piano. If you make a mistake, smile and show that you are relaxed and enjoy trying again to fix the mistake. Celebrate your effort to give him the idea his efforts are something to enjoy and celebrate.

A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Pull out the bells from last year and notice how fun it is to play some of the Yellow Arrows songs on the bells.
• Any chance you get, have visitors listen to your child play his/her favorite song at the piano and applaud generously! As a family, sing along with the songs.
• Can you collaborate with your child at the piano, a parent duet, someone on the Let's Play Music bells from last year and someone else playing a shaker or simply singing along? THIS is joy for your child when it is done with emotional safety and celebration!

Left Hand Finger Power through Bubble Hands & Turtle Shells
This semester we will focus on strengthening our LEFT HAND finger muscles! Playing Bubble Hands in numerical order on the keyboard is a great way to strengthen and reinforce finger numbers. "Pinky's 5, Ring is 4, Middle's 3, Pointer's 2, and Thumb is 1." LH pinky is on C, the bottom red dot. After your child is confident with the finger numbers in order, mix it up to cement this concept with the Left Hand! Also, you can log in to your student portal and download the "Finger Numbers Matching Game" that I created for my daughter when she didn't want to do "Let's Play Music" homework. (The best part about it was that she didn't even realize she was learning...we were just playing a game!)     
      
Playing Turtle Shells with the CD will ALSO help strengthen those fingers. Look closely at the music on the page and it will help you know what finger numbers to play. Hold each interval down the entire time you are singing until the next interval. It will be tricky at first, but with a little practice, it will become easy!     
      
Do You Want To Build a Red Snowman?
The Left Hand Red Chord looks the very same on the staff: stacked up nice and neat with a 3rd on the bottom and a 3rd on the top in a snowman shape. We PLAY the red chord with our left hand finger numbers 5-3-1 (finger #5 on bass C, the bottom red dot). Invite your little musician to play Old Paint with the left hand this week! They’ll be thrilled to play a song they already know, PLUS they will be strengthening their fingers! Double bonus!     

The Caterpillar Song
The proper hand position for this technique song is Middle C Position where both thumbs SHARE Middle C like a BUTTERFLY! This week work on coordinating both hands at once by singing finger numbers SLOWLY until they get the hang of this 5 finger pattern. Then add the lyrics.

Since both red chords are shaped like a snowman, how do we know which hand to play it with? By looking at which CLEF is on the staff.

The TREBLE CLEF has a lot of curls, like "Girls Curly Hair," (say it in a high pitched voice because those are the high notes that we play with our right hand). Don't pull her hair or you'll get in "TREBLE!" 

The BASS CLEF looks like "Father's Strong Arm and some father's like to play bass-ball!" (say it in a deep voice because those are the low notes that we play with our left hand).

Also, I've added the Pirate Ship puppets for you to download. Log in at www.musikandme.com and you can download and print and let your child color the characters as you discuss their favorite part about the puppet show! (Don't forget to listen to the music while coloring!)

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, January 8, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #1

Our first Pink Piggies class was a great start to a semester of fun and learning! These simple reminders will help make class a successful and enjoyable experience for all:
 

• Please keep all materials (workbook, finger cymbals, and class manipulatives) in your tote bag to bring to class each week.
• Please leave food, drinks and toys at home, in your car, or upstairs. They are a distraction to your own child as well as others in the class.
• Please turn off your cell phone during class. Remember, parent bonding is one of the best features of this class!
• Please utilize the “break area” (the hallway by the bathroom) if your child becomes fussy or disruptive.
• Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have throughout the semester.
• Please be sure to download and listen to your class music on the LPM app! The more familiar you and your child are with the music, the more you can both participate in class!
• Tuition is due this week. I prefer payment via Zelle (just use my phone number) because I don't have to pay fees for that, or you may pay with Venmo (@musikandme), which does charge me a small fee, but either one is fine. Tuition is $180 for one student and $220 for a family with more than one child. If you have to make monthly payments, it is $45 for one student and $55 for a family with more than one child.

What songs should you listen to at home each week? I'll let you know here in case you want to be ready with the ones we'll use next class. The more familiar you and your child are with the songs, the more fun you will have in class! Each week we will sing these songs:

• Everybody Say Hello
• ABC Song
• The Letter of the Day
• Everybody Say Goodbye

Next week we'll sing these:

• Name, Name, What's Your Name?
• Let's Count Our Money
• In My Class I Have Some Bells
• Picaflor
• This Little Piggy
• Fiddle-I-Fee
• Uno, Dos, Tres
• March of the Toreadors
• A Rum Sum Sum
• Hush Little Baby

Throughout the semester, Sound Beginnings will introduce several kindergarten concepts. We begin with name recognition because children’s names have more meaning and importance to them than other words. Name recognition is foundational to further literacy skills, and your student will have an opportunity to practice this important concept each week.

Optional home fun activity: Do the Name Recognition activity on page 20 of your workbook       
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Here is a video that will help you to know what Sound Beginnings is all about and how it will benefit your child. This was created by another teacher and she was generous enough to share it!

https://youtu.be/IxZrTdk0pVk

Here's a fun video for ideas of how to interact with your baby during class (if applicable):

https://youtu.be/8nyS_nQlpE0

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	A child learns when he or she feels loved. In class, purposeful touching, eye contact, partner activities, and generational nostalgia help develop the all-important parent/child relationship.

Have a musical day!     
-Ms. Bethany :)