Just one case for raising a child to be a musician:

Preparing for life....

Here's an article written by the dean of music at Lawrence Conservatory (Appleton WI) and posted on his blog.

When hiring employees, Microsoft and every other successful company looks for an underlying set of skills that will bring the most benefit to the business. These skills are easy to list, but very hard to find in a single individual. For this discussion I will focus on four of these traits. The perfect employee should be:

Focused
Self-motivated
Collaborative
Communicative

So let's start by taking away our musician's instrument, and putting aside all of our own preconceptions about music being concerned only with the expression of emotion and beauty. We will now take a cold hard look at what goes into creating a successful musician.

Read on to see how these skill are developed, honed to develop a very capable individual and one that's creative and artistically expressive.

But come back and watch this great storytelling musician, David Holt. Click on the picture of his washboard to hear (among his many wonderful stories) his personal story of how he came to love music and choose it as a career. Pay special attention to his demonstration of his invention of "Thunderwear".

I'm tellin' ya. With Kindermusik you give your child the best start (beginning at newborn through 7yrs.) then take it from there! Keep going...put an instrument in their hands.

Email me to come visit a class to get an idea about all the great work we do.

singandtwirl@gmail.com

Finding Order in Chaos....

Patterns, patterns everywhere......

The human mind searches for pattern. Patterns help us frame and share our understanding of the world. We see, hear, and feel patterns in the rhythms and routines of our daily lives. Patterns are anything with a unit - a shape, design rhythm, or motif - that repeats in a predictable and organized manner. (from the Brooklyn Children's Museum website.

We search for auditory patterns too. Can you figure out the pattern for "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"?

Here's a fun
Kaleidoscope pattern drawing game.

Spring Break

Here's the word on what's up at the Asheville Arts Center for spring break which is April 13-17th!So NO REGULAR KINDERMUSIK CLASSES THAT WEEK.

April 13-April 17 , 9am-12pm, $125

Spring Break Camp- Once Upon A Time!
Ages 2-4, 4-6
Once Upon a Time explores the wonderful world of fairytales and make believe. Using costumes and props the children will create their own stories as well as explore some of the most popular fairytales ever told. On Friday, come and watch your child perform in the land of make believe. For more information and registration call 828.253.4000 or visit our website www.ashevilleartscenter.com

April 13-April 17 , 9am-3pm, $210

Spring Break Camp- LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Ages 6-8, 9-12, 13-15 Ever wanted to star in your own TV Show, movie, or write and make a commercial? Now s your chance! During this week, learn how to write scripts, act on camera and edit your work. At the end of the week, invite your family and friends to a private viewing of your on-camera experience. For more information and registration call 828.253.4000 or visit our website www.ashevilleartscenter.com

Does your child manipulate you?

Babies are only ever doing one of two things: GIVING LOVE or ASKING FOR LOVE.

Parenting is the hardest job I know. While babies do not come with the instruction booklet, online advice abounds!! One category of advice piques my attention. That's where the issue of manipulation comes up. Judging a situation in which you are not emotionally involved is usually pretty easy. Looking at the pictures below it's easy to see how each child is giving love or asking for love but fill in with the "whole story" and your emotions will take charge. The child's purpose will be hidden behind your interpretation.


The baby above is clearly Giving Love! Everyone's happy. Baby's fed and diaper is clean. Ah, the livin' is easy.

The baby below has just given you a real work out. You've followed her through the house picking up things as if you were following a tornado and she giggled as you shouted your frustration. One more act, drawing on the wall, is the last straw and you loose it! Now you both are in a heap.




Believe it or not you both are Asking for Love. Who will break the cycle and answer with love?




If you are not taking care of yourself you can't fill the need of the child in a mature way.
Here's a suggestion for filling a child's need for love....(and yours too) efficiently:

You might find it interesting to see the author's website.











Come on in for a free visit....to our Kindermusik class. Summer is coming up and our summer class schedule will be listed soon but in the meantime do come for a sample class. Call 253-4000 to schedule your time.




Peace,
Yvette

Happy Birthday JS BACH

Today Anne (my daughter who's soon to be a teen!!!) performed with her cello teacher and studio in a concert for a local nursing home. Music has healing and calming qualities especially music from the baroque era (including the genius JS Bach). Baroque music is very complex mathematically (not emotionally like Stravinsky) and with it's often 60 beats per minute it invites the listener's heart to slow down and relax! This is a little Bach Minuet, not so complex but just right for these students. Hope you enjoy listening. Anne is in the middle of the back row of cellists.



Peace,
Yvette

Kindermusik Village Class Home activities:

Below is the link for the new "Rhythm of My Day" theme.

This is week #3 and the home activity is about creating and weaving rituals into your day. The suggestion is one I love: When Daddy comes home sing "Hey Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. Hey Daddy, Daddy-O..." (tune: Hey Lolly) Do that for the older siblings coming home from school or in the morning when you first wake up! Other times for rituals would be diaper changing time, meal time, bath time, story time...etc. These wonderful rituals convey security and deep love between child and adults and siblings.

Becky Bailey (author of Conscious Discipline) describes the important basic elements of a loving ritual:
1. touch
2. eye contact
3. your presence
4. playfulness

Here's a perfect example for a "loving ritual" as we did today in our Saturday (9:15) Kindermusik Village class:

Wash the dishes. (rub baby's tummy)
Dry the dishes. (rub baby's back)
Ring the bell for tea. (tweak nose or push belly button and add sound effects!)
Three good wishes and three good kisses (rock, tap, or someway keep the beat)
I will give to thee. (Give the kisses!)

Go here to find out the home activities for every week:

http://www.kindermusikeducators.com/Lounge/Rhythm-Home%20Journal.pdf

If you are not enrolled in one of our Kindermusik classes I invite you to email me or call the Arts Center to visit a class this week!! Do come and see the magic for yourself.

Celebrate SPRING with some fireworks, a good chuckle and some amazing imagination:

Extreme Sheep LED Art, I loved the music to this~