Enroll a Friend Promo

Are you already enrolled in my coming January session? Know a family who'd love Kindermusik? How does this sound.... for every family that enrolls as a result of being referred by a currently enrolled family, the referring family will receive $20.00 from me as a personal thank-you! You'll have to act fast. In order to have take-home materials in time for the start of class, I'd have to have my enrollments in by Dec. 23! Call me at 370-8901 or 433-3589 for more information or to schedule A FREE PREVIEW CLASS.

Give Your Child the Gift of Music this Holiday!

Not sure what to get your child this holiday?
Does your niece or nephew have everything?
Does your mother-in-law need a gift idea?


We have a perfect (and easy) solution for those on your Christmas List ages 7 and under....Kindermusik Gift Certificates!!!


The gift of a Kindermusik Music Class will be far more memorable than the latest toy or gadget. It is a gift that lasts for 15 weeks and the memories last a lifetime! Certificates can be written for any amount and never expire. They can be used towards any future class or materials cost.


Or, if you're just curious, try a preview class with your little one today! 

Kindermusik Parenting Through Music: Part 3

Spotlight on Learning: Village

Lifting. Squatting. Twirling. Bending. Whew! Sometimes Kindermusik class feels more like a workout than, well, a workout. Okay, maybe not P90x, but still! While you are building muscles each week, your child is building early language skills.

When you lift her high "up, up in the sky" or "twirl around like a leaf" while singing the songs in class, you help your little one learn the word and understand the concept. Pre-readers rely almost exclusively on what they hear in order to acquire language. Your child's brain makes a connection based on what she experiences (being lifted high or twirling around) and hears ("up" or "twirl"). Later, she will discover those words correspond to marks on a page which eventually leads to letter recognition and reading. Just think how toned your arms will be then!

Everyday connection: Play that fun-key music. Listen and move to music that combines key vocabulary with a movement or activity. "Up, Up In The Sky" and "Like a Leaf or a Feather" are familiar choices. Visit play.kindermusik.com for more favorites, like "I Roll the Ball to You." Try mixing in your tunes, too. "Dancing Queen" anyone?

*NEW* Curricula Mini-Themes!

Want to get a sneak peek into what's happening in my classes right now? Well, here's the first of monthly blog posts that will highlight what we're learning about and what you could get in on. Enrollments are welcome at any time.


Lessons 5-8 Village-Feathers (newborn - 18 months): Who’s Making All that Noise?
Our feathery, flying journey is an opportunity to explore the long, smooth swooping sounds of flight and the short, sharp sounds of birds hopping and pecking. We also move and groove to the syncopated rhythms of jazz and discover the delights of moving fast and slow.

Kindermusik: Parenting through Music (Part 2)

Spotlight on Parenting: Village

Have you ever heard someone say, "You need to learn how to relax"? Well, they were right. Relaxing is a learned behavior that even the youngest child can begin developing.

In Kindermusik, we include a quiet time specifically designed to learn and practice relaxation techniques, such as rocking, listening to soothing music, or snuggling a favorite stuffed animal. Your child's world can be full of stimulating experiences. Teaching her how to relax after a period of activity gives her time to recoup and prepares her for what's next.

An added bonus: Children who know how to relax and self-soothe can be better sleepers. (Although, you might still wish for a visit from the Sleep Nanny at 2:34 am!)

Everyday connection:

Forget about a "play list."  Make a "relax list" in iTunes. When your child needs to wind down for naptime or bedtime, play songs like "Sleep, My Little Bird" and "Wild Geese Are Flying."  Eventually, she will begin responding to the musical cues and the relaxation techniques from class and ... well ... relax. You will, too! Let music make bedtime easier.

Kindermusik: Parenting Through Music (Part 1)

Spotlight on Learning: Village Class (ages newborn - 18 months)

By exploring with sound, babies and young toddlers practice their visual thinking skills or spatial-reasoning skills. Good visual thinking skills are essential for a child to later excel in math, science, and geography. We spend time in Kindermusik doing this together by playing different instruments and experimenting with lots of sounds, such as the different bird calls we "sing" together. In fact, children participating in Kindermusik tripled spatial-reasoning skills during a recent research project.

Everyday connection:
Be a Sound Explorer with your child. How many different sounds can a bath book, baby spoon, and Kindermusik Chime Ball make? Does a sippy cup with milk make the same sound as a sippy cup filled with cereal? What items on your changing table make sounds that can entertain your baby during a diaper change?

Time for Some Live Musical Education

Well, Autumn has officially fallen. I actually welcome it with open arms this year. We had a fantastic summer and we did a lot of fun summer stuff. I honestly can say that we made the most of it and now I'm ready to settle into some cooler weather and more indoor activities. I've decided to take in more concerts this fall and winter. My husband and I used to frequent the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at least a half dozen times a season and I so miss that (having children has made it much more difficult to get out the last several years)!

So, I'm ready to soak up some serious musical vibes and set a goal of taking in at least three major concerts this next season, hopefully more! I say three because I should have no excuse to not pull this one off. There is a lot to choose from for affordable prices out there if I take the time to look. Plus, I'm going to up the ante by making sure that my son takes in at least one of those together with us. It is so important for children to not only hear music played through a stereo or Ipod, but to also see it performed live and learn how it is that the performers create these wonderful sounds that they're hearing. Personally, I'd love to see if "The Nutcracker" is playing somewhere for the holidays. I encourage you to do the same!

To start, there's the season opening concert through the Steinbach Arts Council featuring The Three Baritones in Il Primo. I'd love to check it out and invite you to as well. They'll be playing at the Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach on September 29 at 7:30 pm. You can read a little synopsis on them or check out the Steinbach Arts Council website to get your tickets. Bonus feature is that they are giving discounted rates for all music students from any school, any age, for only $5.00 each! Their goal: To encourage students to attend live professional shows - a vital part of their musical education! I whole-heartedly agree.

What's that green thing on my plate?!

My fridge is full, bursting at the...uh...hinges. This time of year is such a wonderful season of abundance. The variety of vegetables and fresh fruits in my crisper right now is overflowing and sending me scrambling to my recipe collection to find ways to cook, bake and preserve all this goodness before they go bad. 

That's where I run into a wall. I have a fussy eater. Anything green, leafy, or coming out of the earth is usually met with a great deal of resistance. Although we promised we would never do this, we find we've often prepared separate meals for our son from what we were eating. I have recently been inspired to completely rethink the way we present our mealtimes and approach food with our children.

At our most recent Healthy Baby SuperStart meeting in my hometown, the topic of discussion between the mothers present was food and what was the parent's responsibility and what was the child's responsibility. I learned a very simple and straight-forward approach to preparing and presenting meals for toddlers and young eaters. I thought I'd share what I learned.

Basically, there's a Golden "Rule" for feeding children:

You Decide:
-What food is served
Offer a variety of foods from each food group. What I've learned is that it's best to provide a selection that your child can choose from at the table. A lot of parents have a tendancy to "plate-up" their child's dish with what they want them to eat. By doing this though, we are taking away the child's desire to choose for themselves what they'd like to eat. As a result, their sense of independence is challenged and then they resist.
-When food is served
Make eating times pleasant. Food is to be enjoyed. Let your toddler be a messy eater and feed themselves. This is part of learning. Don't rush feeding. Children often take longer to eat than adults. Expect toddlers to stay at the table at least 10 minutes. Another thing to try and avoid is allowing your child to 'graze'. Try to avoid giving children food or drink at least an hour before mealtimes so that they actually have an appetite and learn to eat at structured mealtimes.

Children Decide:
-Whether to eat
Saying "no" to food is a way of showing independence. Occasionally, it is OK for a child not to eat a meal or snack. Never force a child to eat, or punish a child for not eating. I know this is hard, but try not to use dessert as a bribe to eat the rest of the meal. This will only solidify the child's feelings of the meal being an ordeal to get through in order to achieve the prize of something sweet, instead of instilling a genuine love of the meal itself. 
-How much to eat 
Let toddlers develop their own sense of when they are 'done' or full. At times, children will be hungry and eat a lot. Other times they won't eat very much. Keep their portions small and don't pressure a child to "finish your drink" or "clean your plate". Just remove uneaten food without comment.


-Taken from "Feeding Your Toddler with Love and Good Food" -British Columbia Ministry for Children and Families.

After letting these concepts sink in a bit, I've realized that I don't need to fret so much about whether my children are getting the proper nutrition they need and I don't need to prepare foods to cater to specific palettes. The approach is simple. Make food the way I normally would, as long as there is variety to choose from. If there's something in a dish that my child doesn't like, he can pick it out. That's fine. Eventually, after being exposed to it repeatedly and seeing us eat and enjoy the foods we prepare, I have to trust that he'll want to try it himself. I have to remember that if my children see me stressing out over their food consumption, they'll see it as a negative experience and naturally want to avoid it. I hope you've found this information helpful if you have a fussy eater in your home.

 

Is it Back To School Already?

As the parent of a pre-schooler, I'm starting to feel that 'back-to-school frenzy' that starts to build at about this time of year. I'm beginning to become more aware of all the busy preparation that's involved and what I have to anticipate in the years to come. A large part of me is very excited for Max. Picking out backpacks & lunchkits, getting all the pencil crayons, erasers and glue. I so loved school as a little girl and going shopping for school supplies was a favorite thing to do with my Mom. As a mom now, I can see how it can be stressful time of year as well.
Added to an ever-growing list of school supplies & clothes needed to start the school year off right, there's the extra-curricular activities to choose from like sports, art classes, or music. It can get overwhelming, and depending on where you live, the choices may be difficult to choose from. Especially if you have a busy household to begin with.

I read a really great article from one of my favorite blogs on extra-curricular music study and how it relates to a child's success in the classroom. It points out a number of really great reasons to make music lessons a part of your fall registration list of to-do's. 

Top Ten - from Studio3Music Blog

Social Media and Children's Social Health

I'll admit, I'm not all that techno-savvy. I don't have a Blackberry, or laptop or even an Ipod (although I REALLY want one). It's not that I have a problem with any of our modern-day technologies... I don't. I guess I never really felt the need for it and was getting by just fine without them. Now with children of my own and a growing business, I'm starting to realize that the way we relate to others around us is changing in a very permanent way and that I have to get with the program, to a certain degree at least.

This train of thought naturally takes me to the topic of social media and how it will affect my children and their peers in the future. With all the ways we can and do communicate that doesn't require us to ever speak face-to-face with people, I wonder how this will change the social development of our future generation.

I can see how there could be many positive results. It's a tremendously exciting age that we live in. So many possibilities. For example, the very shy have new ways to reach out to others that can serve as a stepping stone to developing relationships. People can stay in touch with others, even old friends, through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I know I have. There's also a vast selection of social support groups online that can help people feel better about themselves and their place in the world.

Then there are the negative side effects that I can foresee that could be huge problems for us parents. With young people increasingly relying on cell-phones & the internet to connect with their friends, I can see an increase in social anxieties and dysfunctions when it comes to knowing how to talk to people in person, particularly strangers or more formal encounters. There's a certain measure of confidence & acquired skill needed to carry on a physical conversation like; holding a steady gaze with another person, intently listening & propelling the conversation forward.  Plus, let's not forget the huge problem with online bullying and predatory behavior and how devastating that can all be.

Weighing out these potentialities makes me more determined to try and have my children involved in as many socially interactive activities as possible. I believe it's crucial to try and get them relating to others in healthy environments where they are physically present and developing their social skills while we still have a significant influence on their development. Before long, they'll be asking for cell phones and whatever new techno gadgets are in our future and their social lives will increasingly become their own.

That's another reason that I feel great being in the line of work that I'm in. The sense of community and socially diverse activities in each class are wonderful for both child and parent. I love seeing the delighted recognition on children's faces when they meet up with their fellow classmates each week. They know they're going to have a fun time together and I like to think that there are some truly long-lasting friendships that are being cultivated in my classroom. It's also a great exercise in social diversity. There are often all different walks of life and culture joining in a class together and it's nice for children to step outside their own circle of family and friends and meet new people.

Written by Rose, who takes comfort in knowing that nothing can ever replace the warm & fuzzy feeling a true smile and hug can bring. No emoticon could ever compare.....:)

Was it Hot Enough For You?

Wow, what a weekend! Aside from the sweltering heat, Frog Follies/Ag Fair turned out quite well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to participate in too much due to having a little one to tend to. With those high temperatures, I felt it was best for Zander to be indoors during the really hot hours of the day. At least my husband and Max got to enjoy some activities. Particularly the parade. Max was thrilled to be in a parade float this year. I found it quite fun to be involved myself. It was my first experience and I think it went pretty well. Aside from the fact that as a walker handing out jingle bell bracelets & flyers, I felt the procession moved a bit too quickly. I was separated from my float after the first two blocks...lol! Oh well, it was still a lot of fun. Looking forward to doing it again next year. I've already got a few float ideas....

Kindermusik Playdate

Looking for something different to do with your kids? Did you know that you could enroll for a one-time Kindermusik class? It's called Kindermusik Playdate and it's perfect for Birthdays, Playgroups, Story Time, Family Night Out, or just because. You get the same high quality musical experience that includes an instrument and music for each child to take home with them plus a bonus craft or playtime activity. Rates are very reasonable and I'm more than willing to come to you or even host a class in a nearby park or yard over the summer months.Call me at 433-3589 to book your class.

St. Pierre Demo Days 2011

Want to get a feel for what Kindermusik is? Then come join me for a FREE Demonstration Class at no obligation that I'm hosting at the St. Pierre Regional Library this August 4th & 6th. There will be classes for each age group as well as for the whole family, and a bonus FREE instrument draw for those participating! Come sing and play with us or just come to watch! I'll have plenty of time to answer questions and talk with parents between classes. Please call me @ 433-3589 or 370-8901 or email me at rfkindermusik@gmail.com to schedule your child or family today.

Kindermusik 24/7

Kindermusik is so much more than just a 45 minute class once a week. That's what makes us special. We believe in taking that experience home with you every day. Here's some great ways to do it:
*Morning Routines are easier with songs and fingerplays.
*Play time becomes inspired and interactive with new ideas and favourite instruments from the Home Materials.
*A visit to the zoo or park becomes a part of a happy and indelible childhood memory when experienced while singing songs they have learned in class.
*Car rides become more bearable and enriching with a favourite Kindermusik CD
*Nap time turns into cuddle time with a little bit of rocking and/or a "quiet time" playlist on the iPod.
*The worst part of the day is calmed with a touch of the button on the CD player or iPod.
*Kindermusik brings the whole family together for a spontaneous dance or play-along at home.
*Bedtime becomes a time of emotional connection and ritual that becomes a life-long memory.

St. Pierre Frog Follies & Agricultural Fair

   In just a few short weeks, July 14 - 17, my home town of St. Pierre will be putting on the first annual combined festivals of the Frog Follies and Agricultural Fair. This is promising to be a fun-filled weekend with a wide variety of activities for everyone to enjoy. For the kiddos, there's going to be huge children's inflatables to romp in alongside the Children's Tent that is always filled with wonderfully creative activities and games. There's also going to be the parade (in which I will have my own float!),  agricultural & horticultural exhibitions, slow-pitch competitions, the new Taste of St. Pierre-Jolys Chamber Supper, the always popular Frog Jumping contests, and fireworks... just to name a few. Plus, to celebrate the combination of the two festivals, Saturday and Sunday gate admissions are FREE!  So, if you're looking for something fun and affordable to do with the whole family for mid July, why don't you come and check us out!
http://www.frogfollies.com/

Social Growth

“There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t met yet” William Butler Yeats

Three years ago, my husband and I, together with our 10 month old son, moved from Winnipeg to the small and beautiful french town of St. Pierre-Jolys. This was an exciting step for us. We'd both grown up in small town Manitoba and had lived for nearly 10 years in the "big city". We were eagerly anticipating a quiet and wholesome life in a small community once again. Funny thing was that we found we had been "cityfied" more than we'd realized. Now, I don't mean any offense to my wonderful friends currently living in the city and love their home and believe me, we really enjoyed our time in Winnipeg. But, being a country bumpkin myself, living in the city can be a bit to get used to, particularly if you don't really know anyone going in. I'd get on the bus every day and pay no heed to the person next to me and find myself running errands assuming I wouldn't recognize anyone around me. I'd sort of move through the day "out of focus" and, once in our new home, I found myself having difficulty bringing my attention back on the people around me.

Then I read the quote above and the profound simplicity of it struck a chord within me. There are so many possible friendships that are waiting to be made and I've already met so many lovely people in our town. So what's stopping us from turning those into meaningful friendships? I've come to the realization that there are some social habits that must be changed in order for us to grow and flourish in our new home. So I've made a concentrated effort to befriend our neighbors and meet more people in our community.

This same mentality I'd sincerely like to carry into each and every one of my classes. There's always room for another friend in every person's life. It gives us a true sense of belonging and personal growth that's so integral for our social and emotional health. Particularly with mothers of young children. As a mother of a 3 year old and 6 month old, I know how lonely it can get. Most parents who participate in Kindermusik classes find that the social interaction they get from weekly classes is one of the top reasons they love the program.

So, I challenge you to make a new friend today. Maybe it's that lady a few houses down that has that beautiful flower garden you've been admiring from afar or a new family that's moved in nearby. You never know how that friendship could change your life.

Written by a once painfully shy little girl who frequently hid behind her mother's skirt when meeting someone new.

Learning to Sing

When learning to sing, children are most successful when singing songs that have a limited range, common rhythmic and melodic patterns, simple words and plenty of repetition. They always sing best those songs with which they are familiar.

One goal of Kindermusik is to provide joyful singing activities that guide children in developing a “light head voice,” singing with greater pitch accuracy and learning a repertoire of songs. Activities in the Kindermusik Imagine That! and ABC Music & Me curriculum provide opportunities for pre-school children to explore their many voices and to use a “singing voice.”

Start Singing!

Singing doesn’t have to be limited to Kindermusik class – you can help your child learn to sing and develop a love of music at home. Kindermusik Home Activity books provide lots of creative ideas for activities to do with your child that incorporate singing. The whimsically illustrated Kindermusik literature books invite vocal play and singing and are sure to become story time favorites you’ll read again and again! Singing can even serve as a “tool” for you to shift from one activity to another with your child.

The easiest way to help your child learn a song is to sing it through several times when you have their full attention. I always keep at least two Kindermusik albums in the car. I find that my son learns new songs the best when we're on the road. It gives him something fun to focus on and makes longer car rides so much more manageable for me!

The Young Singer

A newborn’s first singing experiences are really ones of rapt listening. The vocal chords are limited by lack of muscular development, but the ears already can differentiate one sound from another. At about one month, babies begin to enter the world of vocalization and take the first steps in learning to make sound (differentiated from the reflexive sounds of crying). The nurturing of a baby’s developing ability to produce sound, combined with keeping his hearing world full of a wide range of musical sounds, gives the foundation that assures the development of speaking, conversation and singing ability.

As a child approaches the toddler years, he will present many varying levels of vocal experience, development and confidence. Most children between 1 ½ to 3 years of age are in the stage of vocal development that some music specialists refer to as “approximation of singing.” First they will attempt to “imitate” a word, phrase, rhythm pattern or vocal inflection. A child may begin to make these imitative sounds out of context, singing or humming to himself while playing alone, using bits and pieces from the sounds they have heard in their environment.

Many parents worry because their child isn’t “singing in Kindermusik class,” but at home, he sings in the bathtub or playroom. Recognize the importance of this “musical play”  – it is by “playing” that children master the muscular feel of producing a singing sound and come to realize that they can produce the kinds of sounds which are different from speech.

Once a child turns 3, his expressive language explodes. A 3- or 4-year-olds’s ability to be expressive in language extends to exploration of his many voices, singing songs in a limited range and emerging pitch accuracy. Singing helps with memory and recall, with physical development, creativity and socialization.

Sing & Learn

Following is the first of a series of 3 posts that are all about singing and how it is such fantastic fun. Not to mention how it is one of the easiest and most effective ways a child can learn about his world around him!

Have you ever watched a group of young children on the playground excitedly sing Ring Around the Rosey? Or observed a pre-schooler who has just mastered her ABCs, proudly singing them over and over? Maybe you’ve noticed your own child singing along with the radio. It’s evident – all children love to sing!

The voice is every child’s natural instrument and, therefore, an important part of learning and development. And many proponents of music education have long agreed that children can, and should, learn to sing.

Joyful participation in singing with family, friends and classmates, and through activities like Kindermusik, results in comprehending the beauty and expressiveness of the human voice. Children develop the ability to use their voice well in singing, chanting, reciting and reading aloud. It also encourages a lifelong love of music.

Singing is part of every Kindermusik class – whether it’s babies responding to music in Kindermusik Village^® class or the pre-schooler learning simple songs in the upcoming Kindermusik ABC Music & Me™.  Singing, integrated with movement, instrument play, literature, and pretend play, is a cornerstone of the Kindermusik experience.

The Kindermusik Philosophy

At Kindermusik, we truly value the idea of “community.” Our community is made up of moms, dads, caregivers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, and, of course, kids! We’re passionately committed to bringing music into the lives of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and young children.
Guiding our community is the Kindermusik philosophy, which is founded on years of research and the following fundamental beliefs:

• A parent or loving caregiver is a child’s first and most important teacher
• All children are musical
• The home is the most important learning environment
• Music nurtures a child's cognitive, emotional, social, language, and physical development
• Children flourish in a child-centered environment where activities are developmentally appropriate
• Educators value the learning process—not the performance—of music making
• Every child should experience the joy, fun, and learning that music brings

Let's Get Our Hands Dirty!

I'm a neat freak. I'll admit I REALLY struggled with letting my son get dirty.  Whether it be in the kitchen with his dinner or outside in the dirt. Spring used to be a pretty stressful time for me with all that mud everywhere. It took until after his 3rd birthday for me to embrace the inevitable stained knees and the mystery goo that I'd pull from his hair. I realized I was holding him back from truly discovering the world around him. You can always buy new clothes, but you can't buy experience....especially for a growing child. Here's a great article about just that:
Lion's Whiskers: Let's Talk Dirty: "I am a gardener. I get dirty. I often wear dark nail polish in the summer to hide how unscrubbably grimy my fingernails have become. And t..."

Our Babies and their Brains

    Neuroscience has made some truly amazing discoveries in our recent history. One of the most interesting areas of study is that of  brain development of babies and young children. It used to be the common belief that children were all born as empty slates and it was up to us as parents and teachers to "fill them up". Recent study is beginning to teach us otherwise.
    Essentially, each of our brains are filled with networks of connections somewhat like a connect-the-dot picture, called neural pathways. Our babies are all born with the basic grid to get them started with a spattering of  neurons and synapses already developing. By 8 months of age, according to an article called "Starting Smart", a baby could have 1,000 trillion synapses in his brain! Isn't that mind-blowing! At this point, there are literally endless possibilities for what your baby is capable of learning.
    Of course, this doesn't stay this way. The brain will begin to prune whichever synapses and neural pathways that are not being used as a means of strengthening the pathways that have already been established. Vision and visual comprehension, for example, is one of the very first senses that get "hard-wired" into our brains. If a new baby has a visual abnormality, the longer it takes to address and correct the problem the higher the chance that the child may never fully recover. Or if a child has a speech impediment, if not corrected by around 4 years of age, their brain starts to loose the ability to correct the problem and may struggle with the impediment for the rest of their lives.
    On the other hand, the more that neural pathways are being stimulated and used regularly, the stronger the connections and therefore, a healthier brain. It's like a footpath that gets used every day. It's clear and safe to walk on and gets you where you need to go efficiently. If that footpath becomes neglected and unused,  it soon gets overgrown, difficult to walk on, and may disappear all together. The more pathways, the more options and diversity we have. 
    Up to around the age of 5, it is to be considered the "critical period"  where babies and children are the most responsive to learning and proper development. This is where us, as parents, can do our best to get these synapses snapping in our childrens' brains. It's as simple as talking (or singing!) to our babies as much as we can. This is crucial to their language and social development. Move with your little ones. Wave your hands around, play finger games or do a silly dance. That covers their spatial and cognitive development. Read to them. Show them what you're reading. This will encourage a healthy start to literacy. You get the picture.

    Now, these are all practices that are fairly common knowledge and for the most part, we do them instinctively as parents. The real home-run hitter is that research shows that children will learn all these things to their fullest potential when sharing these experiences with someone they love and trust....that's you. Babies need and crave personal contact and touch. From the very beginning, babies will prefer human stimuli over any other. Did you know that babies who are less than 24 hours old show active brain activity when hearing their mother's voice? Looks like our little bundles are so much more than just "empty slates". Pretty cool, eh?

All Things Fresh & New

   Spring is in the air! I have always envisioned Spring as a sort of Pied Piper that causes us all to suddenly start dancing and singing as if we were marionettes in a play. It's a funny image that I think every Spring and it always makes me smile. Everyone is happier and life seems to hold more promise and opportunity.
   Life is good for me and my little family. Our second son, Zander Frederic was born Dec 6,2010 and he is a constant source of joy. I am thoroughly enjoying being a Mom and love the extra time to spend with my boys. With the coming of Spring, I'm also very excited to have renewed my Kindermusik license and look forward to taking some more classes and preparing for teaching this fall.
   My plans are still to provide another Demo Day this summer in my hometown of St. Pierre-Jolys, hopefully for early August if everything goes as planned. It's a great way to come and experience what a typical Kindermusik class would be like and to be able to meet me face to face before committing to a full semester class. I will post when I have a fixed date and look forward to seeing some familiar faces and making some new friends.