Dear Parents,
I loved seeing all of your kids dressed up this week! We had some really great costumes. I hope your kids had a great time and enjoyed seeing Echo Ed dressed up as well as Miss Jessica.
This week we learned about baby steps moving up and down on the staff. A baby step moves from a line to the very next space or a space to the very next line. We also learned a brand new silly song about some turkeys that avoided their Thanksgiving fate!
Keep working on playing the "do-mi-mi" part and practicing your major scale! Your child will get it perfect in no time. Also practice the other songs outlined in the homework book.
When doing the homework, help your child by helping them see that a baby step moves up or down just a little bit. If they are having trouble, you can sing the "Baby Steps" song. It is song 30 on your CD.
I look forward to seeing all of you next week!
Yours Truly,
Miss Jessica
October 23, 2011
Dear Parents,
I hope this newsletter finds you well. I just wanted to drop you all a quick note about what we are working on and some notes for next week.
Firstly, thank you to all my parents for making sure your tuition payments are on time! You are awesome! I really appreciate that! Secondly, thank you for practicing with your children! I can tell when they practice because they improve that much faster!
The bell practice this week is a little harder than usual, but don't worry if your child isn't quite getting it yet. We will be working on it periodically for the rest of the year! So they will have it down in no time! :)
The homework is a little tougher too because you really need to make sure your child is looking at the vertical space between the notes and not horizontal space.
Please make sure your child wears his/her costume to class this week!! We will be having a special puppet show for Halloween and a special Halloween treat at the end of class, so don't forget your costume! Masks are okay, but when class begins they need to come off and stay off during class. Everyone will be dressing up including Miss Jessica and even Echo Ed!
Can't wait to see you all this week!
Miss Jessica
Weekly Newsletter October 12, 2011
Dear Parents,
Can you believe we are 2 months into our year?! We are halfway through our Red Balloons lessons already! Wow! Time flies when you're having fun!
This week, we did a lot of songs with the melodic pattern Sol-Sol-Do. We are really working on getting the kids to recognize the pattern on their own. We also are starting to work on developing relative pitch and singing in tune.
The focus concept this week is to demonstrate (sing) and recognize the "mi-re-do" pattern and the "sol-sol-do" pattern. A quick exercise would be to sing one of the patterns for your child (on a 'bum' instead of the syllables) and then ask him/her to identify it. Or you could play one of the patterns and have your child tell which one you played.
This week's bell practice will focus on playing the Sol-Sol-Do pattern, playing a major scale up and down, and accompanying themselves on the bells as they sing the song "Hear How the Bells".
Keep listening to your CD and the songs outlined in the lesson this week! Kids, make sure you are working on Ooooo Halloween song and the BOO at the end!
If you have trouble with your hand signs in identifying the "mi-re-do" or "sol-sol-do" patterns for the homework, there is a "cheat sheet" on p. 52 of your homework book! As always if you have any questions please call or e-mail me!
A couple of administrative things, don't forget tuition is due next week. If you have any questions about when your next payment is due (if you have paid in advance), let me know and I will tell you when your next installment is due. Next week is also a parent week!
Cold and flu season seems to have come early this year and we have already had quite a few kids miss class due to illness. When your kids come to class, it is essential they (and any parents) put on hand sanitizer right as they come in! I try to keep the instruments clean, but I need your help in making sure their little hands are clean as well. As always, use your own judgement to decide if your child should stay home that day, but please call, e-mail, or text me! Even if it's really close to class time, let me know anyway because if we have a large part of the class gone then I would rather cancel class and schedule a make-up day. Parents, if you are sick on a parent week, still send your child if you can.
Thank you for all the hard work you do with your kids! I can tell that they are practicing at home! I LOVE teaching them, they are so much fun! See you next week!
Jessica
PS. Periodically I will give a treat out to the class and I forgot to ask if there were any of you who have allergies. Please let me know if there are any allergies, or if you would prefer your child not take a treat.
