Here it is……. basic, yummy, easy….. and perfect for Fall! Make me some, will you?

LIBBY’S PUMPKIN BREAD
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. each nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon
1 1/2 c. each granulated sugar and packed brown sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1 c. each raisins and nuts (optional)
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add the sugars, mixing well.
Mix dry ingredients with the oil and pumpkin, stirring until well combined.

Add eggs, one at a time, blending thoroughly. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 1/2 x 5 1/4-inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans. Place on wire rack to cool.

“Cock-a-doodle-MOO!” (First 7 weeks)  A trip to the farm has never been so musical!  Cows, haystacks, little boy blue, and a “hayride” join with lots of other farmyard adventures to introduce your baby to the world of music.  Your child will explore lots of different sounds and ways to make music using drums, woodblocks, resonator bars and other instruments!  The “Cock-a-doodle-MOO” board book is sure to be a favorite, especially after baby’s picture goes in the driver’s seat of the tractor at the end!

“Dew Drops”(Second 7 weeks) takes Baby into the middle of a flower garden.  See the DewDrops glisten in the morning sun and feel the cool breeze blow – a true multi-sensory experience (especially when babies get their own real flowers to “explore” – baby style!)  Varying styles of music are represented from the lively Celtic dance of the Belfast Hornpipe to the gentle, soothing melody of Scarborough Fair.  Whether “hammocking” in a blanket, dancing a jig, exploring a drum, singing a lullaby or using a mirror in vocal play activities, Baby and Caregiver can celebrate the joys of music and their special relationship.

Home Materials:  2 long-playing CDs, 2 board books, 4 art banners with illustrations from the books, 2 instruments, online access to 16 extension activities/journal starters.

Our Time:  1 1/2 – 3 1/2 years 

“If I could harness the energy of 200 two-year-olds, I could conquer the world!” (Source unknown)

Toddlers know about go, go, going.  That’s their #1 job!  Away We Go! plays with lots of different ways to move.  Trains, boats, cars, horses, and airplanes are only some of the jumping off points for instrument exploration, lots of songs and chants, and interesting things to explore – even an obstacle course!  Boys and girls alike will love go, go, going to Away We Go!

Home Materials:  2 Literature Books, 2 Harmonicas, 2 At Home CDs (More than 90 minutes of music), Home Activity Book: 39 pages of activities for families to do at home!

Imagine That!:  3 and 4 years

What’s more exciting to a 3 or 4-year-old than a new toy? How about an entire Toy Shop full of toys?!  In Toys I Make, Trips I Take, your child will learn foundational music concepts as well as important life and social skills as they enter an imagination-inspiring world full of toys and toy-making.   Instrument play, lots of movement, fun home projects, exciting props to play with, engaging story times, and imaginagion galore! 

Home Materials:  2 CDs, 2 books, instrument, activity book, play-set, backpack (for first-time IT! students)

Young Child:  5 and 6 years

In our Young Child academy, children receive a music education that will lay a foundation for a lifetime of music.  During the 4 semesters of Young Child, children learn to…compose and perform their own rhythmic compositions in 3 different meters (time signatures)… read and play all the notes in the treble clef…sight sing the whole treble clef!…make and play their own dulcimer!…play the recorder!…play the glockenspiel! (the best pre-piano preparation possible!)…play in a 3 part ensemble!…distinguish the principle instruments in all instrumental families by their sound alone!…ENJOY CREATING, PLAYING, AND SHARING MUSIC AND MUSICAL EXPERIENCES!

A Kindermusik Young Child graduate is fully prepared to begin private music lessons with a well-rounded knowledge of music and instruments well beyond the instrument they finally choose as their own.  Indeed, music as a whole is their own, and that is our all-encompassing goal.

Friday October 28th

STILL SPACE AVAILABLE FOR THE 10 AM OR THE 5:30 PM CLASSES!!

A new Kindermusik student started in my class last week. This child was interesting, sweet, energetic, and just learning the ropes.  Young Brooke, however, is an old pro.  I saw Brooke do something in class that day that I have never NEVER witnessed in all my years of teaching.  I have to share!

When it came time for circle, the new child was a little distracted- (so many things to see and explore in a new place).  Brooke was distressed.  It was circle time, and Brooke is a LISTENER.  I was gently redirecting…… but Brooke must have thought Miss Kelly needed some help.  She left the circle, (which she never, ever does) and went and found the new student.  She took the student’s hand, led them back to circle, and firmly, but politely told them it was sit and quiet time.  I was laughing sooooooooooo hard, until I realized that Brooke was very serious.  These were the rules, and they were to be followed.  She was a teeny, tiny tower of strength that day- and you know what?  It worked.  YAY BROOKE!

P.S.  I may ask Brooke to cover me for vacations- she’s got skills!

The Suzuki method teaches children to play piano, emphasizing that   Every Child can  be educated to play music, with two main ideas.  One, children must be exposed to good music and listen to it consistently and,  two, they must practice and be motivated to practice.  The Suzuki method is a proven method for teaching piano, and children can start with this method before they learn to read, as early as 3 years old.

Traditional piano lessons generally start around five to seven years of age.  Lessons for younger children will typically include movement activities and games in addition to actual piano play and practice, transitioning to more formal thirty minute lessons as the child gets closer to six years and/or can focus for longer periods of time.

These are very brief descriptions of two main methods of piano introduction and the ages at which children typically can start.   If you would like more guidance in starting your child in piano lessons, we’re happy to help.

What musical topics would you like us to address in future blog entries?

These were some of the yummy black raspberries I picked from my backyard garden this spring.  NOTHING is better than a berry warm from the bush, except maybe one warm in a pie from the oven, (the jury is out on that one).   My kids were worse than the birds this year… they swarmed the bushes, stripping them of all the ripe fruit.  Compared with say, an apple, this is a pretty unusual fruit.  The kids ate it because it was not unusual to them.  After watching it grow, and waiting for it to ripen, I think eating it just seemed the next natural step.  This willingness to try any fruit or veggie we grow has been an unexpected benefit of our garden.  Almost everything is gone by now in the hot Florida sun- and we miss the real taste of fresh produce.  The downside of a backyard garden?  Try serving an anemic, supermarket, not really ripe tomato to 6 year olds that know better.  (They’re right.. it’s yucky).  If you didn’t try a garden this spring- no worries-this is Florida……… you get another chance.  Plant your Fall garden in late August, and serve what you grow for Thanksgiving.

Baby gates, car seats, training wheels, safety locks, pool fences, stroller belts………… Does it seem like you are always locking your children in, (or out) of something?  The barriers we erect to keep our children safe are just that- a barrier.  A barrier by nature is a wall, separating us a little from whatever lays on the other side.  I have noticed that as I take down the barriers, one by one, I am immersing my children into life.  It is scary.  Many is the day that I long for the old baby gate, which made life small, manageable, predictable, all variables accounted for.  Growing up is hard-I have a grown daughter, so I have walked this path before.  Here are some things I have learned:

1.  Children will not die if they have to walk when you forget the stroller.

2.  A third grader doesn’t want their friends to know that you still make them use a booster seat in the car.

3.  Someday they will no longer love Elmo, (or Barney, or Pooh, or their Blankie, or whatever they LOVE now.  Somehow this hurts. Let it go. )

4.  Chicken Fingers are not a food group, and a truly hungry child will eat what you have.

5.  Someday your child will fall off their bike.  Spectacularly.  ALWAYS make them wear a helmet.

6.  Bedtimes are for the parent.

7.  Children that don’t learn to pick up after themselves become adults that need to be picked up after.

8.  Teachers are not always fair or nice, just like people are not always fair or nice.  Try to fix everything…….. and you will always have to.

9.  Manners REALLY, REALLY matter.  Nag for the first five years, enjoy the fruits of your labor forever.  (Rude adults cannot be retrained)

10.  Sometimes your kids will dislike you.  ALOT.  If they are mad at you, or unhappy with your decisions, you are probably doing a good job.