Do you know someone who would love and benefit from Kindermusik, but does not have the financial resources to pay for a class?

Every year we set aside a portion of our class enrollments for scholarships for children that would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience Kindermusik.

It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway), that we believe that music is the most powerful tool you can give your child now for future success in school, work and life, and that everyone deserves access to a Kindermusik class. Not only for the sake of your children, but for the wonderful benefits for the grownups!

Our 2012 Scholarship application can be found HERE.

If you know a family that has a financial need and would like to participate in Kindermusik, please share this post with them. Or, like this post and it will show on your wall. You never know who it will reach that you might not otherwise have thought of.

Thanks so much for your help.

-posted on behalf of Miss Analiisa, Miss Allison and Miss Beth, who are full of the blessings they’ve received over the years from our Studio3Music families.

Those fun bilibos that we like to spin in during gathering time!

Melissa and Doug make wonderful wooden puzzles, toys and more.  We have some at the studio, but here is a link to the pattern blocks that some of you were asking about:

These Interstar builders are so fun and the kiddos use their imagination to come up with some amazing things!

And here are some terrific recipes to make at home with your child!

Puffy Paint
1 part white glue
1 part shaving cream
glitter or food coloring
squeeze bottles

Directions: Mix equal parts of the shaving cream and glue in a bowl.  Now you can add food coloring or glitter.  The surprising texture after it has dried is fun, too.

Bubble Bath Finger Paints
2 cups flour
water
1 teaspoon salt
food coloring
bubble bath (not the foamy type)

Directions: Mix water with the flour until you get a paste. Add food coloring and bubble bath until you get the thickness you like. This works well in the bath tub. They can paint themselves or the walls and it washes right off. It may turn the water the color of the food coloring but it won’t stain the child.  If you want to make different colors, try putting them in a muffin tin!

Bubbles
1 cup water
1/3 cup dish soap (Joy, Sunlight, etc.)
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

Combine ingredients and enjoy. Try using different objects from your utensil drawer as a bubble wand.

Different Bubble Blowing Tools
Use a plastic straw, or make lots of little bubbles by wrapping colored masking tape around five or six plastic straws.
Berry baskets
fly-swatters
Plastic rings from soda six-packs
Wands made from pipe cleaners

Flubber!
In a large container combine:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups white glue
Food coloring

In second, smaller container, combine:
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 tsp. Borax

* Mix ingredients in each container thoroughly.
* Pour contents of smaller container in to large container.
* Gently lift and turn mixture until only about a tablespoon of liquid is left. FLUBBER will be sticky for a moment or two. Let excess liquid drip off then FLUBBER will be ready!
STRETCH IT! BOUNCE IT! ROLL IT!

Store in an airtight container for about three weeks of use!

Silly Putty
Need:
1 part Sta Flo Liquid Starch
1 part Elmer’s White Glue*
Food coloring (optional)

Mix glue and starch together until it feels like a putty. If desired, add food coloring and mix thoroughly. When not in use, Silly Putty may be stored in an airtight container.

*Important Note: Be sure to use Elmer’s White Glue, NOT Elmer’s “Washable” or “School Glue.”

Edible Peanut Butter Playdough
Need: 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1 cup powdered milk
Knead until smooth.

Slime
Need: Corn starch, Water, Food coloring (optional)
Put cornstarch in bowl. Add enough water to make a paste. If desired, you may also add food coloring. This makes a messy slime that goes from liquid to solid.

-posted by Miss Beth, who would like more sparkles for Christmas. (Though those of us who know and love her can’t imagine she could get even more sparkly than she already is!)

But Luke’s story is just a little different.  He is a special needs child, but I have to tell you that when you spend time with Luke, you are the one who feels special.  Luke has been in class with his mommy for two years and this fall, I suggested to Melissa that we move him up to the next level.  This is now a class that he stays by himself with me and his classmates for about 40 minutes and then Mom comes back and does a sharing time.

The first day he started his new class, he ran in and was so excited to see me and his classmates after our summer break.  Most of the children in this class have been with Luke on his 2 year Kindermusik journey.  The parents of all the children have built a community and treasure the relationship that Luke has formed with their children as much I do!

Luke is not able to communicate verbally, but he understands everything!  Being in an Imagine That class now gives him the opportunity to express himself in different ways.  Imagine That is a child directed class, meaning that I have songs and a lesson plan, but we arrive at those musical destinations by getting the children to interact with the “story”.

Last week, we were pretending to go the park, and I asked the children how they would like to get there.  We had some great ideas about running, jumping, flying like dragons….then I asked Luke how he would like to move.  He started spinning, and so we all spun our way to the park!

If I asked a question about what color the “tree house” should be, Luke is able to answer me by pointing to the green color on the wall.  By the time we called parents back in to join us, Luke was sitting patiently on his ball (which of course is very hard to do, because it is so fun to bounce on the ball) just like the other children were doing.

We did some cooperative ball play with the parents and by the time it was we ready to sing goodbye, Luke had his hand on top of his head waiting for a stamp!  As Melissa and Luke were leaving, I said to Melissa how fantastic Luke did in class.  This time, I was the one with tears in my eyes as I had just seen how much Luke had grown in the past 2 years.  Please take time to read Luke’s story. You will truly be glad you did!

-posted by Miss Beth, who is inspired by all the remarkable children she knows!

Beth's Dad, Miss Beth, and Ty

Did you know that Miss Beth was in the Everett Herald and the PI? If you’ve been in her classes recently, you know she’s in a cast with a partially torn achillies tendon. But she “ran” in the Seattle Rock and Roll half marathon anyway.

Here’s the story…

Three Generations of Monroe Family Finish Race, One in a Cast

One team member was in a walking cast, another was 70, and a third was a high school sophomore. It seems like an unlikely group to finish the Seattle Rock and Roll half marathon.
But that’s what the three generations of Beth Fetty’s family did Saturday, crossing the finish line of the 13-mile race in three hours and thirty-seven minutes. Read more…

-posted by your friends at Studio3Music, who think you are pretty cool.

Source: Wikipedia (Amon)

Butterflies have been migrating to Woodinville lately….all the way from France!  I was a docent at Natural Bridges State Park,  in Santa Cruz, California while in college, so I do know a little about the migration of monarch butterflies.  So I do realize that they make a journey of sometimes over 3,000 miles, but it usually involves a North/South pattern, not East/West.

I also know that a Monarch caterpillar only eats milkweed as it grows, and this helps them gain the invaluable defense of being poisonous.  Their bright colors, both as a caterpillar and as a mature butterfly warn predators away.  Here’s a fun website to learn more about the Monarch. 

Ah! Les Jolis Papillons is the French song we have been singing and dancing to in class.  In English, this translates to  All the Pretty Butterflies.  I’m so happy when the children come up to me in class and ask for a “papillon” stamp.  Singing is a wonderful way to introduce a new language at any age.  We have also had our French papillions make new friends in Imagine That.   They have been singing Bonjour Mes Ami, which translates to Hello, My Friends!

Here’s Ah! Les Jolie Papillons  for you to listen to: (You can also download the song at www.play.kindermusik.com) 2-22 Ah! Les Jolis Papillons (Oh, 1

Enjoy finding out how you can encourage your child to become the beautiful person I know they will become!

-posted by Miss Beth, who floats like a butterfly, but does not sting like a bee.

We have been working on building this “family” community by having a gathering time at the beginning of class, so that parents and care givers can connect. We then continue on with singing a hello song that incorporates all the children’s names, and we like to do circle dances to help bring people together in a relaxed, fun, safe environment.

One of my favorite circle dances right now is Love Somebody.  We have been having a great time walking in and out of the circle, and then the big finish is tell all the children in class that we all love them….and now even the adults will point to each other!  Our families in class are so comfortable singing and doing activities that when a new person comes into class, they all openly embrace that parent and child.

As  Kindermusik teachers, we want there to be that connection between parents.  We hope and plan to have that happen. We love hearing the play dates being organized, but most of all we love having that special time with each of our classes!

-posted by Miss Beth who loves somebody, and it’s you, you, you!

Just the other day, one of my current families brought in their older children as it was a day off school.  This is a family that started with me when I first began teaching Kindermusik 11 years ago!!  It was so amazing to see these kids that are now turning into terrific young adults.  I am thankful each and every day for the love and kindness that is in my life.  Thank you for everything you do!

Here is one of my all time favorite Thanksgiving songs:

Thanksgiving Day
by John Forster & Tom Chapin
© 1990 Limousine Music Co. & The Last Music Co. (ASCAP)

When we were farmers we hauled in the harvest
And founded Thanksgiving Day.
With food in the shed for the winter ahead
We would gather together to say–
Thanks for our health. Thanks for our hearth
And the bounty that grows from the ground.
With our loved ones near we bless the year
That’s brought us safely ’round.

Now we are shoppers. We drive to the market.
The farm seems a light year away.
Still, every November we pause to remember
That time-honored, old-fashioned day.
Thanks for our health. Thanks for our hearth
And the bounty that grows from the ground.
With our loved ones near we bless the year.
That’s brought us safely ’round.

Everything changes, yes, even Thanksgiving.
Let’s rededicate this old day
To helping the hungry, the poor and the homeless
So all may be able to say–
Thanks for our health. Thanks for our hearth
And the bounty that grows from the ground.
With our loved ones near we bless the year
That’s brought us safely ’round.
With our loved ones near we bless the year
That’s brought us safely ’round.

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

-posted by Miss Beth, who is thankful that she gets to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Great Pumpkin Cookies:

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup raisins
• Decorating icings, NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, candies, raisins and/or nuts (optional)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

COMBINE flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla extract; mix well. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts and raisins. Drop ¼ cup dough onto prepared baking sheet; spread into 3-inch circle or oval. Repeat with remaining dough.

BAKE for 14 to 16 minutes or until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Decorate with icings, morsels, candies, raisins and/or nuts.

-posted by Miss Beth, who would be happy to sample any of your cookies!

My brother Mark and I after the Chelan Man.

After I had surgery last summer, I decided I needed a way to get back in shape.  I love to swim, so I thought, “Why not give a triathlon a try?”

Setting the goal for me was the most difficult part, but once I made that decision I stuck to it.  I used the SMART method, not because I’m overly intelligent, but because it made sense.  What is SMART?  It’s an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

I think the most important thing I did was setting a realistic goal.  I wasn’t out to do the Iron Man, but distances that I knew I could actually do.  I have a wonderful support team too!  My family and friends cheered me on and I had one of my best friends training with me…..and it wasn’t just the actually running, swimming and biking together, but the moral encouragement we gave each other.

My brother and I decided to run the race together, and he was nice enough to wait for me after the swim transition, as we were in different waves.  We were then able to bike and run together!  It was so wonderful to come across the finish line with my brother and have our Mom and Dad right there supporting us!

So the moral of my story is that if there is something you are thinking about doing, start out with a realistic goal and stick to it.  Find your support team, even if that means just talking it out with someone.  And go for it and have fun!

-posted by Miss Beth, who will always be there to support the goals of those around her!

We all have a natural rhythm when we talk, so like music, our speech pattern has a beat and a tempo. Singing in a different language can help learn how a language flows.  Our brains are fully engaged and stimulated when we sing and move to music, which in turn activates both sides of the brain.

Songs in other languages not only promote that specific language, but also gives insight into those cultures.  Singing in a group setting helps build confidence that is needed to carry on day to day conversations.

We get to experience music from all over the world in our classes, so adding songs from around the world at home is a breeze!  In this June’s World Traveler camp, we took a “trip” to Japan to learn a fun song about Panda, Usagi, Koala (usagi is Japanese for rabbit). See – you already know the “foreign” words panda and koala!  The children had such a great time learning the song and it was made all the more fun by singing it faster and faster!

Domo arigato to all the children who helped make this a song one of my favorites!  Enjoy!

-posted by Miss Beth, who enjoys singing and dancing to music from all over the world.