Happy New Year!

Isn't it amazing how much life can change in one year?
We don't have life changed by babies anymore at my house, but we did ... 4 times!! And it was wonderful, just like the little one in this picture. (I believe that this is Noah Sash, with his mom Sarah--aren't they cute?) This New Year, our life is changed by a puppy making a mess, teenage boys with endless appetites, a little girl not feeling well, and a 12 year old who just wants a ride to Target, please.
So, in light of all this, it is time to make some resolutions for 2007. NONE involving food or calorie counting...only resolutions that can be kept. As an example....I resolve to take the puppy for a walk and not think about how I should be cleaning my house. I also resolve to SING in the car with my children---even if it means listening to THEIR music on occasion.
Today I may be more sentimental in saying all this, but after attending Rachel Aase's wedding, I saw again how quickly time flies as we are parenting. A few days ago she was a little girl in my musicals, and today she was a beautiful bride walking down the aisle.
Maybe that is another reason I love KINDERMUSIK! It gives you time with your child, it builds up the family, and it creates a bond that lasts for a whole lifetime.
As always, feel free to post your resolution. And remember---no resolutions about food or calories!

Our Time

Here is another one of the cutie pies we have enjoyed in the Thursday night Our Time Class.
Last night they enjoyed a Kitchen Commotion Band for their final celebration class. Miss Stephanie is always so creative and comes up with such wonderful activities for her classes!
I hope everyone enjoys the wonderful holiday before them and can experience the marvel of Christmas through the eyes of their child. As the parent of double digit children, I have to admit that I am envious and jealous of you! I miss the days of Fisher-Price Castles under my Christmas Tree! Parenting is the most wonderful ride I have ever been on, make sure you enjoy every moment of this time.

Twins

Two are more fun than one!
The two sets of twins in the Thursday morning class have show us that is a very true statement.
Today we saw Dominic do all the circle dances! Elizabeth loves to snuggle and play with scarves. Tommy and Hannah always tell about the last "hurt", and love story time. I admire these moms for placing this value on Kindermusik and enrolling their kids in our program. In Minnesota, with our cold weather, and in our "sick" time of the year, there are many days that it would be easier to stay home. But, if you do stay home, winter can be very long....so thank you, Moms, for putting your kids in their jackets, mittens, hats, boots, and car seats, and coming to Kindermusik.

Musical Family

Aren't these pictures of Dan and Isaiah wonderful? This semester Dan and Isaiah came to the Our Time class and Lissa and Jordan came to the Village class. Needless to say, they were one of the first families to sign up for the FAMILY TIME class! In January they can come to class together!
Stephanie and I would like to thank Dan and Lissa for the encouragement and support they have given us as we have brought Kindermusik to Austin.
This week is going quickly! Tomorrow night is the Christmas program for St. Augustine's Catholic Elementary School. They are doing the most wonderful musical, "Meet Me At The Manger." It will be held at 7:00 at the Paramount Theatre.

Another cute toddler!

I think Kadence will be a dancer when she grows up!

A reminder that my class will meet tomorrow morning at 9:30 and then THURSDAY morning at 9:30.

Tonight is the Christmas program at Austin High School. We are excited to hear the orchestra, band, and choir. It is wonderful to live in a community that has such a strong music program.

This week is going to fly by quickly. Make sure to take time to rock your toddler, read a story, and have a cup of tea!

A Toddler of Christmas

Hannah just loves the one bell jingles! It is hard to believe that Hannah will be turning 2 soon! She is growing up so quickly. She loves Kindermusik and loves our bell activities. Here are some of the things we do in class that she enjoys--and you can do them at home!

• shake them up high
• shake them down low
• shake them fast
• shake them slow
• roll them on the floor
• tap, tap, tap your bell

It is just wonderful how the instruments are perfect for the little hands. It's music, and motor development, and just plain fun!

Picture Day

What a beautiful baby!

Again, we would like to thank Jessica Steinbach for her very beautiful work. I will put a picture out each day. Maybe I should have the 12 toddlers of Christmas and the 12 babies of Christmas?

Today at class we enjoyed the book "The Doorbell Rang." It goes so well with our Milk and Cookies curriculum. I love finding books that have repeating lines and sounds that can be added to the story.
Enjoy the warm weather, and stay healthy!

Unique Music Class now Enrolling kids and Babies!

The Austin Daily Herald had that on top of page 3A in the Sunday paper! How wonderful! Thank you, Lee Bonorden!
He had several wonderful paragraphs on Kindermusik. I love how he put in that we have "joyful activities" using music and movement! I know after teaching a Kindermusik class that I am a more joyful person, and I sure have worked with many joyful children!
The highlights he included in his article are:

• Movement and dance activities improve coordination and balance.
• One on one parent and child interaction improves self-esteem.
• Music-making and music listening activities develop self-discipline, as well as critical and creative thinking skills.

We are considering adding that Monday Night class! Let us know if you are interested. Also, I have some families that want a 9:30 Monday morning Toddler class. So, let us know!!!

Now for the important business....COOKIES! Savingdinner.com saved me with their 12 cookies of Christmas! Check it out!
Remember that next week is cookie exchange week, so fire up those ovens!!

Re-enroll now! Give a gift that lasts a lifetime!

A big thank you to the brave families that came out in the cold to register for the next semester of Kindermusik! You will love Kindermusik.
Our Thursday at 6:30 Family Time class looks FULL! If you are interested in a class in January, we will be offering a either a THursday at 5:30 or a Monday night class.
There are openings in our other classes.

Kindermusik sent a wonderful email today about re-enrolling.
A quote from the article:

Children currently enrolled in Kindermusik showed higher levels of self control than thoses never enrolled and those previously enrolled...This suggests that in order for children to reap the benefit of increased self-control as a result of Kindermusik participation, it is important to have repeated and recent Kindermusik experiences and remain enrolled in the program.

This was from a study, "The Effects of Kindermusik on Behavioral Self-Regulation in Early Childhood," which was conducted at George Mason University.
More about this in other posts...

Stay in and stay warm---it is cold out there! Maybe it is a good day to BAKE COOKIES! Try out those recipes in the Milk & Cookies book!

Advent Calendar

If you visit the Family Fun website, you will see they have many adorable activities for your family for the month of December. The Snowman Advent Calendar is especially adorable, and has ideas for each day of the month. My kids have always loved advent calendars, usually we opened ours up after dinner each night.
www.familyfun.com
Enjoy!

Christmas Coffee

Remember that tomorrow is our Christmas Coffee at the Brick House in Austin.
We will be there from 10-12, and invite you to join us for Biscotti, doorprizes, and our early bird tuition discount.
We would like to thank Jessica Bergstrom for taking pictures of our classes this week, and hopefully they will be posted on our blog soon. That was wonderful fun and we were so happy to have such great attendance at our classes this week.
My class is looking forward to having an extra class added on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Also--we would like to make a cookie cook book for our classes, so if you could bring your favorite cookie recipe to class, we can get started on that project!
The Boy Scouts are still selling trees, so stop down to the tree lot this weekend and Micah will be happy to sell you a tree. There are still some wreaths left, too!

DoReMe and You!

Amy Nelson is having a DoReMe and You! Open House tomorrow night.
These products are wonderful and greatly extend the music making in your home.
So, if you can, this would be a wonderful Christmas shopping opportunity.
www.drmy.net/amynelson
RSVP to Amy! You can even place your order online!

Please remember our Open House this Saturday at the Brick House. More on that later.....

What fun we had!

The guests have left, but what fun we had! 10 kids--from 17 to 3, from Wednesday to Saturday.
They were all wonderful kids, but all the parents are a little tired!
For all who got the opportunity to participate, Christmas in the City was wonderful last night. The Lucia Festival and the Nutcracker Dance at the Paramount Theatre was wonderful. What a fantastic way to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas!
Several of my friends sent this link to a wonderful accapella choir commercial for Honda. Enjoy!
http//84.40.3.164/

Reminder: This coming week at Kindermusik will be picture week!

Lorene's class will be scheduling a new time for a Thanksgiving makeup class, since Tuesday didn't work out for people. We will decide the time at class.

Another plug: Boy Scout Troop 109 is selling Christmas Trees down on Main Street. They are very handsome boys and will help you find just the right tree for your Christmas. My boys brought home a wonderful Frasier Fur for our home today! And as always, we appreciate your support of the Boy Scouts!

Wow! What a week!

I can't believe a week has gone by without a post!
I know that everyone is busy preparing for Thanksgiving, but there are some upcoming events I would like to invite you to attend.
This coming Monday we will be having a Family Time class. Please call Stephanie at 437.4999 and she will be happy to give you all the information about that class.
We are registering for our January classes, and we will be hosting a coffee at the Brick House on Dec. 2nd. We will treat you to biscotti, door prizes, and early bird registration discounts. Please come!
Picture Day for our classes will be on November 30th! Hopefully we will get these onto the blog!
For those of you that are hosting Thanksgiving, I found a website that is saving my life www.savingdinner.com
It is walking me through what needs to get done each day, and even has shopping lists! I really appreciate the sense of humor she uses and the very practical suggestions.
A big thank you goes to Stephanie, who subbed for my class on Thursday, as I had to sub at St.Augustine's for my dear friend Jane Koch! Being with 6th graders deepened my appreciation for toddlers!

It's Thursday!

Thursday is our most favorite day of the week, because it is Kindermusik Day!
Today the Our Time class worked on long and short sounds and long and short movements! We listened to a door bell and a knocking sound. We sang our new "Somebody's Knocking on Our Door"song and played with bells, shakers, sandblocks, and scarves!
Today we also kicked off our registration for next semester, so please turn in your registration form soon! We love to get our materials ordered early! If you need a form, please contact us. You can call Steph at 437-4999 or email Lorene at dstrobel@smig.net. Please invite your friends--we will give you a bonus for each friend you bring into our Kindermusik program. We are also excited about the new Family Time curriculum that we will be offering. Stephanie will be teaching a Family time class on Thursday nights. There is also a possibility of a Monday night class. The response across the country to Family Time has been wonderful, so that increases our eagerness to bring Family Time to Austin.
The Our Time classes are excited to try out the cookie recipes in the Family Activity book. Pick out you favorite recipe, and we will have a cookie tasting session in a couple of weeks! CLASS HOMEWORK: post your favorite cookie recipe!
My kids will post their favorite cookies online tomorrow!
Hasn't the weather been wonderful? 77 degrees in Minnesota yesterday! Wow!!! But...keep the snow shovel handy, we might get dumped on tonight!

Highlights of the Kindermusik Convention

What a joy it was to be with Helen Peterson when she received the Inspirational Educator of the Year-2006 award at the Kindermusik Convention in Greensboro! Helen has been an inspiration to both of us, as she began her career with Kindermusik when she had young children also, and she is always encouraging us as we seek to spread the news of Kindermusik in Austin.
Visit her blog when you can--she is wonderful! We are so proud of Helen!

Follow me to KINDERMUSIK

click here and Follow us to Kindermusik!
For more information about Kindermusik, email Lorene at dstrobel@smig.net, or contact Stephanie at 507.433.9194