Our My Little Conservatory Blog made #9 on this list of the Top 25 Children’s Music Blogs by Feedspot. Woohoo! Check out this awesome list! There are some really great blogs listed on this compilation. Our very own Kindermusik Minds On Music Blog received first place!
Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up and it brings to mind Ireland and it’s fairy folklore. Old Irish folk tradition included a strong belief in the fairy world and that fairies were to be both feared and respected. For example, if you tried to catch a leprechaun for it’s gold be prepared to have mischief and bad luck follow. Or you could just offer the leprechaun a bed for the night and he’d gladly give you gold in return.
If you have a child like mine that LOVES fairies, you know that fairies are less feared and more revered today. And TinkerBell and her friends are at the top of the list. So why not embrace their love of fairies. Indulge it, and introduce them to fairy inspired songs where your little ones can let out their inner fairy to dance and play along with instruments. Read more
As any parent of a young toddler knows, they are fully on the move. They’re crawling at full speed, taking their first wobbly steps or learning to run sure-footedly. And because of these new skills, 1 to 2 year olds are less likely to sit patiently through any type of activity. But at My Little Conservatory, we design our music class for 1-2 year olds so that it meets the needs of young toddlers rather than trying to get them to do something they are not ready to do. Here’s what makes our Level 1 class perfect young toddlers.
More Movement
Twirl, wiggle and dance! Young toddlers want to move, so we let them. By being free to move around class and grove to the music, they get to develop muscles in their little bodies that they need to walk. Allowing them to dance and move also helps them feel the music and beat in their bodies. No matter if they are a crawler or a walker, they also learn how to control their little bodies. Through start and stop play with the instruments and scarves, they improve their large motor skills. Read more
February is Black History Month. What better way to celebrate it than through music. American music would not be what it is today without the influence of African American music. It begins from when Africans were forced into slavery and brought music to America from their homeland. As time went on, African-American music evolved into what we hear today. Here are some of the major African-American musical genres.
African-American Spirituals
A spiritual is a type of religious folksong that is closely associated with the enslavement of African-Americans in the American South. The songs proliferated in the last few decades of the eighteenth century leading up to the end of legalized slavery in the 1860s. The African American spiritual (also called the Negro Spiritual) constitutes one of the largest and most significant forms of American folksong. In the following video, Calvin Earl presents an African American spiritual song in hopes of providing a better understanding of the music created by the slaves in the cotton fields of the Old South in America. The history and secret codes within the spiritual ‘Wade In The Water’ is brought to life in a small clip of his performance in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.
As the year comes to a close and we come to the longest night of the year, around the world we celebrate different holidays that bring together our family and friends. And there’s no better way to introduce a holiday to young ones than through the music that is used to celebrate it. Here are just some of the holidays that our friends and neighbors celebrate here in Silicon Valley and samples of the music that go with it. Read more
I frequently get asked “How do I know if my child is ready to take piano lessons?” While some children can start reading at 3, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have the emotional/social development necessary to start classes. I know some piano teachers wait until children are reading fluently, but our teachers at My Little Conservatory can start lessons with children as young as 4 years old. That’s because we are specialize in early childhood music and have developed tricks and techniques that are age appropriate, educational and fun. But there are a few things we want to see your child be able to do so they can have a successful start. Here are the some questions to ask yourself about your child to see if they’re ready for piano lessons: Read more
Halloween is here and what better way to set the scary scene than to play scary music. Many classical and orchestral pieces evoke feelings of creepiness and suspense. We’ve put together a playlist of some of our favorites, and here you can read a little about the songs’ histories and how they’ve become familiar spooky themes. Much of this information you can find on Wikipedia if you want to know more. We’ve even put together a playlist (at the end) so that you can play these works in the background of your Halloween party, haunted house or when answering the door for Treat or Treaters. You’re sure you’ll have spooky fun time. Read more
If your young child is currently taking piano lessons at My Little Conservatory or you’re thinking about signing them up, you may be wondering why small plush toys come with the lesson books. And how do they help teach music? While they may seem cute and cuddly to the kids, each stuffie is sneaking in some valuable lessons and helping to make the music come alive.
The first stuffies that your child will receive are Beethoven Bear and Mozart Mouse. They’re based on the composers Ludwig von Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The stories of these two stuffies/composers are woven through each level of the course, and your teacher will use them during lessons to help bring their stories to life. As your child progresses through the course, Beethoven Bear and Mozart Mouse will meet friends from various genres of music who help your child learn different parts of the staff, notes and musical concepts. Read more
Practice makes perfect. But with young kids, it’s easier said than done. At My Little Conservatory we want our students to enjoy both their lessons and at home piano practice. Playing the piano should feel like they are doing just that – playing. It’s how kids learn best and why we have play activities during piano lessons. The last thing we want is tears over having to practice and for it to feel like a real chore.
If practicing piano at home is feeling like a chore for your child, or you just want to avoid that, there are ways you can help them find the fun. And if you’re finding that just getting them to practice leads to an argument, we have some tips for that too. Here’s some ways to help you make piano practice fun and easier to do. Read more
Many people ask me what the difference is between our Level 1 Kindermusik Class for Young Toddlers (1-2 year olds) and our Level 2 Kindermusik Class for Toddlers (2-3 year olds). The two classes have a similar feel, pace and energy, but there are many differences.
Social/Emotional: In our Level 2 Class we work on sharing and taking turns. We may pass an instrument or prop around the singing circle for each child to explore. After their turn, they pass the instrument to the next child. This can be challenging for a 2 year olds, but through our supportive environment, most do well! We do not attempt this in our Level 1 Class. The children are not yet able to comprehend the idea of sharing. It would just end in tears or upset little ones!
Large and Small Motor Skills: In our Level 2 Class we add in additional movements into our dances and fingerplays. Children at 2 can often jump, shuffle feet, gallop, and side step so these are now incorporated in our movement activities. They can also do more complex dances with movements at specific times in the song, they can hold hands in a circle dance (teamwork!) and use some imaginative play to move like animals, etc. The 2 year olds can also do more involved fingerplays and remember longer sequences of finger motions.
Instruments: We use baby-safe instruments in our Level 1 class. Moving up to Level 2, we now add in Rhythm Sticks, Ankle Bells and Single Bell Jingles. We also incorporate Streamers (these are too long for the 1 year olds and they get under their feet) and Pom Poms (not ideal for 1 year olds who may still want to explore them with their mouths). Read more
My Little Conservatory
1535 Meridian Ave. Suite 30
San Jose, CA 95125
Call: (669) 234-3383Text: (408) 634-4087
Ranked in the top 1% of Kindermusik studios worldwide and the top-rated studio in all of California.
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