A note from your owner/directors, Holly and Will.

We would like to address some questions that are always asked at this time a year (typically cold and flu season) due to the inevitable conversation about coronavirus. Our class guidelines state to not attend class if you or your child is sick. A good guideline to follow is to be fever free for at least 24 hours, and for a nose not to be running with anything other than clear. It is VERY common for babies and toddlers to have runny noses due to teething. It is VERY hard to distinguish that from being sick. If you at all feel that you or your child is under the weather, remain home and schedule a makeup class.

We do feel that Kindermusik is a low risk activity as we keep our classes very small group, and ask that anyone who is sick to stay home and schedule a makeup class which are unlimited.

We wanted to let everyone know our studio wide procedures for attempting to keep our classrooms as sanitized as possible. While it is scientifically impossible to guarantee you that our instruments and props are 100% sanitized (as in anything else you come in contact with), we do our best to minimize sickness. We spray all instruments and props with Seventh Generation constantly, and tumble dry all fabric items in the dryer. As those in our classes know, we keep this product ON HAND at all classes so that we can all make an effort together to help avoid the spread of germs. If a child has mouthed an instrument during class, we ask parents to bring it up to our  “sanitation station” when finished and spray it with the Seventh Generation. Also on hand in the classroom are sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, soap/water and tissues. If we all make an effort together, we can try to eliminate spreading sickness to each other. Though again, there is never anything we can do to “guarantee” as in any public setting.

We stand by the most important way to avoid sickness – WASH HANDS!! We suggest that before class begins, and after class ends, you and your child wash hands for at least 20 seconds with SOAP and WATER.  We have been using these procedures and guidelines for over 10 years, and they have worked well.

Here are some tips from the CDC:

1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
2. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
3. Stay home when you are sick.
4. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
5. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
6. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
7. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.

Happy Throwback Thursday everyone! Today’s close-up reflection is sort of a “throw back in order to move forward” sort of post. As a mom of an almost 18 year old and 14 year old, business owner and wife, it’s incredible to look back and not only realize how far you’ve come, but how things evolve over time. In the case of today’s post, an evolution of a room. One single room.

We run our main operations of our business from home. In our home we have a 4^th bedroom that for most would have been simply the “guest” bedroom. For us, as business owners and parents, it’s been something else. Though it did have a beat up sleeper sofa and extra mattress to go on top when a guest came, in 2003 this room was filled with countless VHS tapes and machines, labels, printers and college students working for our then video production company. The shelves were covered wall to wall in VHS masters that our clients would order copies of. To some of you, this probably doesn’t even make sense! Then, slowly but surely, the VHS items turned into CD’s and multiple computers in which to make copies with.

As time moved on, the word digital was introduced. Digital. It’s something you know is there, but you can’t see. And so, those shelves started to empty of VHS and CD’s, and began to fill with children’s books. These books were the Kindermusik library we were creating as we started growing Grow and Sing Studios, our second company. These books were also of course for our children who basked in the large amounts of choices for story time each night. As the video production items started slowly moving out, more Kindermusik items started moving in. At about this time, the recession came. Our little video production company couldn’t keep up with the demands of quickly growing video technology so we went all in on Grow and Sing Studios and added our Funbox Photo booth Service. This meant, filling spare shelves with photo booth props and a new kind of production equipment. As our children grew and making “play videos’ became a popular hobby, this room became an explosion of toys and You Tuber equipment including tripods, ring lights and backdrops.

For 15 years, we couldn’t really ever welcome our family or friends to stay comfortably in our home as a guest. Keyword is comfortably. We finally did something about it. We dove into a ton of old memories and even some failed work projects, donated many items, and threw away many as well. As we enter into a new phase of the evolution of this room we have found a healthy balance between work and being present in our home life. Our little touches of “past work” are still there, still showing the evolution of the last 15 years, it’s failures and successes. Our shelves are filled with Kindermusik goodness, but now this room is ready to welcome in guests with whom we can be present, enjoy the little things and remember what it’s all about in the end which is a little bit of hard work, tons of passion, and a whole lot of quality time together.

Thanks for reading and happy evolving!

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and has been married to her husband Will for 21 years.  Holly is the Kindermusik International Brand Ambassador for the U.S., and always happy to collaborate with brands and businesses she believes in.

Thank you Quilty’s Quality Nannies for the wonderful blog post about our studio!! We LOVE our Kindermusik nannies. Did you know that we welcome ALL loving caregivers? Parents of course, but also amazing nannies, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, you name it! SO, if you aren’t able to bring your little one, but have someone that can, we welcome you with open arms!

Oh, and if you need a nanny, check out Olivia’s Quilty’s Quality Nannies, and tell her you learned of her service through Grow and Sing Studios. YAY, we love community partnerships!

We can’t wait to get started with classes next week! Interested to see all that we are offering? Look no further. Well.. maybe ONE click, and it will lead you to all the information you need to get started with our studio. Happy new school year!

To enroll now click here.

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and has been married to her husband Will for 20 years.  Holly is the Kindermusik International Brand Ambassador for the U.S., and always happy to collaborate with brands and businesses she believes in.

I wrote a portion of the following article last year, but this year, it’s resonating again and just as important. Thanks for reading. 

Parents. I woke up on this first day “back to school” not thinking of the child headed back, but someone else.

I’m truly not intending for this to sound preachy, or be a guilt trip to those that this will most likely resonate with. But more as a “something to ponder” as you head back into the next school year.

I’m thinking of that little one in the back seat. The little one holding your hand, who is getting dragged along for the ride. The one woken up from her nap to go pick up your older one at school. The one falling back to sleep in her carseat while you bring the older one to piano lessons or soccer.

When you had your first child, that child was the center of your world. You were there for every moment; every first. You took him to classes, mommy groups, and playdates. Then you had your second child. You most likely realized that you didn’t need to do ALL of those things the first time round. That being at home and playing in the grass was a GREAT way to spend the day.

But this younger child is an individual little human. A child that needs time alone with you. A child that needs your presence.

As a music therapist and educator, I immediately thought about something I read on first2000days.org. There are only 2,000 days between the time a baby is born and when he or she will begin kindergarten. During that time brain architecture is forming, creating the foundation for all future learning.

Wow. That sort of puts that time period in a quick little bubble, doesn’t it? As a mom of 2 teens, one who is now a SENIOR, I can most definitely say that it flies by faster than you can blink. I know, you don’t want to hear that because you’re EXHAUSTED. I get it. I remember those days well. The days where you were counting the minutes until nap time so perhaps you could go the bathroom alone. Seriously, I really do get it.

However, I’m really thinking about all those parents that I see in our Kindermusik classes with their first children. Parents that are truly present with them. Parents taking in every single second. Parents that say that the one hour they spent at Kindermusik each week was the most joyful and memorable time they ever had when their child was a baby and toddler. Parents we never see return when they have their second child.

Another bit that truly sat with me when I watched this video by the NC Early Childhood Foundation, is that “brains are built, not born“. Whoah! Of course that takes me right back in my brain to that little baby or toddler in the back seat. That little human who is depending on you to enrich their first 2000 days but who is only a passenger in their older sibling’s life.

Of course, I would love to see you enroll in our Kindermusik program, or one where you live because I’ve seen firsthand how powerful that curriculum is. But honestly I just want to perhaps suggest that you take one unplugged hour each day and devote it to being present with your younger child however you choose to spend it.

Have a fabulous return “back to school”.

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Will.  Holly is the Kindermusik International Brand Ambassador for the U.S., and always happy to collaborate with brands she believes in.

www.growandsing.com

Click here for offer for new families to Grow and Sing Studios.

What is something you absolutely love to do? What are you good at? What is your favorite band? Who are your best friends?

Now, imagine how different your path with any of these things would be if you only went by your very first impression. Did you know instantly that you loved to do that thing? Or did you need to try a few times before you realized it was something you liked to do, or were good at. Maybe running, or dancing, or sports. What about your favorite song or band? Did you sing along the first time you heard it?

Think about it. How long does it take you to sing along to a song? I mean ACTUALLY SING ALONG. On first listen, you are most likely processing. Thinking about if you would like to hear it again. The second time, you may be tapping your foot, or humming along. The third time, maybe you are singing along to the chorus. You get the idea. It takes time to process experiences. It takes time to decide if it’s something we want to do again. It takes us time to form relationships, or skills.

As parents, we just want our kids to be happy. We want them to have fun, and feel safe. But the truth is, there’s growth in a bit of the unknown, in the processing.

Time and time again, we witness families with their babies or toddlers in a first time preview of one of our music classes. New experiences are challenging for children and adults. It takes time to process new environments and take it all in. Many times, as young children are easing into their first class, they may be quiet, cry, or even the opposite, it may overexcite them. This is all part of processing and it’s only the first impression.  In fact, what we are really talking about here is a parent’s first impression of their child’s first impression.

“She’s never like this at home”. We hear this a lot. As educators, we aren’t surprised. Why? Because Kindermusik is a sensory rich environment filled with sights, sounds, socialization, brain work, team work and the list goes on. It would be surprising to think that a child isn’t processing this new environment. To either clam up quietly as an observer, or to run around wildly as a kinesthetic learner. All of this is part of the first impression. When a parent decides to not enroll based on this first impression, could it be that so much learning and growth opportunities are missed? Imagine an environment that allows for these first impression moments in a non-judgmental way, and allows for a 2nd, 3rd or even 4th impression before making a final decision. Imagine the possibilities.

Consider giving your child the gift of time.

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Will.  Holly is the Kindermusik International Brand Ambassador for the U.S., and always happy to collaborate with brands she believes in.

Click here for offer for new families to Grow and Sing Studios. 

Hello friends, I thought it would be the perfect day for our weekly close-up picture. It’s amazing how Easter weekend (and Passover weekend) make everything feel lighter, brighter and renewed. If you look around (at least here in Florida) things are greener, more colorful. The flowers are blooming everywhere! This flower is at our home studio. It’s a symbol of a new season. It reminds me that time moves on and we really should embrace and enjoy each season, each moment.

If there’s a moment that isn’t so enjoyable I like to say that it’s part of life. If it doesn’t serve us, we can accept it, let it go, and know we are learning and growing during those rougher times too. They make the sweeter times even sweeter, don’t they?

How we handle all of it, I believe, is in the gratitude.

I hope you enjoy our little symbol of renewal and as we head into our final few weeks of our school year of classes and into Summer. I am grateful for YOU.

Happy Earth Day!

All the Very Best,
Holly

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and this past September celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Will.  Holly is the U. S. Kindermusik International Brand Ambassador, and always happy to collaborate with brands she believes in.

www.funboxphotos.com
www.growandsing.com

We are thrilled to introduce a Spanish Foreign Language Music program to Central Florida. A pilot offered through Kindermusik International.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND ENROLL NOW FOR 8 WEEK PILOT PROGRAM Grow and Sing Studios WEBSITE EMAIL 407.970.2774 STAY CONNECTED  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌

A new year.  Hmm.

I mean, it’s really just the next day, right? A continuation of the life we have created for ourselves. So why does New Year’s Eve feel so momentous? Then again, we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, so why wouldn’t we make a huge deal about New Years?

Here’s the thing. On birthdays, we celebrate the life of a person, and their growth so far. Anniversaries are celebrated to acknowledge a relationship and how far it’s come. New Year’s… well, it always feels like everyone is saying goodbye to the past. I read a lot of messages about how the next year will be better, or “goodbye 2018”. But really, isn’t  New Year’s just an anniversary celebration of our time as humans on earth? A simple measure of time just like birthdays and anniversaries? And if that is what it is, then shouldn’t we be celebrating all that we’ve accomplished so far?

Of course looking ahead to see what might come next, making plans, setting goals, well, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s always good to do that. But may I suggest that instead of looking back and thinking about what you didn’t accomplish, or what didn’t happen, you look at how much progress you have made.  As a parent. As a friend. As a teacher. As a human.

Dare I say that life NEVER moves as fast as we want. Not when renovations are getting done, not when you are waiting for a call back from something important. Everything moves slower than we want it to. Why would our lives in general be any different?

Take a look at what great things happened this year. The little things that might not have seemed so significant at the time, but as you look back realize they were.

Here at Grow and Sing Studios, we educate parents and young children. We celebrate each new milestone as if it were the biggest thing ever to happen. Am I right? Why does that stop as we get older? Our time here on earth is a journey. It’s a journey from the time we are born. Each year, full of learning, growth, mistakes, mishaps, misunderstandings and good times. Each year, things get perhaps, a bit more complicated because we have more life information gathered inside our brains.

I took this photograph this year in Ireland. It was a trip I wanted to take my entire life. Traveling abroad was my dream. Just like life tends to be, it took a long time to happen for me. But it DID happen. As I searched each stone on this beach on the Ring of Kerry in County Kerry, Ireland, taking notice of color, texture, shape and size I realized I was honoring each small step that finally got me to this destination. I carefully piled the stones up while breathing in the cool crisp air, noticing the blue sky and smiling at my wonderful husband patiently waiting for me so we could move on to our next stop on the ring of Kerry. I took time here, with these stones, to honor and celebrate each and every challenge and triumph that got me there.

I will do that again, here on this New Year’s Eve.

I hope this message finds you invigorated and reflective. You are awesome!
Happy New Year friends.

All the very best,

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and this past September celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Will.  Kindermusik International Brand Ambassador, and always happy to collaborate with brands she believes in.

www.funboxphotos.com
www.growandsing.com

A little off topic today, but I wanted to share!
I absolutely LOVE photography. I love capturing moments and of course as owner of a music studio, capturing moments of connection.

I recently went on my first trip abroad with my husband for our 20th anniversary to Ireland. It was a dream trip and there were so many moments to take in. Thankfully I brought my nice camera with me and captured some gems.

Truth is, there are SO many websites out there for photo printing. It’s kind of overwhelming. SO overwhelming that I avoid it. So, I have all these digital images just WAITING to be printed and hung in my home but I’m just not making it happen. Through business to business networking I met Sarah from Canvas Factory. My interest peaked about getting one of my memories on canvas and I went for it. I ordered one of my Ireland moments.

The ordering process was SO EASY. I was so incredibly relieved when I realized it wasn’t going to take me hours to figure out how to get my order set up right. In fact, the entire process took me all of 10 minutes.

I clicked on Canvas Prints, but they actually have two other options, acrylic or metal. The metal intrigues me too! Anyway, I selected to create my own canvas single print but they also have options to create a collage, and even split images and wall displays. I was pleasantly surprised by the reasonable pricing and quick easy ordering process. I chose a wrap around option where the sides of the canvas are also part of my print.

It was SOOOOO exciting when my canvas came in LESS THAN A WEEK! Seriously fast! It was packaged safely and protected well.

It’s honestly so beautiful. It is a work of art and feels like someone painted it. It takes me right back to that moment on the beach around the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. The print is very high quality and the colors are perfect! I’m really excited to order some more.

Here’s a great shot to show what the wrap around looks like! SO PRETTY!!!

GUESS WHAT? I’m going to give away a free canvas!
The giveaway will be on our instagram page so be sure to go follow us right now so you don’t miss the chance to win a free canvas from the amazing Canvas Factory. Anyone in the United States or Canada can enter! Woohoo!

HEAD ON OVER TO INSTAGRAM RIGHT NOW AND FOLLOW US @growandsingstudios, THEN
GO TO CANVAS FACTORY and check out their website.

GIVEAWAY IS COMING!
Happy Holidays!

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and this past September celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Will. Always happy to collaborate with brands I believe in.

www.funboxphotos.com
www.growandsing.com

Our studio is a LOT about music. But we aren’t ALL about music. We are also about family. This past weekend we stepped away from the music (well the teaching of it!), and immersed ourselves in family. Our weekend ended with the shift of decorations from Fall to Winter. We celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas so our decorations have a Winter feel. Quite ironic considering that we live in Florida! Not going to lie, I’m a little sad to see the Fall decorations go. I had to toss all my gourds. They were so pretty.

There are so many beautiful pictures we’ve seen on social media of your decorations already, and it’s inspiring to see the creativity. But I wonder.. We SEE your pictures, but what are the sounds that go along with them. I’m SO curious! Are you listening to Christmas music? HARD ROCK? Rap? Folk? What emotion goes along with your pictures musically?

So this is how I decorate for Winter. Some color, DEFINITELY some mason jars, and some frosted winter sprigs. I’m a simple girl I suppose. I have all kinds of holiday signs, but chose to keep SIMPLIFY because this season, my goal is to focus on what really matters. To be present in the moment with my family. To LISTEN to the sounds around me instead of worrying about how things look visually all the time. To remember the feeling of the season and cherish each and every moment. I know it’s cliché, but it goes so darn fast.

Happy SIMPLE season to all!

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and this past September celebrated 20 years of marriage with her husband Will. 

www.funboxphotos.com
www.growandsing.com