Welcome to another week of our Kindermusik virtual online house party. We continue to be inspired by the smiles and excitement of the children and the adult interactions together with them. Their lights are shining through during each class.

We plan to continue our Spring house party until May 31st if schools remain closed. If you wish to participate we would LOVE to have you join us. To enroll click here. It’s one flat fee for unlimited classes. We are welcoming new families each and every day from all over! Even England! This one time fee is keeping our business running and helping us compensate our amazing educators during this unprecedented time. Thank you.

Weekly disclaimer: This is NOT the kind of activity where your child watches and you go cook dinner. The program has been designed in the same spirit as our classes, where the teacher is the facilitator to your engagement with your child. It is designed for you to be very hands on with your child(ren), while familiar faces are on the computer singing and guiding you along through the amazing Kindermusik curriculum.

SCHEDULE

Below is our schedule for the week of April 13 – 17, 2020. Music is healing so you are welcome to participate in or listen to any and all programs below regardless of the typical age range. All children in your household are invited!

MONDAY – APRIL 13

10:00 am – Kindermusik Dance Party with the Grow and Sing Studios team

This has now become a weekly favorite! Dance with us to some Kindermusik favorites! If just joining us, get acclimated to our online Zoom Platform, test your sound, and make sure you know how it works so you are ready for classes.

12:00 pm – Musical Pirate Party with Ms. Lisa and Ms. Mari

Ahoy Me Hearties! It’s time to sing, dance, and play as we have a pirate party! We invite you to bring or wear any pirate things you have. If you want to get creative, you can even make a pirate hat and show us during our party.

7:00 pm – Lullabies and stories with Ms. Holly

Join Ms. Holly for 15 – 20 minutes of relaxing lullabies and bedtime stories as you head into your bedtime ritual with your little one.

TUESDAY – APRIL 14

11:00 am – Mixed Age Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team

Typical age range is newborn through 7 years old. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye, and Quiet time rituals along with rhythm play, dancing, story time and active listening.

12:30 pm – Foundations Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team

Typical age range is newborn to walking. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye and Quiet time rituals, along with massage, exercise, and story time.

WEDNESDAY – APRIL 15

10:00 am – Mixed age Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team

Typical age range is newborn through 7 years old. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye, and Quiet time rituals along with rhythm play, dancing, story time and active listening.

11:30 am – Level 3 Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team

Typical age range is 3 – 5 years old (but tons of fun for the older kids too!). Activities are part of the Toys I Made, Trips I Take curriculum. This week is all about boats and the sea!

THURSDAY – APRIL 16

9:30 am – Foundations Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team

Typical age range is newborn to walking. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye and Quiet time rituals, along with massage, exercise, and story time.

11:00 am – Bilingual Birdies with Ms. Marisol

Typical age range is 2 – 5 years, but everyone is welcome to learn some Spanish! Bilingual Birdies is a super fun foreign language and music program where we teach basic vocabulary and short phrases in Spanish through music, dance, and puppetry.

FUN FRIDAY – APRIL 17

Join us in some 20ish minute activities for our Fun Friday!

10:00 am – April Birthday Celebration with the Grow and Sing Studios Team

Guess who has a birthday TODAY? Ms. Angelyn! It is time to celebrate ALL who have a birthday in April! If you or your kiddo have an April birthday we want to celebrate you. So join us in celebrating Ms. Angelyn and all April birthdays with some Kindermusik fun!

12:00 pm – Sing along with Ms. Angelyn

7:00 pm – Lullabies and stories with with Ms. Angelyn

Here is all the information you need to join in this week!

To enroll just visit growandsing.com/classes/house-party, scroll to bottom, click on “enrolling” and the form will drop down.

Welcome to another week of our Kindermusik virtual online house party. We are SO HAPPY to see you you dancing, playing, singing and connecting with your children. As we continue on, our hope is that our activities and songs lift you up while igniting all areas of your child’s brain! YAY Kindermusik! As we expressed last week, this isn’t easy, and we are honored to be in this together with you. Thank you for choosing us to enrich your home.

Weekly disclaimer: This is NOT the kind of activity where your child watches and you go cook dinner. The program has been designed in the same spirit as our classes, where the teacher is the facilitator to your engagement with your child. It is designed for you to be very hands on with your child(ren), while familiar faces are on the computer singing and guiding you along through the amazing Kindermusik curriculum.

Here is all the information you need to join in this week! If you wish to enroll, it’s easy. Just visit growandsing.com/classes/house-party, scroll to bottom, click on “enrolling” and the form will drop down.

SCHEDULE
Below is our schedule for the week of April 6 – 10, 2020. Music is healing so you are welcome to participate in or listen to any and all programs below regardless of the typical age range. All children in your household are invited!

MONDAY – APRIL 6
10:00 am – Kindermusik Dance Party
Dance with us to some Kindermusik favorites! If just joining us, get acclimated to our online Zoom Platform, test your sound, and make sure you know how it works so you are ready for classes.

12:00 pm – Woodwind Instrument Demonstration Class
Put on your listening ears! Join Ms. Kristen (flute), Mr. Will (saxophone) and “soon to be” UCF School of Music student Anna Lesnick, (clarinet) in an educational demonstration of each instrument, along with some beautiful playing from all three musicians.

7:00 pm – Lullabies and stories with Ms. Holly
Join Ms. Holly for 15 – 20 minutes of relaxing lullabies and bedtime stories as you head into your bedtime ritual with your little one.

TUESDAY – APRIL 7
11:00 am – Mixed Age Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team
Typical age range is newborn through 7 years old. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye, and Quiet time rituals along with rhythm play, dancing, story time and active listening.

12:30 pm – Foundations Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team
Typical age range is newborn to walking. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye and Quiet time rituals, along with massage, exercise, and story time.

WEDNESDAY – APRIL 8
10:00 am – Mixed age Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team
Typical age range is newborn through 7 years old. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye, and Quiet time rituals along with rhythm play, dancing, story time and active listening.

11:30 am – Level 3 Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team
Typical age range is 3 – 5 years old (but tons of fun for the older kids too!). Activities are part of the Toys I Made, Trips I Take curriculum. This week is all about boats and the sea!

THURSDAY – APRIL 9
9:30 am – Foundations Kindermusik class with the Grow and Sing Studios team
Typical age range is newborn to walking. Activities will include Hello, Goodbye and Quiet time rituals, along with massage, exercise, and story time.

11:00 am – Bilingual Birdies with Miss Marisol
Typical age range is 2 – 5 years, but everyone is welcome to learn some Spanish! Bilingual Birdies is a super fun foreign language and music program where we teach basic vocabulary and short phrases in Spanish through music, dance, and puppetry.

FUN FRIDAY – APRIL 10
Join us in some 20ish minute activities for our Fun Friday!
10:00 am – Sing along with Miss Marisol
12:00 pm – HOP TO IT Bunny Party with Miss Angelyn
It’s time to celebrate Spring! We invite you to perhaps wear some bunny ears, dress up like a bunny, share your stuffed animal bunnies (or real ones?)or even dress in your Easter clothes if you would like. This fun activity will include dances, stories and songs about all things BUNNIES!
7:00 pm – Bedtime Sing-a-story with Ms. Lisa

To enroll just visit growandsing.com/classes/house-party, scroll to bottom, click on “enrolling” and the form will drop down.

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.

WE LOVE KINDERMUSIK WEEK
February 10 – 14 , 2020
Enter to win a FREE SUMMER of KINDERMUSIK CLASSES!

Dear Families,

It’s time for Kindermusik International’s annual  “We Love Kindermusik” week ALL around the world. Kindermusik is enjoyed by so many, in over 70 countries, and once again we can all share our experiences and love for this amazing program together.

“WE LOVE KINDERMUSIK” week is truly intended to be a week of happy reminders of why we all love Kindermusik and most importantly, of all the special people – educators, families, and children – who come together every week to change the world through music…. one child and one song at a time.

Read below for details on how to share the love, and enter to win a FREE SUMMER SESSION of KINDERMUSIK (or $116 credit towards ANY of our services)! Two lucky winners will be announced. One for our main contest, and another for our Mega Bonus Photo/Video contest (folks have fun with that one!)

We hope you enjoy sharing the love, and good luck! — The Grow and Sing Team

WE LOVE KINDERMUSIK CONTEST DETAILS AND RULES!

Share the love, and enter into our “We Love Kindermusik” contest! There are many ways. The more you do, the more entries you will have. Maximum number of entries per adult (not per family, hint hint!) is 25. 

Ways to enter:

1. Color a “We Love Kindermusik” coloring sheet complete with WHY your family loves Kindermusik. If you are enrolled, you can turn the sheet in to your teacher, or anyone can scan the sheet and post to our facebook wall and/or tag Grow and Sing Studios in your instagram story or post (be sure it’s set to public so we can see it). Click here to print coloring sheet.  — 1 entry per sheet (1 per person)




2. Follow us on Instagram! First, follow our our Instagram profile. Then, comment on any of our Instagram posts and take a look at the content (not just the pictures) and learn some awesome facts about the development of your child. We want to thank those that take time to thoughtfully comment. 3 comments equals 1 entry. Max entries in this category is 5 (which is 15 comments) – 1 entry per 3 comments.




3. Comment on previous posts on our facebook page.  Check out our shared articles and developmental facts. Take a look at our albums of amazing pictures and posts. We want to thank those that take the time to thoughtfully comment! 3 comments equals 1 entry. Max entries in this category is 5 (which is 15 comments!) — 1 entry per 3 comments




4. “Like, follow and turn on notifications” for our facebook page AND facebook community group if you haven’t done so yet, or have a friend like our page and join our group. Please do not UNlike and then like again as we can tell, and you won’t get credit! You are welcome to let us know the name of the friend(s) that have joined our facebook community so we can be sure to enter your name. In order to receive this entry, your friend MUST like our page (and we suggest you all click on get notifications so you can see our posts!) and join our group.  One entry per verified friend, so you could get your max entries right here! :) — 1 entry per friend that likes our page!




5. Post on our facebook page wall or create your own public IG story or squares post on YOUR profile (and tag us so we know!) with a fun picture and share WHY you love Kindermusik. One heartfelt testimonial per adult will be counted! –5 entries




6. MEGA BONUS entry – Post a video or photo to our facebook page of your child(ren) or family telling us or showing us why you love Kindermusik. You will automatically receive 4 entries in our main contest, PLUS the Grow and Sing Studios staff will be voting for their favorite VIDEO and that winner will automatically win a free summer semester. Creativity counts!  — 4 entries in general contest  PLUS a chance to win free semester when Grow and Sing studios staff vote for their favorite video! 

We will be keeping close track of entries, and submit your name accordingly. However, if you are striving to get the maximum number of entries (25), please be sure you let us know exactly how many and WHERE your entries are, so we can verify and get your amount right! Do not send us several emails to verify, just wait until you are done and then send us one complete emailing listing all the ways you entered (and how your name appears on facebook and/or IG!). Thank you! The contest begins Monday, February 10th, 2020 and will close at 11:59pm Sunday, February 16, 2020. Prize may be gifted to someone else if you are not able to use it and can be redeemed for ANY service offered by Grow and Sing Studios. Each prize value is $116 and can be used for any of our services throughout 2020. Maximum number of entries per adult (not per family so both mom and dad can participate!) is 25. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends are welcome to participate on your behalf as well! Winners for our general contest will be chosen by random draw with the exception of the bonus entry (photo/video) contest which will be chosen by our staff. Winners will be announced sometime during the week of February 17th on our facebook page and instagram story once we tally up all the votes, so be sure to like our facebook and instagram and select get notifications so you don’t miss the announcement of winners.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES RECEIVED EXCEPT FOR STAFF VOTE MEGA BONUS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH KINDERMUSIK INTERNATIONAL, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM OR ANY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLET.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Happy December everyone!

Recently I was hired to do a presentation via video conference call for a parenting group in Arizona. This group found me on Instagram where I tend to share a lot of developmental nuggets about how music affects a child’s development. I was honored to be asked and accepted the task. Can I just say that I had the BEST TIME? Sharing my passion with a wonderful group of moms was so much fun and rewarding. I hope I left a bit of an impression that trickles down to their precious babies.

I’m not presenting to you today in my blog post, but I did want to share one “whoa” moment to consider as you enter into what tends to be a chaotic time of year. For a child in their first 2000 days, the days between birth and Kindergarten, it is the time when their brain will form the most rapidly in their entire life. I learned (and then subsequently passed it on in my presentation) that a baby’s brain forms synapses (connections) at a rate of 1 MILLION PER SECOND! The actual “whoa” though is the fact that if those synapses aren’t strengthened, they prune and shed. Like, gone forever. The ones that are strengthened, shape who your baby will become as a person. These synapses are formed for vision, hearing, language and cognitive function, and this all happens in the first year of life. Not only that but social and emotional function as well. Each of us is born with the potential to control impulses and be focused but acquiring these skills happens in the early years when these synapses are forming. It helps create a foundation that will carry through a person’s entire life.

Large bodies of research have reported that high quality Birth-8 years learning environments, with regular attendance help build a strong foundation for the forming of these synapses. (NC Early Childhood Foundation)

Okay, you probably see where I’m going with this.
MUSIC!

Music is magical.
It’s is a multi-sensory activity. When children are engaged with music and movement, their hearing and visual senses are fully engaged. When multiple senses are engaged in an activity, more areas of the brain are activated. The more areas of the brain activated, the more brain connections formed. It is a fact that MUSIC is one of the only activities that activates, stimulates and uses the ENTIRE brain. I think that is fascinating, and exciting.

For the last 18 years, I have been SO PROUD to enhance the lives of families all across Central Florida with the gift of Kindermusik. Kindermusik was created with the idea that in a child’s early years, we can use the best tool EVER to strengthen those synapses so pruning and shedding is minimal.

Okay here’s my pitch. A month of Kindermusik at Grow and Sing Studios is $68. That may seem like a lot, but, considering that your baby is forming 1 million synapses a second right now, and each one of those needs love and care, it’s a pretty good deal.

I have an even BETTER deal! For the month of December, you can attend 2 per week until Christmas at 35% off, PLUS you’ll receive an invitation to our Jingle Jam Holiday Party (our entire team of teachers is singing!). To learn more, fill out the form here, and mention our “New Family December Offer”. We’ll hook you up.

If you decide to wait, we’ll hold back the guilt and encourage you to consider asking for a Kindermusik Gift Certificate so you can join us in 2020. Click here for more on that.

Oh, and if you are reading this from far and wide, and are part of a parenting group I would love to share my presentation with you. I’m for hire! Just contact me and we can chat. Also, you can find a Kindermusik class all around the globe by clicking here.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season, and lots of strong synapse forming days with your child!

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.

Reference: First 2000 days information found mostly at NC Early Childhood Foundation.

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.

October is almost here and that means OCTOBER DEMO DAYS at Grow and Sing Studios are coming!! Have you been meaning to come try out a class, or are you just finding out about our program for the first time? We invite you to come check out one of these classes, have some fun, make some music and hopefully fall in love with the magic of Kindermusik! Reservations are required and space is limited. If you do not see a class posted that works for you, we have many more. Just contact us and we can attempt to match you up with one. View the schedule below and CLICK HERE including the following information so we can get you scheduled.
Parent Name:
Child(ren)’s Name:
Child(ren)’s Age(s):
Email Address:
Phone #:
Class of choice:

We will confirm your reservation as soon as possible!
Click here to reserve  your time! 

Important studio notice. We can’t wait to begin next week. To 9/9/19 and beyond… Stay safe everyone. #hurricanedorian

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.