Sound Beginnings Orientation

Welcome to your Parent Orientation for Sound Beginnings!

Please read this whole page, as it contains important information about expectations, where to park and other details.

First, please download the Let’s Play Music app or the digital copy of the Sound Beginnings semester music, and start listening to it with your children! The app is both in the App Store & Google Play. You will need the login you used when you enrolled in class online. Username and password are cAse sEnSitiVe! For troubleshooting and downloading the music, please visit my website here. 

 Second, open the LPM app and click the gear in the top right corner. Be sure that “Push Notifications Enabled” is set to the ON position!

This is how I will be sending out important announcements, such as if I have to cancel class due to snow. I will also send a link to your weekly newsletter through the app.

 Third, keep reading and let me know if you have any questions! You can reference this page later if you need a refresher!

What is Sound Beginnings?

• a precursor to Let’s Play Music (LPM) and kindergarten
• explores both music and academic skills and concepts
• activities that nurture the parent-child relationship
• fully embraces the philosophies, methodologies, and vision of LPM
• repertoire consists of folk songs, chants, nursery rhymes and well-known classical pieces expose children to the “best” music

Why Sound Beginnings?

Our mission:  To enrich lives, increase confidence, develop talent, enhance intelligence and bond parent to child

• Sound Beginnings provides the tools and the environment necessary for parents and children to play and learn together
• teach children during the “music learning window”
• the earlier the better
• developing the musician within
• smarter, more aesthetic children

The child’s brain

• age 0-3 is the flexible developmental phase of the brain.
• experiences during these years determine the child’s capacity for intelligence.
• connections that are not used will disappear.
• for more information about music and babies, check out this page on my website!

Singing!

• students will develop their singing voices at their own pace and in their own way.
• there are two SOL-MI songs and one SOL-LA-MI song per semester to allow for successful in-tune singing experiences with developing voices.

What this means to you?

• Have realistic expectations for your child and their singing voice.
• Let them master the simple songs first and find success.
• Let them explore the wonderful (and developing) instrument of their voice!
• Praise them for any singing attempts they make.
• Sing with them regardless of how you classify your own singing ability.

Questions?

To the casual observer- Sound Beginnings just looks like a lot of fun. And it is! But there is a specific purpose for every activity in the curriculum. If you ever have a question about why we are doing something, just ask!

Parking

• Please pull in to the driveway from the east side. 
• Pull around the driveway as far as you can go and park on the right side. Please keep the left lane open so all cars can leave in any order. 
• Please watch this short video: https://youtu.be/i6gooYZagTE
• Of course, watch for small children so everyone can stay safe.

Come on in!

Classes are 30 minutes and will start and end on time. I will put a sign out by my front of my door 5 minutes before class starts. This is the signal that you can come in. Please just come on in! I will not be answering the door with each student arrival.

Please remove your shoes and leave them by the door. Since we sit on the floor, this helps keep fingers and toes from getting injured if they accidentally get stepped on. You can bring diaper bags/purses downstairs and hang them on the hooks at the bottom of the stairs if you wish, to keep them out of the way.

Join us!

We will sit on the floor during class. This helps with the bonding experience; you can be on the same level as your child. (Your child will sit right in front of you or in your lap.) There is also a lot of “up and down” during class.

However, if sitting on the floor really does not work for you (due to pregnancy, surgery, bad back, etc.), I do have stools available. Just ask!

Please unplug!

One of the beauties of Sound Beginnings is the parent/child bonding experience! Please help this happen by keeping your phone on silent and waiting until the end of class to reply to texts or phone messages.

Please participate!

Your child is watching you. If you are participating, they will want to as well. Sound Beginnings is a “no judgement” zone for the kids and the parents! Please sing and dance along with us! If the parent continues to show enthusiasm for the program, the child will also. I will probably be the silliest one in the room anyway!

Do not force participation

Our music class is a safe place. Children are learning just by being here. If they choose not to participate, even if I have invited them to, it is OK!

“If you lecture, bribe, or scold your child for lack of participation, they may associate negative feelings with the class and their experience here.“ – SB founder

How to participate!

Here is a video another teacher created to help you know exactly what to do during class:

https://youtu.be/IxZrTdk0pVk

If you have a really little one, here are some videos for specific ways you can participate with your BABY in class!

Baby – positions: https://youtu.be/8nyS_nQlpE0

Baby – tapping: https://youtu.be/BLTrFKg-qRs

Baby – moving: https://youtu.be/F0_ME4fGTrU

Baby – instruments: https://youtu.be/HjThTkKdmQo

Having a bad day?

It happens to the best of us. If your child is having a bad day, please take them to the hallway around the corner for a little break/breather and then rejoin us when they are ready.

Listen to the music

…. as much as possible! Every time you listen to the soundtrack, you are reinforcing concepts being taught in class. Bedtime or traveling around in the car is a GREAT time to make this happen.

The workbook

• Please bring your workbook and semester instrument to every class. We will use them!
• Inside the front cover is a class calendar.
• There is an optional at home activity for each weekly lesson included on the calendar. I will provide craft sticks upon request for the puppets you will be making.
• I will not be grading these optional activities or taking note of who did what. But your child will have the option to use their own puppets in class.
• Purchasing the tote bag is required to keep your supplies organized.

More bang for your buck!

“To further enhance your child’s experience, do the in-class activities at home, sing the songs with and without the music, encourage your child to use their music book, and create new ways to experience the songs. Share your ideas in class!” -SB founder

The lyrics to all our songs are in the front of the workbook!

Weekly communication from me

Look for a short weekly newsletter from me explaining the purposes and backgrounds behind some of our songs and providing enrichment ideas for home. You will also get reminders when it’s time to register for next semester, when tuition is due, etc.

If you are not getting the links to the newsletters, please let me know. You can get to the blog directly from this link.

No food or snacks

Please do not eat food or snacks during class time. They are distracting both to the child and the others in the room. 

Also, please let me know if your child has any food allergies, just in case. Thanks!

Tuition

Tuition for the semester is due on the first lesson. You may also split tuition into 4 payments due on lesson 1, 5, 9, and 13. You can see the class calendar in your book to know which days to pay tuition, if you choose to pay monthly.

Registration in Sound Beginnings is a commitment for one semester. Tuition is due for the entire semester, even if you need to withdraw early.

• $180/semester for single child (or $45/month)
• $220/semester for family (or $55/month)

My preferred method of payment is Zelle (use my phone number) because I don’t have to pay any transaction fees. I also accept Venmo (@musikandme), but I do pay fees to use that.

Virus precautions

• Please sanitize your hands as you come in.
• Items we touch during class are sanitized between classes.
• Please stay home if you or your child are sick. Thank you!

7 Foundational Elements Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum:

This class is for children and their ‘grown up’ to enjoy together. We will focus on building and strengthening these relationships while in class. We provide partner activities with intentional eye contact, trust elements, and physical touch to nurture this highly significant relationship. We are surrounded by correct singing on the semester CDs and in class. Students are encouraged to participate in appealing vocal play, make high and low sounds and use the minor third to learn to match and sing in tune. We use our bodies and instruments to feel and perform a steady beat. Steady beat is crucial to developing rhythm skills and supports math skills. Fingerplay to nursery rhymes help students focus on and enjoy fine motor movements. We also practice making the ABCs in sign language. Younger students enjoy the observation and will attempt the skills which is great practice too! We expose students to the finest music literature. Our ‘smart moves’ dances involve the whole body in an enjoyable classical music experience. Each semester, we study the specific timber of different instruments and group them by family. Full body movement builds muscle strength, hand/eye coordination, and develops balance. Gross motor also connects the two hemispheres of the brain, promoting improved cognition. In class we read stories, practice our ABC’s and letter sounds. We are also going to learn about weather, seasons, and words that rhyme!

Contact me

If you are not able to attend class, please let me know in advance that you will be gone. Texting me is best. Thanks!

It is fine to come to a different class time if your time doesn’t work that week. Just check with me in advance to make sure there is space! Some of my classes can be really big!

Thank you!

Thank you for reading through our Parent Orientation! I LOVE the Sound Beginnings program! It is exciting to share the wonderful world of music with your precious children. I look forward to seeing everyone each week in class!

You can always contact me if you have any concerns. Texting is best.

Get ready to have FUN!

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany 🙂