Merry Christmas - Let's Play Music style!

Merry Christmas!  Our last day of class sure was a BLAST!  Some classes played Jingle Bells on the autoharp, some played it on their bells.  Every class got to open some PRESENTS, and I hope everyone had fun!  I forgot to take pictures in my Panguitch class (because we were having way too much fun), so these pictures are only from my Circleville classes.  Enjoy!

 We had a HARD time staying still with so much fun around!

I think even the moms had some fun!

Even in the other class, it was hard to look at the camera when there were treats!

Merry Christmas!  See all of you cute kiddos in January!  Stay safe, and enjoy the time with your families!

Parent Involvement is Key

Check out this awesome post from a fellow Let's Play Music teacher!  Lots of info on WHY you come to classes with your children!

Parent Involvement is Key

Parents, WELCOME!

Last night was my first Parent Orientation for Let's Play Music, and it went great!  Lots of great questions, hopefully some calmed nerves about what this class is, and a great time!  Thanks, parents, for being patient with me!

Calendar Info

Now, parents, I promised I would help you through getting added to my calendar (for smart phone and/or computer purposes) so you can have all the details of when my class is and isn't.  Please send me a reply email with the email address you synch Google to (I'm pretty sure it needs to be a gmail account).  Then I'll get that going for you!

Next Week's Class

Just a couple reminders for next week's MONDAY classes. Before class, you and your child don't have homework, except to start listening to that CD a whole bunch!  Please enter my house through our garage (don't worry about knocking - just come in!) and take your shoes off and put them on the shoe racks next to the steps.  Next week you DO come with your child!  Let me know if you have any questions!  Can't wait till next Monday!

Getting ready for classes!

Wow! How time has flown! I never thought I would be here! The first time I heard about Let's Play Music was in 2011, when my friend Michele Johnson was talking about how she loved teaching it, and how great of a program it was. At the time, Maggie was not even 2 and I was pregnant with Mason, and I had too much on my plate anyway.

 Fast forward to Christmas Break this year. My same friend Michele moved to St. George with her family, and we met for dinner one night. Her son, who was 2 at the time, was doing solfege and singing songs about chord progressions...and he was so young! I asked if they were still looking for teachers, I trained in February, and the rest is history. So here is where I am now...

All of my Red Balloon and Blue Bug theory books are being labelled with names and calendars are being put in the front cover. Below I have the last of the tone bell sets going into tote bags. Almost ready for class to start!

24th of July Parade!

If there's one thing we love in the Belliston family, it is a good ol' parade!  So, what better way to advertise for Let's Play Music than with a float in a parade?!

 This picture was taken before the parade started as we were finishing hanging streamers and more balloons to the float.  We kind of forgot to take pictures after that, so this is the "most finished" picture we took.  The best part of the float is the very back part, where the bubble blower was hooked up.  The little kids LOVED the bubbles!

Ok, this is going to show how not-so-tech-savvy I am....I don't know how to rotate the picture.  (I'll keep it small to minimize the fact that I'm not good at the computer!)

Thanks to all my Let's Play Music moms and students for getting their kiddos ready and over to the parade early so we could have some fun!  I think over half of the candy was thrown with some serious skill - do we have baseball players here?  (the other half was eaten by the kiddos, which is ok, too!) and all left happy!

Last Call to participate on the 24th of July Parade in Panguitch!

It's that time of year - parades, candy, fun with family!  For all of the families that are currently signed up for Let's Play Music, I need your help!  I've spoken with some of you about the parade in Panguitch, but here are the details.

I need some kiddos to ride my Let's Play Music float for the parade on the 24th of July in Panguitch.  I will give you a FREE t-shirt as a thank you for helping (moms, if you come along, you can get a free shirt, too!)  I just need to know for sure if you can make it to the parade no later than Monday, July 15th so I can get shirts ordered in time.  

In order to ride the float, you (or your child) need to have signed up for Let's Play Music for this fall.  If you haven't signed up yet, but want to ride the float, get your registration form and check into me and I'll get your shirt ordered!

Contact me at (435) 577-2269, send me a facebook message, or email me at embelliston@gmail.com to let me know you can come!  

Thanks!

Two Classes in Circleville!

Well, today's the day pig's fly, friends!  I never, in a million years, thought that Let's Play Music would fill up a class in Circleville.  There aren't that many people here, but wow (!!) the support for music is fantastic!  I have a required cap on my classes that there can't be more than 8 kids in each class.  Today we exceeded it - by TWO kiddos!

In light of this demand for music for our children, I'm going to open

another 1st Year LPM Class (Yep, you read it right!)!  Where else can your child learn scales with floating red balloons or learn rhythm by playing with bugs? Nowhere else but Let's Play Music!  Give your child the chance to excel in music and academics while playing games, singing songs, playing bells and piano, and having fun with friends!

It's not too late!  For all of you Piute County friends, I now have a few spots left in Circleville.  If you were on the fence about whether or not to do it, now is the time to sign up!  I'm putting in an order for materials on July 1st, so don't wait!  Shipping costs go up the closer we get to starting, so after this order, I have to charge an extra $15 on the shipping!  Click on the "Meet Michelle" tab for my contact info and LPM Circleville for updated class schedules!

Restaurant Menus and Solfege!

Today, my family was out enjoying Bryce Canyon and advertising for LPM, and we stopped at Clarke's Restaurant in Tropic for dinner.  This is a really fuzzy shot of the menu that they give the kiddos to color on, but it will help illustrate the story.

You don't need to see much of the detail - the only important part is the middle 1/3 section.  It says something like "draw a picture in the box on top and then on the lines below, write what your picture is about."

Well, my little Maggie (she's almost 4) decided that she was going to use the lines for something better.  We were ignoring her, trying to figure out what we wanted for dinner, and all of a sudden, she starts begging me to watch her.

So, being a good mommy, I ask her what she wants to show me, and she sings, "Do, a deer, a female deer, Re, a drop of golden sun..." and so on.  Each time she moved to a different note, she took her red crayon (see the red line in the middle?) and went up one step on the "scale."  Now, she kind of kept singing the solfege, so we did the better part of 2 octaves (and started screeching before she stopped), but that was ALL her.

And where did she learn it?  Let's Play Music!  Was I forcing her to practice with a kitchen timer set for 20 minutes and my angry mom voice saying, "You're going to practice whether you like it or not!"?  NO!  She WANTED to practice.   Then, the whole way home, she was begging me to do Let's Play Music when we got home ...so we may have broken out the bells and autoharp for a little while before bedtime.   Moral of the story?  Sign your kiddos up for classes this fall!  They'll love music, and you'll love that they WANT to learn music!  Click on the "Meet Michelle!" tab for my contact information.

Oh, and while I've got this post going, I just set up a Facebook Page for my Let's Play Music studio.  Go on over there and like it please!

6/26/13 - FREE Sample Class in Panguitch!

Everything is better when it's FREE, right?  RIGHT!

Want to learn more about Let's Play Music?  So will your child! 

NOW IS THE TIME TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE CLASS! 

Next Sample Class: (Panguitch)

Wednesday, June 26th

7:00 pm

At Danny and Brooke Yardley's home 

(75 E 100 S, a brick home, half a block down from Zions Bank)
**Please reserve a spot for your child, so I can make sure to bring enough supplies for each kiddo!**

What do I need to bring to the Sample Class?

• Your child, age 4-6
• Yourself and/or your spouse (it's a great place to ask questions!)
• Please leave your other children at home or with a sitter.
• Please bring any questions you may have!  If you want to look ahead of time for info, check out the rest of my blog, or visit our corporate website at www.letsplaymusicsite.com
• There's no pressure to sign up that night (classes don't start till September), but I need to have your completed registration form as well as your deposit/supply fee turned in to me to secure your first preference for class times. For Panguitch, I only have 2 slots left for the 3:15 Tuesday class.  For info on tuition and deposit/supply fees, look at the LPM Panguitch tab. Also, my shipping costs go up if I don't have my order in by August 1st, so the cost will go up for the supplies if I don't have your deposit by August 1st.

Why sign up for Let's Play Music NOW?

Some of you have been wondering why it's so important to sign up for Let's Play Music so early.  It doesn't start until September, right? Right.  So why should I sign up NOW?  Here are just a few reasons why:

1. To give your child the music-learning opportunity of a lifetime!Studies show that your child will do better musically, academically, behaviorally, and socially if he or she takes music lessons beginning as early as 3 years old.  Kids learn best when they're PLAYING.  A group-learning setting fosters excitement and allows kids to feel less pressure and stress than he or she would with one-on-one instruction.  Let's Play Music gives your child all of these!
2. To guarantee your kiddo a spot in our classes. 'Oh, it's a small town.  It's never too late! These classes won't fill up.'  WRONG.  Because it's a small area, and because I still have young kids at home, I won't be teaching many classes.  I will be teaching just 1 class in Circleville, and 2 in Panguitch.  With a cap at 7 kids in each class, I can't promise there will be a spot guaranteed for your child if you don't hurry!
3. To get a discount on the Supply/Materials Fee. Right now, for both Panguich and Circleville, it is only $95 for the Supply/Materials fee (even less for siblings, even if they take the class a few years apart).  After August 1st, it goes up because of more shipping fees. Why pay the extra $$ when you can sign up today?!
   
4. To get a FREE T-shirt and a chance to ride on our floats in the parades this summer! (See picture on right for t-shirt design. Also available in adult sizes.) If you have your Registration Form and Supply/Materials Fee in by June 20th, you and your child get a FREE LPM T-SHIRT for riding my floats.  We're doing the 4th of July parade in Circleville, and the 24th of July parade in Panguitch.  **See Post on 5/20 "Want a Free LPM T-Shirt..." for more details.**
5. To ensure your Supplies get here on time.  There are nearly 300 teachers who teach LPM across the country, and we've grown over 50 teachers this year alone.  This class is taking the country by storm! Because of that growth, our product shipping department is feeling the crunch to get the new volume of orders shipped.  They're trying to be as prepared as possible, but those last minute orders don't always get out as fast as the recipient hopes for.  When it gets to crunch time, wouldn't you rather have your supplies already here, rather than be waiting 10-14 business days (or longer towards the end of the summer) to receive your materials?
6. It's FUN! Below is a demo video of Let's Play Music in action - what a great way to learn music!  With all of this fun AND learning, why would you want to wait another minute to get your child involved!  Call Michelle today at (435) 577-2269, email me, or check out (and like!) my Facebook Page.

Want a FREE LPM t-shirt or OTHER COOL, FREE STUFF for you and your kid(s)?!

Before all of this FREE STUFF talk, a little about me:

When I was a kid (I must have been in middle school) I was forced to listen to 93.9, a radio station in South Dakota, that played mostly 70's and 80's music with a few kind of new songs.  My mom loved it, so that's what we listened to.

They weren't the "cool" station, BUT....they were the best radio station for their giveaways! In one summer (actually about 6 weeks), I won a poster, a CD from a local band, and (the big one) - a backyard BBQ for my 100 closest friends.  Needless to say, it was a pretty memorable summer.

Since then, I've had a fascination and excitement with winning stuff. Today, I want to pass that joy of FREE STUFF on to all of YOU in the Piute and Garfield county area!

For the rest of May and the entire month of June, I am offering a FREE Let's Play Music car vinyl OR FREE Let's Play Music Toe Nail Decals for anyone* (See below for details) who refers someone to me. Sound EASY?! It is! 

When your friend signs their child up for LPM for our 2013-2014 year, and mentions your name, YOU will get whichever one you choose delivered to you!

(Here is a picture of the vinyl toe decals)

(And here is a picture of the Car Vinyl)

Now, you may think the fun is over...but it is just getting started!

Want some more FREE STUFF? I thought you would...

To me, July is a month full of parades, fireworks, family, watermelon, red, white, and blue!

I know it's a bummer - I wish I could - but, I can't give away fireworks because they might be illegal if the fire danger is as high as last year.

BUT... I can give you MORE FREE LET'S PLAY MUSIC STUFF! If you and/or your child participate in my float**(see below for details) (throw candy and pass out fliers during the parade) for the 4th or the 24th of July, you get a FREE LPM T-SHIRT as a THANKS for your help (and so we all look totally cool on the float)!

(Here's a picture of the LPM T-shirt.)

Watch for more details on the LPM parades as we get closer to to July.  If you'd like to participate, or if you have details on specific parades in YOUR town (in Piute and Garfield counties), let me know!  You can contact me by:

• Commenting on this blog post 
• Email: embelliston@gmail.com
• Phone: (435) 577-2269
• Facebook: Check out our group page: Let's Play Music - Piute/Garfield County

Specifics about the giveaways: (aka the boring details...)

*You do NOT need to have a child signed up for LPM in order to claim the car vinyl or toe nail decals.  The only requirements necessary are that your friend(s) mention your name ("Your name  said this class was fantastic! They got me really excited to sign my child up!") when they sign their child up for this coming year of classes, and that your friend has the registration form AND the deposit/registration fee turned in before you can claim your prize.  

You get one OR the other unless you have more than one friend sign up - then you can choose whichever 2 you want!

Unlike the t-shirts, this one is UNLIMITED!  For each person you refer to us (that signs up!) you can get unlimited vinyl or toe decals.  

** T-shirts will be ordered by the end of June - those who ask to be in the parade after that may not get a t-shirt in time (but are still welcome to come, and will get a t-shirt as soon as another order is made). 

T-shirts will be given ONLY to those who participate in the parade(s). If you say you can come, and then get sick or forget and don't make it, you will not receive the free t-shirt.  

Your child MUST be signed up (registration form AND deposit turned in) in order to participate in the parade(s).  I want people to help me advertise that believe in the program enough to put their own kids in it!

Children may bring along one adult per family to participate in the parade with them who will get a FREE t-shirt, but I can't give away any other t-shirts for siblings not signed up for the class, or to more than one parent.  If the parent doesn't participate in the parade, he/she won't get a free t-shirt.  If you want more shirts, I will sell them for $9 each.

Space is limited, so let me know ASAP if you want to ride my float.  I can't give away an infinite amount of shirts, so I'm capping the "FREE" shirts at 15 FREE ones.  If you still want to participate, you're welcome to purchase a shirt for $9.   

Welcome to my Let's Play Music Blog!

Welcome to my Let's Play Music blog!  I'm so excited to be teaching this GREAT music theory class for kids ages 4-6!  Watch for more posts, information, and fun stuff on this blog!