Music Classes for Kids

I think he's about ready to start lessons, what do you think?

Actually, I'm not kidding. We are hoping to start his first music class next week. It's called Mini Mozart and is taught at the Art City Music Academy. They have music classes in Springville, Orem, American Fork, and Draper for children ages 6 months to 10 years. Parents participate with their children, and the kids learn developmentally appropriate skills. In the youngest classes, they do things like movement to music, playing on rhythm instruments (drums, tambourines, maracas, bells), singing, and learning to wiggle their fingers on the keyboard. By the time they are 3, they are doing imitative rhythm and keyboard exercises, as well as beginning to recognize musical symbols. Besides these musical skills, they are also learning socialization skills such as sharing, taking turns, following a routine, putting things away, and just having fun with other kids.

The 5-10 year-old classes are piano classes, where they learn to read music and apply all their musical knowledge to playing actual pieces. The classes are designed to accommodate students who have been in the program for years, or beginners who have never had any musical experience.

Sorry, is this sounding like a sales pitch? I've been teaching at this Academy for almost 10 years, and I really believe in the program. If you want your kids to be serious about music, this is the place to go. If you just want your kids to have a fun, enriching experience that will aid them in learning important life skills, this is the place to go.

Besides all that, I am hoping someone with a baby (6-17 months) will want to do the Tuesday morning (10:45) class in Springville with me...and will want to give me and Dorian a ride... :)

class schedule
info on tuition and fees
frequently asked questions
myths about group music study

Green beans everywhere

I know what you're going to say. Go ahead and say it. This part of motherhood does not amuse me. Not until several days later when I am looking at the pictures and I see those bright, innocent eyes peering at me from behind the mess.

Four Years

January 2005 (we got married): April 2006 (we gave our recitals and graduated from BYU): December 2006 (we grew out our hair): May 2007 (we built a house): June 2008 (we had a baby): December 2008 (we cut our hair): Russell and I have been married for 4 years now. What a good husband. He has loved me through some pretty rough times (specifically: grad school. pregnancy). I love so many things about him. No matter what kind of a day he is having, he always has a smile for the baby. I love how playful and gentle he is with Dorian--such a good dad, who wants to make sure his baby has all the opportunities he didn't have. He is always willing to help out with the baby or the house when I ask. He is always analyzing himself and figuring out how he can do better and be happier. He is brilliant when it comes to learning new things, and can do anything he puts his mind to. I love how he always asks me for feedback when he is writing a piece of music or designing a logo or a website. He respects my opinion, even though he is the expert. I love the conversations we have on all kinds of topics. I love how comfortable he makes me feel about the way I look--I never felt more at home in my own skin than I have since I got married. I love how easily he forgets my mistakes--I can do something completely stupid, and by the next day, it's like it never happened.

It's been a good four years.

Sometimes you just need the right motivation

Dorian loves cell phones. So much so that we gave him his own to keep him from always eating ours. But the other night when I was on my way home from teaching, I called Russell. He had me on speaker phone, and when Dorian saw Daddy's cell phone light up and heard Mom's voice coming out of it, he just decided he had to have it.

Tasha

I know dogs are good for kids. I'm really just not a dog person. I had a dog, when I was a kid, that I got on my sister's birthday (I know, right? Ask her, sometime, how she felt about that). He was really cute, and I played with him and stuff, but he was smelly and lived outside. I really want to be one of those moms that doesn't allow her kids to have pets. Isn't that a terrible ambition?

Anyway, I try to let Dorian have plenty of exposure to other people's dogs. For instance, my mom's dog, a Lhasa Apso named Tasha, is the best dog ever. She doesn't smell bad, doesn't shed, and doesn't drool. I'm not even kidding. Plus, she climbs in your lap and cuddles. I could almost take her home, if it weren't for the middle-of-the-night pee trips and the chewed-up blinds if you leave her alone for more than a few hours. Dorian was very intrigued. He also liked my grandpa's dog, Butch. He wasn't quite as cuddly, but when he barked, Dorian thought it was the funniest thing ever. Good thing he laughs at lots of things, or else I'd have to get a barking dog, just so I could hear that laugh every day.

Do you think he got enough toys for Christmas?

Here he is, playing with all his new Christmas toys. It's hard to believe he ever loved his blocks or his link-a-doos.

Christmas Fun

We tried to get Dorian excited about Christmas. He definitely liked the tree and the presents.
We got him up Christmas morning and brought him out to show him his "stocking" contents (not really in a stocking, since I never found the right material): some new socks, shoes, and peas, green beans, carrots, and squash. He grabbed everything and chewed on it like it was a great new toy. Russell said, "well, that's Christmas!" And his poor little eyebrows scrunched together in a look that clearly said, "that's it?"

So then we had him open his other presents, which were clothes and a book.

He was probably thinking Christmas wasn't all we hyped it up to be, until we got to grandma's house. Finally, some toys!