We're finalizing the KPS December music camp! Here's what we know!
Through cooperative learning, group learning, interactive activities, and one-on-one teacher time, we will cover all things music!
We'll do another camp mid-June! :) Fill out this form to sign up, or to at least let me know what your schedule is like :)
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Summer 2021 Semester - June 21st to August 31st
Students can choose a summer package of 5 or more lessons within 10 weeks to maintain their spot in the Fall. The schedule is chosen by the students based off studio availability (avoid July 5th and Sundays). Tuition is paid in 1 or 2 payments in advance, and 1 or 2 makeups are allowed (depending on the # of lessons chosen) until the semester ends. If summer lessons are not desired, there is a $50 holding fee. That $50 will then be applied to the September payment when they return. If students do not return, the fee is not refunded as a student from the waiting list could’ve filled their summer slot. Please fill out this form to tell me your time slot preferences for the summer. Please give a wide range, if possible. I will be trying to put lessons back-to-back. After getting everyone's information, I will end out the final schedule. Yes, I ended up taking the full maternity leave! I forgot how baby's aren't simply born with a schedule and sleeping during the night! It's getting a little better, so I'm hoping that baby will be cooperative with the schedule I give her for teaching. :) I am among those that thought that the 2 week quarantine was going to be the end. Then, I was one that thought one month after that, and this will all be over. I even made a calendar for April 2020, put an X on each day, and made a paper chain to rip one off each day.
10 months later, and piano is still being taught online, and it's different than what it would be on-site. My online beginners are all hitting the same point in their progress - - - learning notes on the staff! This is where learning piano takes a little bit more brain power. To keep the lesson engaging, I have 150 activities in my studio to implement kinesthetic learning, simplify application, or to increase automaticity. Virtual lessons took that power away from me. But the pandemic is ending soon.....right? lol I've decided to not assume this pandemic is somehow always ending around the corner, for the sake of my beginners. I digitized 10 activities in 2 days! I'm so excited to change things up with my online learners. More activities to come.... The best case scenario for these activities: 1. Students are on a touch-screen device (otherwise I can drag and drop the images) 2. The bigger the screen the better (game pieces can be small) There are 3 different cases where I pull out these activities: 1. A student is struggling with a concept and s/he needs to experience it in a more kinesthetic or visual way. 2. A student practiced so well, we went through all of their materials, and we have 5 extra minutes! (They are typically 5 minutes...in-person, that is) 3. Student is getting bored of learning, and needs a change every now and then. Therefore, I may or may not do an activity during a lesson. One of these three things needs to apply. Theory Book If your child has a theory book, these concepts would also cover what that book would. So, if we need to adjust the platform, we could skip a specific theory page, and pull out an activity to replace it. In fact, an activity could cover MULTIPLE pages within the theory book, because the big idea is understood better, and the individual facts are practiced and mastered. Case #3 from Above You all may have noticed that virtual learning takes a little bit longer than in-person. I also have that working against me. That's where case #3 comes into play. Students are getting tired of the online environment, and need it to be more interactive. The #3 situation would mean, perhaps, replacing a book that we would've covered that day. I would do this based off of my judgment on what I feel the student needed at the time. If you are against this whole idea, I will completely support you! Just let me know. :) I just want to make sure that students' first exposure to piano, is a good positive one. Hope you are all doing well through this pandemic! Thank you for supporting these students! They are all progressing well! This year, everything has looked a little different. I am grateful for the opportunity my students have had to learn to play the piano and also have a form of a recital during a global pandemic! On YouTube, there is a playlist of everyone's performance. Names will be deleted after it has been up for a few days. If you would like me to permanently remove the video, please let me know. Here is the December 2020 Recital Program to print for your scrapbook! This document will only be available temporarily, since it contains the students' names.
Thank you for sending recordings and encouraging them. They all did a great job! For those who opted out of the virtual recital, there will be a chance in the Spring time! :)
We are taking COVID precautions here, and it has been going smoothly! Students haven't complained about the mask, gloves for me aren't that uncomfortable, and cleaning between lessons has been going smoothly.
Half of my students are online and half are in-person. Hopefully everyone will be in person soon, so that I can officially see everyone! I am hoping that things will continue to open rather than go backwards. Here, we will follow CDC and local guidelines if things change. Christmas recital set up is something that could have a variety of outcomes this year. It may be delayed, online, in-person with not many others attending, or a full crowd. We will have to see what guidelines are in place when that comes, but still prepare pieces. However it turns out, my hopes are high, and I'm looking forward to a great semester! This promo is for current students!
Refer a friend, and you will have 2 free lessons for each person who signs up. Refer a family, and you will be set for a couple of months! :) Once they make their payment, I will adjust your invoice. As I am new to West Hartford, this would help me and my family so much! Thank you everyone for your support! Why start your child in piano lessons? Read this post and you will see many benefits! Already decided? See promo code at the end. I came across an article written by The Royal Conservatory called "Your Child's Development: Music Study may be the Best Tool". This blog post summarizes 5 big takeaways that I got from this article. For a more in depth looks at the benefits of musical training, go to this link. Improved Language Abilities Language and music are both auditory functions of the brain. These common connections of sound are both used to communicate. Musicians learn to put emotion into music, identify patterns within a musical story, interpret emotions, and break apart sounds with phonemic awareness. All of these processes contribute to language development including, speech, reading, and comprehension. These skills then are pre-requisites for most every other subject area. "Studies have shows that musically-trained children have better phonological skills, which can help them to learn words faster, develop a richer vocabulary, and learn to read sooner." The Royal Conservatory Increased Emotional Resilience Musicians learn to express emotions and even relax them through music. They come to understand what type of music helps them. They can add their emotions to music they are playing so that they can feel heard and understood. Increased Empathy From the very beginning, students are identifying types of sound. 1. High vs. Low 2. Moving Higher vs. Moving Lower 3. Happy vs. Sad 4. Short vs. Long There's an endless list of types of feelings that can be interpreted or expressed in music, and students learn to identify them and play them. This very practice helps them to build empathy, because they are understanding and identifying how feelings are expressed in an auditory way. "Studies have even shown that collaborative musical activities can increase toddlers' pro-social behaviors, making them more likely to help someone in need." The Royal Conservatory Increased Attention Span and IQ Dr. Sylvain Moreno has conducted much research on the impact that music has on children. He found that "90% of the children taking music lessons showed ... significant changes in their brains' processing of items requiring a controlled response or attention." As a student and teacher, playing the piano requires a lot of focus. You are literally reading and moving two hands (which has 10 fingers...) and a foot. Pianists must focus to play well. I often tell students, "Play the line again, but watch the rhythm, be sure to play the dynamics, and play with a more forward motion." That's a lot to think about, and it often takes multiple times to get it right. Researchers conducted a study where some children studied music, and others studied drama or other non-music related topic. They then performed IQ tests and found significant increased of IQ in the children that studied music. Increased Self-Confidence Musicians tend to be more academically successful than others who are not. This can build confidence. "Over the past two decades, several large-scale studies have found that usic students outperform academically compared to other students, often by large margins." Seeing a difficult piece and learning it, or even overcoming a fear of performing are just two examples of ways that music can help self-confidence. Parents should not hesitate to get their children started in piano! The benefits are endless! Interested in lessons? Use the PROMO CODE for a FREE trial lesson!
Promo Code: FALL2020TRC Online lessons are running successfully, but some people are ready for in-person lessons. This choice is up to the students and family. In the studio, we will be following all regulation requirements that the state of Connecticut is requiring at this stage under the category of "personal services".
Click Here for the list of COVID-19 safety measures in Kareena's Piano Studio. Click Here for the liability waiver students will be signing in order to have lessons. These steps are taken to keep everyone safe! I look forward to teaching in-person lessons! Contact me if you would like to start! I have absolutely LOVED teaching preschoolers! The Wunderkeys curriculum is wonderful, because it walks through the concepts with them in a way that they can learn it. Each lesson also has a theme that can be turned into a hands-on or visual experience to keep the student more engaged. I have been teaching online, and it just takes the parent being more involved on their end of the camera. They point, help open the book, reiterate for me if the child couldn't hear me well. What's really great about that, is that the parent gets to know the curriculum well, and knows more fully how to support the student during the week. If your child is ready to take piano lessons, it is possible to start at age 3.5!
Here is a useful resource for setting up Zoom for online lessons. This program is great, so I would recommend using this whether or not you have a laptop. If there are issues with tablet, then I would use Skype AFTER Zoom doesn't work, for whatever reason. Please contact me for questions and concerns about this! I used to be a school technology specialist, so don't be shy! :) |
KPS"Music study leads to lasting changes in children's brains, increasing their capacity to perform tasks that require sustained attention and careful listening and reading." - The Royal Conservatory Archives
December 2021
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