Tuesday, February 25, 2014

DIY Music Class Diary Entry 1

DIY Music Class Diary

I met with the initial mom who expressed interest in hosting a music class, and we began planning. Here are the first  topics we identified to be decided before the first class begins:

Where to hold classes? Some options are:
  • Rotate member's houses monthly
  • Look into free public spaces, such as community rooms or public library
  • A combination of places
  • Same location every week
  • Private homes, and library once a month

Assigning different "jobs" to members such as downloading or printing materials from website, checking out library materials, assembling music kits

Making sure there is a way to play recorded music in each location (CD player, mp3 player with speaker

Possible 0ne-time  fee to join ($5 or $10) , to be used to purchase materials such as scarves, parachute, instruments

Developing Guidelines for handling personal issues that may arise, such as behavior or lack of supervision

We subsequently advertised using free resources, and have five moms committed  to joining the first class. Average age of children is two.We have scheduled a parent meeting at a local Starbucks to discuss common goals, and specific issues listed above. Our first class is scheduled for March 7th.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Sing With Our kids DIY Music Classes

Welcome to Sing With Our Kids DIY Music Classes. 

In keeping with the Sing With Our Kids project goals of providing songs to sing, and opportunities to sing them, we are starting a network of DIY music classes for children under five. Our plan is to create a model for you to use as is, or modify to fit your needs. 

 DIY Classes:

  • Are free, because you are holding them in your home or free public space
  • Will offer information on everything from selecting a location, modifying for different ages, acquiring low cost or free instruments and other teaching aids such as scarves, parachute, singing books, and child development information, and handling potential behavior issues within the group
  • Organized by friends, play groups, neighborhoods, communities
  • Can use sample class plans you can follow or modify
  • Free Access to class plans, songs, and other materials
  • Sharing of stories experiences of other groups in the Network 
  • Offer this blog as a way for you to contribute your experiences, ideas, and comments
It's your class, so if it a nice day, take it outside and add a picnic in the park!

Stay tuned as we build and document this part of the project!


DIY Music Class Diary Entry 1

DIY Music Class Diary

I met with the initial mom who expressed interest in hosting a music class, and we began planning. Here are the first  topics we identified to be decided before the first class begins:

Where to hold classes? Some options are:
  • Rotate member's houses monthly
  • Look into free public spaces, such as community rooms or public library
  • A combination of places
  • Same location every week
  • Private homes, and library once a month

Assigning different "jobs" to members such as downloading or printing materials from website, checking out library materials, assembling music kits

Making sure there is a way to play recorded music in each location (CD player, mp3 player with speaker

Possible 0ne-time  fee to join ($5 or $10) , to be used to purchase materials such as scarves, parachute, instruments

Developing Guidelines for handling personal issues that may arise, such as behavior or lack of supervision

We subsequently advertised using free resources, and have five moms committed  to joining the first class. Average age of children is two.We have scheduled a parent meeting at a local Starbucks to discuss common goals, and specific issues listed above. Our first class is scheduled for March 7th.