We were lucky enough to have Charlie as a Kindermusik student last fall.  His bright smile and easy-going personality brightened Miss Katie’s day every time he came to class.  Sadly, Charlie passed away in December.

In honour of Charlie, Notable Kids will donate all proceeds from the sale of  Folkmanis monkey finger puppets to BC Children’s Hospital. We have a barrel full of monkeys in memory of a little boy who was a barrel full of joy.

Please help us meet our goal of donating $500 to BC Children’s Hospital in Charlie’s name.  (If you’re counting, that’s 167 monkeys!)

Click here to view the embedded video.

She is looking for babies who will be 7 – 14 months in January.

(The babies should not be steady walkers yet – it makes the shoot too tough!)

She would also like to audition the real moms and dads and cast the real family if possible.

AUDITIONS WILL BE JANUARY 4 – 9, 2012

CALLBACKS WILL BE JANUARY 10 – 12, 2012

SHOOT WILL BE JANUARY 16 – 20, 2012

WE WOULD NEED THE BABY PLUS THE MOM AND DAD (IF BOTH ARE AVAILABLE, IF NOT, JUST ONE PARENT) TO COME AND AUDITION ON ONE OF THE ABOVE DAYS. AUDITIONS WILL TAKE ABOUT ½ HOUR, THEN IF NARROWED DOWN, COME BACK FOR A CALLBACK AUDITION TO MEET THE DIRECTOR.  IF CHOSEN FOR THE SHOOT, THE BABY, MOM AND DAD (OR WHICH EVER PARENT IS AVAILABLE) WOULD SHOOT ANYWHERE FROM 1 – 5 DAYS DEPENDING ON THEIR AVAILABILITY!

THE PAY FOR THIS CAN RANGE FROM $1000 – $15,000 IF THE WHOLE FAMILY IS BOOKED!

PLEASE EMAIL US FOR AN AUDITION TIME!

PLEASE NOTE YOUR BABIES NAME AND AGE, AND THE NAMES OF THE PARENTS AND WHAT DAY AND TIME YOU WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST AUDITIONS, JANUARY 4 – 9.

Babycasting2012@gmail.com

GOOD LUCK!

Do you want to bond with your child in a patient environment?  Do you want your child to be more focused at school?  Then register your child for Yoga classes at Kindermusik With Notable Kids!

The benefits are numerous.  They include:

• relaxation and anxiety-reduction
• greater focus and concentration
• improved quality of sleep

The 8 week session begins Thursday, January 19, 2012, and ends Thursday March 8, 2012.

Yoga for Kids (4-6 years) 3:30-4:30 – $96+tax

Family Yoga 4:30-5:30 – $144 + tax

Registration forms are in the studio or can be emailed.  Deadline to register is Friday, January 13th, 2012.  Or call 604-836-2787 to sign your child up!

Finn was a little boy who lived with cancer.  He also died from it.  His family keeps Finn’s legacy alive – a bright, energetic, happy spirit – through Team Finn.

Grab yourself a kleenex and listen to Finn’s dad tell their story, and why they’ve raised over $1,000,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation.  (You’ll want to watch this one without the kids)

Please share their story so that together we might change someone else’s.

I’m often asked how early a parent should put their child into piano lessons.  Short answer? Not before 6 years of age.

I got to thinking of this because I’ve got a choir concert coming up, and I’m putting in some extra private rehearsal hours.  I LOVE my choir: the music is challenging, the harmonies are exciting (I’m a nerd), the choreography is cool, the director can be scary.  And yet, even I am finding myself picking my nose during my set time for practice.

Imagine you are 4 or 5, not so internally motivated, and more interested in the fly that is crawling up the wall than playing a major scale.  Again.  Children need to practice 15-30 minutes EVERY DAY in order to achieve any kind of progress.  And they’ll know if they’re not getting any better.  If they don’t achieve success – and quickly – , they typically quit trying.

You’ve now lost several hundred dollars in private piano lessons, and possibly several thousand dollars on a new piano.  You’ve probably gained a few gray hairs and a few dozen headaches.  The most tragic loss, however, is your child’s innate love of music.

This doesn’t mean that you should keep your child away from the piano.  There are lots of things to do with them that involve the keyboard!  Let them make up a song (best if you’re in a good mood).  Tell a story using the keys.  The billy goats cross the bridge?  Biggest goat crosses at the bottom of the keys (low notes), Middle sized-goat crosses at the middle of the keyboard, and littlest goat crosses at the top of the keyboard (highest notes).  Come up with your own stories!  Minor chords for scary or sad parts, major chords for happy parts.  Play with legato and staccato sounds.  We do all of these things in Imagine That classes for 3-5 year olds and they love them!

If you’re going to go ahead with private or group lessons, I would encourage you to find someone who is a good fit with your child.  If they have a kinesthetic approach to music, all the better.  I, myself, would LOVE to find a Simply Music instructor.  If I haven’t found one in the next few years, I’ll take the training myself.  I just can’t find the extra time to teach it right now.  If you are one, or know of one, I’d be interested in hiring for after school lessons!

Sometimes I forget to implement all those tricks from Kindermusik class at home.  I get busy, caught up in the minutia, and yes, sometimes just plain lazy.  (Crazy, I know!)

Recently, however, I’ve been implementing quiet time at home around 4 o’clock.  Just squeaking it in before an inevitable implosion of whining, which only leads to a strong desire on my part for a different vintage, if you catch my drift.

We sit down together and listen to a song or two from the classical playlist on the ipod.  Sometimes it’s a celtic ballad (which just happens to be what I need to learn for choir…).  The song itself doesn’t matter, it’s the practice of breathing together, of getting quiet and centered in our bodies, that leads to a calmer approach to the hiccup before the end of day routine.

If this is your first time heading out, here are some common sense tips for a happier Halloween:

1. Head out early while it’s still light outside.
   
2. Hold hands and go all the way to the door with them.
3. Visit people you know.
4. If a house is totally decked out with the spooky stuff, just skip it.  (Take my word for it – we had to skip a whole year of trick or treating after one spectacularly spooky experience!)
5. Only visit a few houses.  Stop while it’s still fun!