Christmas card competition winners....

We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the number of Kindermusik cuties so have decided to have two winners!


I think you'll agree that they are totally gorgeous!


Smiles and giggles are such great therapy, use our bounces and dances at home that you have learned this term to lift those grey days of autumn and winter.


We've got a special offer coming up in January, if you'd like your child's nursery to enjoy a free Kindermusik taster session then drop me a line as I have one space available for the second week in January and another in the third week....a lovely cd for recommending me too.

Do continue to send in your Kindermusik photies, we are looking for our 2011 Kindermusik With Suzanne babies and children for new advertising features.

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It's half term already....

Our first half term has passed by with so many great new songs, dances and bounces. We've loved skipping and twirling with ribbon wands in Our Time, trotting like horses, fluttering like butterflies and don't forget our toast popping! Whilst the Village groups have absolutely loved our peekaboo 'Go into the Kitchen' dance, bounce and wave with Hey Lolly Lolly, aswell as some magnificant swinging, twirling and hammocking, hope everyone isn't too worn out!!
In all classes relaxation has been a huge focus, everybody has really embraced this important time in the class, remember its not just for the little ones..its really important that mummies and daddies relax to so snuggle down on the blanket and just melt away to You are my sunshine.
This half term has seen the arrival of our brand new 2011 tshirts and hoodies, as worn by so many, and all looking absolutely gorgeous...photos to follow! For next half term we have Kindermusik skibz for the babies, I'll have some on display in class very soon.
Remember that the deadline for our Christmas card competition is this Sunday, so if you'd like your child on the front of our Kindermusik With Suzanne Christmas card then email a photo of your cutie in his or her KM tshirt before then.
Over the past 7 weeks numerous coffees, teas and somewhere in the region of 60 banana cakes have been enjoyed, remember to take a recipe card and pop it on your fridge .
Saturday classes are still on over half term, but for everyone else, see you back in classes for the remainder of our autumn 2010 term on Monday 1st November.
Thought you might like to see one of our entrants for the Christmas card competition above, isn't she lovely!!!
End of year thoughts....drop me a line by email or respond below if you have some lovely thoughts to share about classes, observations at home or funnies.
Suzanne
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Its been a great summer....and its going to be a fab autumn

The summer holidays are just a distant memory now as the tan fades, and the laundry pile has finally diminished, as its time to plough through the piles of registrations, dust off the dancing shoes and polish the lesson plans.

There is so much to fill our 13 week term, with songs, dances, bouncing, leaping, twirling, massage, relaxation, stories, bells, shakers, scrapers, ribbons, scarves, parachute, bubbles.....and so much more.... Not forgetting the delicious banana cake, that I've been stocking up the freezer with.

Just in case you can't wait for class to begin, here's our favourite banana cake recipe.

Kindermusik Banana Cake

170g self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonat of soda
1/2 tsp mixed spice
125g sugar
50g margarine
2 large bananas
1 egg
3 tblsp milk

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix.

Pour into a lined loaf tin.

Cook at 170C or gas 3 for 45 minutes

Cool then drizzle with honey

Enjoy!

PS. You will probably need to double or treble this mixture, so you've got a spare one just in case!
PPS. Simple to make, and does it count for one of our five a day fruit/veg?

Extra classes opening for newborns to 18 months

Music teachers, parents and childcare providers have know intuitively for generations that music benefits even the youngest members of society. Grandpas have bounced their little

ones on their knees; Grandmas have rocked and crooned to their infants. Dads and mums have waltzed around the room and flown through the air with happy babies in their arms. And what big brother hasn't attempted to teach baby sister to blow raspberries or encouraged baby brother to bang on a drum?

Thanks to research on the importance of the developing child during the first three years of life, we are beginning to have scientific evidence to reinforce what we all knew: music does make a real difference.

Kindermusik Village babies are in a 'receptive' mode of development, in preparation for movement towards a more expressive stage of development. Kindermusik Village lessons acknowldge this by providing a wide array of sounds, images, tactile and movement activities for baby to experience. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to enhance every activity to imagining yet another way to position baby to view his world, another sound or movement to try, and are invited to observe, notice and even document baby's preferences and responses.

Above all, its lots of fun for both of you!!! Make friends, learn new activities, enjoy special bonding time together, socialise over coffee and home made cake....

Share this with your friends....pass on the good news.......It's almost time for a brand new term!
If you haven't already registered, don't worry, its not too late. Extra classes have opened so there's a great choice of days and times, just drop me a line.

Looking forward to another great term..

Suzanne
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Just a few more classes left this week then that's the end of our term...always very sad when we say goodbye to good friends, but the majority we are seeing again in September, and a good handful are coming along to our summer camp programme aswell.

Over the summer try having 'conversations' with your baby. Mm, but what if your baby is just weeks or months old? Baby learns the art of conversation from the adults in her life. When speaking to baby, and it doesn't matter what you are 'chatting' about, remember to leave time for the response. You may get smiles, giggles or gurgles in response. Imitation sets the foundation for learning language, and these early 'chats' are the beginnings of your little ones's language development.

In our classes we use lots of activities which involve waiting for a response, its great to see the babies looking around in anticipation of the movement, song, dance beginning again. Just like in a conversation.

I've found a great site on my travels through the virtual world this week:

http://www.bizziebaby.co.uk/

check it out. Parents are encouraged to write reviews about everything and anything that they have tried and would like to pass on to other parents, what a great idea!

Wow, we have THE most reviews...

I was asked earlier this week to write an article for a feature on familiesrecommend.co.uk, a wonderful site full of places to go, things to do, people to see...and Kindermusik With Suzanne has received the highest number of reviews on the whole site!! Amazing!

http://familiesrecommendblog.com/wordpress/

follow this link to read the article. Have a look at the familiesrecommend site aswell whilst you are there, is there anywhere you would like to recommend? It's fantastic to share with others your personal experiences of somewhere you have enjoyed, be it your hairdresser, favourite restaurant, or even favourite pre-school music class.

Suzanne

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Where has this term gone?

This term has seen some of our little ones, like Jude, finding their feet in their Village class and preparing to move up in September to Our Time...it's been quite exciting to watch them all!

The 'right' age to move from the baby class to the big boys and girls class is 18 months but do you know what? This term we've seen just how much our little ones can do in Village up to this age and beyond. We've even had some stay with us until almost 2 years, so when they do eventually make that move up their confidence levels are soaring and they are ready to participate in a whole new experience. As a parent we watch our children's development with eager anticipation..when will they sit, crawl, walk, talk....do the next thing. But let's remember to enjoy them while they are little, enjoy each individual development stage because it will pass so quickly. There is no rush for them to move on to the next stage, be it at a Kindermusik class, swimming class, nursery or even school. They need to be comfortable in their enviroment, and sometimes be the big boy or girl, before they leap quickly into the next developmental rockpool of life. Enjoy being a big fish sometimes, the next pool has even bigger fish in it.

Registrations are coming in thick and fast for September so remember to reserve your place in the class of your first choice before it fills up. Traditionally September is a busy month for new enrollments, which makes it a really exciting term for us all to welcome lots of new faces.

All weekday classes include coffee/tea and cakes so plenty of time to chat and make new friends, and then enjoy your Kindermusik class. Let your friends know so they can come along and join us too. Prices remain the same; £7 per class for Village and £8 per class for Our Time. These prices include your home materials of cd, books and instruments to use throughout our 13 week term, excellent value!! T-shirts and hoodies are available at the first class, you can also pre-order them to have your child's name printed on too, just drop me a line.

There will be a couple of postings over the summer so keep a look out for some great activities that you can use at home.

Suzanne

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