Tag Archives: children

Pender Christmas VBS Registration

Posted by MaryO on

christmas-vbs-2015-feature

Who: Kids Ages 3 (must be potty-trained)- 6th Grade

What:“Under Wraps: The Gift We Never Expected”

Where: Pender UMC Christmas VBS

Why: Celebrate Christmas and the Gift of Jesus Christ

When: Saturday, Dec. 5th @ 10 am – 2 pm

Cost: $10 per Kid or $20 total per Family

 

Join us for Christmas VBS on December 5, 2015 while your parents enjoy the gift of time to prepare for Christmas. We will enjoy music, crafts, lunch, recreation, a story and more! 

RSVP: Register online on our website by clicking on this link, beginning November 1st & ending November 30th.

Music for Very Young Children

Posted by MaryO on

 

fun-with-music

 

MOMs, DADS, are you looking for a place to have fun and fellowship with your children and other parents? We begin our 3rd year on Sept. 18th at 10am on Fridays in the Cornerstone Room (Rm. 215) at Pender United Methodist Church on Route 50. This program is for all parents and their children, ages 0 to 5.

The morning starts with 30 minutes of age appropriate interactive music followed by a snack and then playing with toys while the parents enjoy a time of fellowship and breakfast. These activities all take place in the same room.

This program continues though the school year and each semester there is a fee of $30 per family to cover the food and snacks.

For more information, please email Roberta Pont by clicking on this link.

Pender is located at 12401 Alder Woods Drive which is off Route 50 just east of the Fairfax County Parkway, about 10 minutes away from the O’Connor Music Studio.

From the Fairfax County Parkway: Take the exit marked Route 50, East. Get in left lane as soon as possible. Turn left at first light. Follow Alder Woods Drive to the church entrance on the left.

From I-66: Take the exit marked Route 50, West. Turn right at the third traffic light. Follow Alder Woods Drive to the left to the church entrance on the left.

NOTE: When you enter Alder Woods Drive you will see Christ Presbyterian Church in front of you.  They are very nice people, but that’s not where you’re headed. Go left. When Alder Woods Drive curves to the right, Pender Church will be on the left side.

How Do We Know If Children Are Ready To Begin Music Lessons?

Posted by MaryO on

child-piano

 

These days, there is much pressure for parents to begin their children in activities from an early age.  We know that children tend to pick up new skills easily and we want for them to have an opportunity to become experts at these new skills.  We also see curiosity, desire and eagerness to learn in our children and want to capitalize on that.

Music lessons are no exception.  We often get calls asking the question, “When is the best time to enroll my child in piano lessons?”  The answer to that is a tricky one, and varies for each child.  The right age for one may not be the right age for another.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you are considering enrolling your child in music lessons:

1.   Does my child have an attention span to sit still for chunks of time and listen to instruction?

Many teachers today are very creative in using off-bench activities during lessons and have a plethora of activities to make lessons fun and engaging.  However, the fact remains that your child will need to sit at the piano for some periods of time during the lesson.  It is important that your child have the attention span to do this.

Read more at  How do we know if children are ready to begin music lessons? « Piano Pedagogy @ The New School for Music Study.

It’s Not Too Late!

Posted by MaryO on

music-camp-2015

 

Pender’s annual summer Music Camp will be held on July 6-10 from 12:30pm-3:30pm. Our theme this year is “The Amazing Grace Race.” Children in rising 2nd through rising 6th grade are invited to participate. Rising 7-12th graders who are interested in volunteering can also sign up online through the Pender UMC website.

The cost is $25 per child, $50 per family (siblings only).

If you have any questions about Music Camp, please contact Theresa Carpenter or Nicole Parrish.

The best age to start piano lessons is now

Posted by MaryO on

child-piano

 

I think that parents are pulled in many directions when it comes to extracurricular activities and educational enrichment for children. Music is supposed to be fun. It’s not really meant to be your secret solution to passing math with flying colors one day. As long as parents maintain a patient approach to music lessons, children will see it as fun.

Music should always be fun, but it is a hard to learn. It does need to be taken seriously. A teacher has to know the right tone to use for each individual student. Some students respond to playful rewards, while others need a stern approach. Regardless, the expectation to pay attention and practice is necessary. Whether a child is a toddler or entering middle school, the basic process to learn music is the same – practice, practice, practice.

Smaller children, however, learn to sit still and listen. They also learn to retain information and ask for help from a grown-up. For preschool children, private lessons is a great first step to learning how to be a student. Private lessons are ideal, but if they are too expensive, many music schools and teachers offer group lessons for beginners as introduction courses.

The most important thing is to explore a child’s interest. Whether a child excels in their interest or not is irrelevant. They should still be given a chance to find something they love to do. With music, it could be a great source of expression for them throughout their lives, even if they are not interested in performing. That being said, the best time to start piano lessons for children is simply right now.

via The best age to start piano lessons is now | NJ.com.

Music lessons spur emotional and behavioral growth in children, new study says – The Washington Post

Posted by MaryO on

From the Washington Post, but we knew this already, right?

http://youtu.be/TlBmdNm3uhc

Music training not only helps children develop fine motor skills, but aids emotional and behavioral maturation as well, according to a new study, one of the largest to investigate the effects of playing an instrument on brain development.

Using a database produced by the National Institutes of Health Magnetic Resonance (MRI) Study of Normal Brain Development, researchers at the University of Vermont College of Medicine analyzed the brain scans of 232 healthy children ages six to 18 specifically looking at brain development in children who play a musical instrument. (The original study did not indicate specific instruments.)

“What we found was the more a child trained on an instrument,” said James Hudziak, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and director of the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families, “it accelerated cortical organization in attention skill, anxiety management and emotional control.”

Read the entire article at Music lessons spur emotional and behavioral growth in children, new study says – The Washington Post.

Piano Stores Closing as Fewer Children Taking up Instrument

Posted by MaryO on

pianomoving

Well-maintained pianos can make music for 50 to 70 years, said Peter Stumpf, a piano technician for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Mellon University, also in Pittsburgh.

Stumpf acknowledged new piano retailers are challenged by technicians like him who restore well-made used pianos and sell them at a fraction of the cost.

The piano’s design, durability and new flexibility brought by technology helps keep the instrument created by Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori more than 300 years ago relevant today, said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of the National Association of Music Merchants, a music products industry trade association.”Having all the notes laid out in front of you spatially is really an important way to learn music,” he said. “It’s why it’s one of the most important instruments for people to begin on. That’s not going to change.”

Read the entire article here: Piano Stores Closing as Fewer Children Taking up Instrument – ABC News.

 

How do we know if children are ready to begin music lessons? « Piano Pedagogy @ The New School for Music Study

Posted by MaryO on

child-piano

These days, there is much pressure for parents to begin their children in activities from an early age.  We know that children tend to pick up new skills easily and we want for them to have an opportunity to become experts at these new skills.  We also see curiosity, desire and eagerness to learn in our children and want to capitalize on that.

Music lessons are no exception.  We often get calls asking the question, “When is the best time to enroll my child in piano lessons?”  The answer to that is a tricky one, and varies for each child.  The right age for one may not be the right age for another.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you are considering enrolling your child in music lessons:

1.   Does my child have an attention span to sit still for chunks of time and listen to instruction?

Many teachers today are very creative in using off-bench activities during lessons and have a plethora of activities to make lessons fun and engaging.  However, the fact remains that your child will need to sit at the piano for some periods of time during the lesson.  It is important that your child have the attention span to do this.

Read more at  How do we know if children are ready to begin music lessons? « Piano Pedagogy @ The New School for Music Study.