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I had a 7-month old and charged the regular fee for class since the
child was not a sibling. Otherwise, siblings under 1 y.o. are free in
my classes. You could also offer a small discount to the family based
on the fact that that the materials would be less expensive.Hope that helps,
KristinaHi Susanne-
My youngest so far has been 10 mo., but I just charged the regular
amount. I figure what they are getting is the music, stories, etc. to
take home like everyone else, so the benefit is essentially the same
in the long term. Siblings under one I don’t charge for because I
don’t provide the books and music for them.Glad to hear you are still teaching classes, how is enrollment? Why
do you do a 10 week session instead of 12? Just wondering for future
sessions.I had the same problem with the felt boards, and have used quite a few
things to try and get my stuff to stick. What seems to work best is I
tape it up using packaging tape (the clear stuff) on the back of the
felt pieces. It pulls the flet board a bit when you remove the
pieces, but this is my 4th session with the board and it still looks
great. I don’t take the background off at all during the session, so
it’s only the animals that I take off, and that is usually only once
or twice per class/per session, so not too much on and off. Mostly I
use my board to point out the animals and to hide all my baskets with
the song items in them! 🙂I’ll have to look at those socks, what a great idea! So far I’ve just
taken my shoes off, but winter is coming, and my toes are going to get
quite cold.Also, I found stampers online when I started a couple of years ago
that say bueno or buen trabajo, etc. and I call everyone’s name during
the adios song to come up and get a stamp. The kids seem to love
that! It’s been a good class ender for me, just thought I would pass
it on!I just did the “slop” art activity with my VERY young and energetic
Parent/Child class, it was a hit! they all loved to be cerditos!
Also, I read the cerdito story from the other farm unit, seemed like a
good day for the story as well.
-MeagenHi Andrea,
Congratulations on getting off to a great start with Music Lingua! I’m sure you’ll continue to have a blast with it.
I teach Spanish here in Denver, and I’ll attempt to answer your question about Ronronsí. I think it is a great chance to practice the r sound, but also, it’s a play on the word ronronear, which is to purr. the song is based on the English song called Fiddle I Fee, in which the cat goes fiddle I fee in each verse, so I guess the Music Lingua composers used poetic license to have the cat go ronronsí!
I have a couple of questions for the Music Lingua teachers at large, so I’m glad you posted, because I couldn’t find this email address!
Has anyone located a good vendor for toe socks, or glove socks, for the counting song in the new farm unit? I found these cow toe socks on google, and they’re kind of cute at $8.50 a pair.
http://www.joyofsocks.com/Cow_Toe_Socks_p/kb_12169_13.htm
Also, I have been having trouble with my large blue felt board. Nothing sticks to it well, and it has been a bit frustrating. Has anyone discovered any tricks to make it more sticky?
Thanks,
JenniferHallo Elke,
I am Susanne and I teach German and French in Great Falls. You and I
are not only in a difficult situation because we are not teaching
Spanish, but also because we are teaching in parts of Montana where
not a lot of people are interested in languages or cannot afford to
pay for those classes. I am teaching in Great Falls for nearly two
years now and still don’t have as much enrollment as I would like, but
it is slowly getting better.I started building a group with children of my friends who were
interested in learning German. I advertised in the paper and put up
flyers. Unfortunately the advertisement in the Great Falls Tribune is
so expensive, that I never earned any money with my classes. Also, it
never brought me a lot of students, but people got to know my
business. What newspaper do people in Hamilton buy? You could try to
ask the paper if they are interested in writing a newspaper article
about your classes. That is for free and will reach a lot of people. I
also started teaching free sample classes in story hours and
preschools. Everybody really liked the program, but it did not result
in more sign-ups. I finally decided last spring to offer my program to
preschools, because then I don’t have to advertise as much for my
classes. Also, the classes in a preschool are more affordable for the
families. I put together a folder for the preschools with a newspaper
article about my classes, the proposal letter for preschools and a
brochure with information about ML as well as rates for the classes.I
have the impression this helped my business. So far I am teaching in
only two preschools, but I will offer my program to more preschools
and it gives me some peace to know that I am not dependent on sign-ups
in these classes. It sounds like you are doing a great job advertising
and spreading the word about your Music Lingua classes. If I were you,
I would also try to offer your program to schools. You are welcome to
give me a call if you have any more questions. Good luck!Susanne
Hi Jennifer,
I would also cancel the class and extend the unit or offer a make- up
class on another day. That’s what I do when I am sick. I always tell
the parents in the first class of the unit, on which days I won’t
teach. For example I always teach on days like Columbus Day or
President’s Day, but I won’t teach during spring break, because a lot
of students might be on a vacation.
Good luck!
SusanneCan you just extend your session by one week? I haven’t had to cancel
a class, but I say on the schedule that I send out that I cannot
provide make-up classes for those missed by the student, and if I need
to cancel a class, I will add an extra one at the end of the session.
If it’s a snow day in Denver, I would think it’s pretty serious.
Personally, I would cancel.
-MeagenHola Molly and welcome to the Music Lingua crew!
I am Susanne from Great Falls and teach German and French.
You are right, this is a great program and I am sure you will enjoy teaching it. I have a little advice for you that helped me to get my classes going:
In order to practice for my first unit, I contacted the public library and playgroups in the area in the summer and offered them a free sample class. At the end of the class, you can announce your upcoming unit and pass out brochures to the families.
Also, if the program is new to your area, it makes sense to contact the newspaper and ask them, if they want to write an article about your classes. That’s a great advertisement for you.
I wish you good luck!Susanne
Molly,
This fall will be my first year teaching Music Lingua. I have had all kinds of classes. Great ones where parents LOVE it and help you out and terrible ones where parents talk and talk while I’m having a lesson or they let their babies cry, scream or distract and do nothing. I also have had a super challenging class with 6 to 8 years old that pay no attention, make jokes, run, jump, wiggle on the floor and will not listen to me. Sometimes I rather have the older ones Mom’s in there to help instead of the young ones :). BUT no matter how challenging a class could be there are always BETTER days. I stick to the rules and I’m persistent. If they don’t listen or are being “silly” I ask them to sit in the back of the room and watch my class from there until their body is calm and their mind is focus. I encourage any positive attitude and try to have a game or a “surprise” activity to pick up the mood. Almost 100% of the time they come back to circle because they want to be part of the song or activity. Movement seems to help. If by the 2nd song I see no excitement or lots of wiggling I try to incorporate on the next song some kind of movement.
Hope your worries go away as the weeks go by!
Buena suerte!
Andrea 🙂I teach Spanish in Billings. This is my third year teaching Music
Lingua, usually doing 2 sessions each year. Where are you?So good to hear! Great ideas too! Where are you located, Megan? How
long have you been involved with Music Lingua? And thanks for the
response!Hi Molly,
My first classes were wonderful, but I have definitely had classes
that had me pulling my hair out. Usually too many young ones and not
enough good examples to show them how to be in class. Some things I
have found that work are: Use a puppet, they really like that and I
can talk to it and the puppet can give me the answer I am wanting them
to give me! Also, I found that when it got a little crazy, I would
try to rush through the song or whatever and I think that makes it
worse. I need to remind myself to slow down and relax. And, I always
have a book and game to play ready for when the kids are just not
feeling it I can switch gears and try to get them focused on a story
or get the wiggles out with a game of luz verde luz rojo. Hope that
helps a little. Good luck, I have been there!Meagen
does anyone have any articles they could forward me on the benefits of learning a second language when the child has a speech delay? thanks in advance! kristen
thanks for this article malika!! it’s a good one.Thanks, Malika! Yet another great article highlighting what we’ve
been saying all along: early exposure to a second language can
increase a child’s brain power! I posted this to our Facebook page.I do have the same problem, so I switched to Elmer’s liquid glue for everything, but it does get messy and takes a bit to dry, so suggestions also welcome!
Janna Urschel
Spanish Instructor
Music Lingua, LLC
musiclinguaspanish@gmail.com
(406) 451-2815
http://www.musiclingua.com
