There is a new normal for kids and parents.

Babies in headlights- like little deer in headlights. 

They come in completely still and eyes wide. Super shocked, maybe scared- maybe slightly intrigued. Where am I? Who are these people?

WHY AM I OUT OF THE HOUSE?

What are the thoughts going through their tiny, beautiful minds?

Most of them were created during the pandemic by adults stuck at home with a lot of time and endless wine. lol That’s not completely true- because a lot of these are planned and happily siblings to other children stuck at home. Those older children are also isolated at home, only seeing people through a computer screen and waving to their friends on their drive by birthdays.

As things open up and we begin to do more activities with our children, we are so excited to get out, but need to put into perspective children who have not only never been to an activity, like music class, but have never been OUT.

Not to the grocery store or Target. Nothing. They are born then home and they know no one but immediate family. It’s the same with the two’s and older kids. Half of their lives have been sheltered away so they can’t really remember a time without us all in masks. This is the new normal for kids and parents.

Babies and young toddlers are more perceptive and sensitive than we give them credit for.

They are aware that things are not quite normal and they pick up on our energy.

They may have limited language skills but they can feel the slight changes in our behavior and the increased tension of parents and siblings being together more than normal. The simple acts of going to work, school or other activities that take us out of our homes and into other environments, where we can interact with different people and have a sense of autonomy; these are crucial to adults and kids alike.

It’s important for all of us to have time to navigate the world: to solve problems, issues and challenges on our own. It makes us stronger and more confident. It keeps us growing and developing. Just seeing and interacting with other people outside your family unit is a powerful tool for development. 

Families are finally feeling more comfortable doing activities outside the home so we are starting to meet a lot of new humans whose only real connection to the outside world is what they’ve seen on TV. 

Now, when they come to Little Rockers, they are still and quiet. Watching us all through our masks and face shields. Trying to figure out what this place they have entered is.

And we make it delightful!! Full of colors and lights and music. Not a complete sensory overload but a way for them to know that there is life out there! 

They can put a record on the platter, go down the slide, play the drums on our stage. They can strum a guitar, jam out with other kids or help clean up the instruments and pick a sticker after class. Let’s use self expression and music to release some of that tension because kids have it too, believe it or not. 

It’s also been so great to see moms and dads being able to chat with other parents and share some of the challenges of the past year.  To witness a shared sense of us all having survived something tough and making it to this point. Even relief that someone else can entertain their kids for an hour.

And we say- let there be rock! 

Music makes us happy and brings us all together for an experience like no other. We all become friends after music class. It’s the best for kids and parents to bond. With music we share something fun and stress releasing and we all need it now more than ever.

LittleRockersMusic.com

Still not comfortable doing classes out in the world?

Then do them virtually with our new Little Rockers Clubhouse App!! Free two week trial when you download on iOS and Android Download HERE:

https://littlerockersmusic.uscreen.io/catalog

The post Quarantine Kids & Pandemic Babies appeared first on Little Rockers.

Remember that when buying a guitar for a child under age 7, buy something that fits them so they will enjoy it. Buying a guitar that is too big for them, so they can grow into it, will only leave the child frustrated and not wanting to play. Go into the thought that buying a guitar for a small child is just a starter guitar and they will move into a larger guitar as they grow and gain more interest and skill.

We also get asked what guitar is great for toddlers from age 2 and up, and although there are a ton of toy guitars on the market, they usually do not have real strings. If you do not want real strings on your child’s guitar then the smaller toy guitars are great. However, we are focusing on stringed guitars right now and the best ones for young kids between the ages of 2- 7 years old.

First Act are the main producers of kids guitars and they can be found in major retailers as well as online. This is a great starter guitar and they even come in a variety of styles and colors. Getting a starter pack with a strap and case are important for ease of use and transport. This is probably our most recommended because they are made well and sound good for the price. They stay in tune and are kid friendly. They are also easy to restring which is great for a beginning guitar student. Good for ages 4 and up. Perfect for beginning lessons.

FIRST ACT AMAZON LINK

Although this guitar has strings on it, they do not stay in tune and it is really just one step up from being a toy guitar. This is a good guitar for toddlers who are into the guitar and know what strings are and will not settle for anything less! Lol! For the price, it is perfect for little hands and a good buy for kids who aren’t yet old enough for real guitar lessons.

KIDKRAFT LINK

Smart X Choices

Not a bad option for ages 5 and up. A great choice and also comes with a bag and extra strings as a an option for a set. This would work well for the beginning child lesson.

SMART X CHOICES LINK

Master Play- Left Handed

This one is amazing because it comes for LEFT HANDED kid players! how great and unique is that. We have switched over many strings for lefty kids and now they have an affordable guitar that’s just their size. How perfect!

MASTER PLAY LINK

Pyle

On the higher end of price, this also comes as a great set with strings, a bag and a strap. Although, it has trouble staying in tune if you work with the strings, or replace them, it will warm up. This is a decent inexpensive guitar for kids under age 10.

PYLE LINK

Loog

This is a very special guitar and actually quite amazing for kids under age 5. It gives kids age 3 and up, a chance to really learn how to play, as it only has three strings. It’s a real wood guitar with perfect intonation, low string action and classical nylon strings. It even includes flashcards with chord diagrams and full access to the Loog Guitar app (iOS and Android)

This is a great starter guitar for preschoolers who aren’t taking lessons yet but who have the ability and interest in learning more about really playing the guitar. Also comes electric.

LOOG LINK

The post The Best Acoustic Guitars for Kids appeared first on Little Rockers.

This is for all those cool adults who want to encourage music education in your preschooler. At Little Rockers, we specialize in using music to help preschoolers in their development. Most of our classes are 60 minutes long and incorporate instrument play, preschool music theory, movement, games and many other fun tricks of our trade.

One of the main things we use to reinforce learning are handouts. 

And we thought– why keep them to ourselves??

We should share!! So here are some of our wonderful ideas. We hope you use them to stimulate musical learning in your little rocker!

In this blog, you’ll find ideas, handouts, crafts and printables that we use in our classes for teachers and parents to use at home and in class.

Some are for younger children- ages 2-4 and the handouts labeled for ages 4-6 years are slightly more challenging and focus on some National Standards of Music Education for Pre-K and Kindergarten.

Enjoy!

The post Lessons for Little Rockers appeared first on Little Rockers.

Guitars are the heart of Little Rockers. It’s our first tool to win over the kids and influence people- lol.

We focus an entire session on the guitar and here are examples of lessons to introduce your guitar addict to some more concepts.

The first handout is simple but pure. We call it “G is for Guitar” and we hope you get a lot of use out of it.

Click the link below to open the image, then you can save it as a PDF or just print it right from your bowser. Good Luck!

Click here for printable version

The post G is for Guitar appeared first on Little Rockers.

How we use our handouts

Little Rockers uses guitars in almost every class- giving children a hands on experience to musical learning. This handout is one of the first things we work on. Our printable handout allows kids to recognize the different aspects of an acoustic guitar and have a reference for later when they are home with their own guitars. Many of the kids have their own sort of guitar or stringed instrument like a ukulele and they typically play with them at home, exploring and being more outgoing with it then they might be at music class. We like to give a simple introduction to music that is age appropriate but also help the children learn through play.

Handouts and printables are a wonderful way to reinforce learning and to help those of us who might be visual learners. As far as using them in our classes, it also helps to redirect some of the energy that might be super active.

Print it out and color!

At Little Rockers, we like to compare the guitar to our body and point out the parts that are similar. Hey, we have a head and so does the guitar! And a body and a neck and a belly button!! That’s what we call the sound hole at Little Rockers!

We like to tease and say ” Does the guitar have legs?” No… “Does it have arms?” No…. “Does it have a mouth?” No…. But it does also have a bridge- which is like a bridge we drive or walk across and it also has a back which we can tap on in a musical way.

We like to take the time to explore the guitar with the kids in a fun and interactive way. Make it fun and engaging.

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE PDF VERSION

The post The Parts of the Guitar appeared first on Little Rockers.

More Guitar! We all know what it looks like, right? But can you locate them all with our find the guitars handout?

Identifying and recognizing are important developmental skills for kids to work on. Our find the guitars handout helps them work on this skill in a musical way which we love to incorporate in our curriculum. This is one of the many skills we work on in our Little Rockers Music classes (in person and on our app). Most of our activities in our classes are hands on, where we play instruments, sing or do imaginative play. However, within our classes we like to reinforce what we are learning with a handout, craft or other creative learning tool. We feel this is a great way to have the kids show what they learned in class, but also have something to take home to remind them of what they learned that day.

This handout shows us a variety of instruments but we are asking the children to circle (or color) the pictures of the guitars ONLY.

Variations can be made and you can have them color the guitars one color and all the other instruments another color. Or quiz them and see if they can point out the other instruments. “Where is the microphone?” or “I see a drum, can you find it?”

It’s like “I spy” but only guitars! A budding musicians dream game 🙂

Break out the crayons and get started. Just click the link below to open the image, then you can save it as a PDF or just print it right from your bowser. Good Luck!

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE VERSION

The post Find the Guitars Handout appeared first on Little Rockers.

This handout helps us learn the concept of sounds that have a steady, rhythmic beat compared to sounds that do not.

If you can find recordings of any of these sounds, that makes it such a full part of the experience. Or you can imitate the sounds with your voice and have your child make the sound with you.

What does a clock sound like? What does a frog say?

Does it have a steady, consistent sound- like a clock or heartbeat-

Then it has a beat!

Is it frantic and inconsistent?

Then it does not have a beat!

Watch our Little Rockers Daily Music Class Episode where we play the BEAT VS. NO BEAT Listening game YouTube.com/2littlerockers

Click here to download the PDF handout

The post Beat or No Beat? (4-6 yrs.) appeared first on Little Rockers.