Fall Season Wholehearted Kids Chorus Registration Open Now!
September 23 – December 15, 2019
Registration is open to all kids, ages 6 – 16 for another season of joyful, empowered singing and playing in community.
This 12-week program directed by Lisa G. Littlebird, Theo Maehr & Pacia Platzek begins Monday, September 23rd and is designed to encourage a positive, loving and playful relationship between your child and their voice. In a world where the arts are becoming less valued in education and where singing expression is often characterized by showmanship more than self-expression, my aim is to contribute to their joyful and healthy self-concept through singing. The season includes 12 classes, 2 concerts and a practice CD.
The kids’ chorus meets Mondays, during the season, from 4:15 – 5:15pm at the American Legion Hall in Monterey, 1110 Veterans Dr. Please come at 4pm to the first session on the 23rd.
Season fees are $150 per child, or $110 per child when 2 or more siblings register in one family, or $100 per child if a parent also registers for the adult chorus. The fees include 2 tickets to both concerts.
Please contact Lisa if your family is in need of financial assistance – no child is ever turned away. There is a partial scholarship option upon request at a rate of $80 per child.
Parents! This season I am lining up childcare support during the adult classes so you can stay and sing! We will have talented support to offer your child guidance in homework or quiet art projects while the adult choir meets from 5:30-7pm. You pack a meal or snack for your child and we’ll do the rest.
Concert Dates:
Wholehearted Kids Concert – Friday, December 6, 6-7:30pm at the American Legion in Monterey
Wholehearted Concert (Kids + Adults) – Sunday, December 15, 3-5pm (1:30pm call time) at the Pacific Grove Performing Arts Center
Find out more, by contacting Lisa at lisa@thebirdsings.com.
Register Now:
A Note from Lisa – How You Can Support Your Child In This Program:
This program is designed to be absolutely inclusive of all experience and styles of self-expression. We only ask for your child’s respect for the group through appropriate listening skills and a basic willingness to participate without disruption to the group. If that becomes an issue I will speak to you about it and work in collaboration with you to make adjustments.
I ask for your child’s attendance and punctuality at most or all sessions to maximize their potential for inclusion and success in learning. Their learning will be supported by the use of practice CDs (included in your registration and provided in a few weeks.) I encourage you to play these with your child often in the car, in the mornings during breakfast or to create some other kind of regular routine so the songs become very familiar. If you don’t have a way to play CD’s, let me know and I can send you mp3 files.
I am diligent about offering feedback that is characterized by encouragement and supportive refinement for their growth. You can assist the development of a healthy relationship with their voice by encouraging their singing as often as possible and avoiding critical or comparative feedback. In the tender ages of youth, I have seen even one misconstrued judgment shut down an entire avenue of self-expression for a lifetime. A tip: rather than saying “You have a great voice” or “you sing better than _____”, I recommend sharing more personal encouragements, like: “I love listening to you sing”, “your singing is so inspiring to me” or “when you sing I feel _____.”
Before age 14 or so I do not make qualitative refinement a dominant intent of my work with kids. However if you notice your child is singing different words or tune than the CD and you feel they are able to make adjustments without taking offense or withdrawing, you might try asking questions or offering invitations, such as “can you tell me the words you are singing there and what they mean to you?” or “can I sing that part with you?”
Of course one of the best and most often overlooked supports is to cultivate and demonstrate your own positive relationship with your own voice. The more self-forgiving and willing you are to sing without self-judgment the more you will model that to your child in important ways.
I really look forward to getting to know your child ! If you’d like to further support our program, I will be ever grateful for your contributions toward our scholarship fund and you can help promote our concert ticket sales. Please don’t hesitate to share your constructive feedback any time. Your contributions will help us continue to refine our offering.
Thank you so much for introducing your child to the joys of music. May it be a wonderfully enriching and positive experience for all of us.
