July 26, 2007
Twelve Days of Piano Christmas Gifts for Kids
Christmas is a great time of year to give your child taking piano lessons musical gifts and encourage them to reach their musical goals. Below are Twelve Days of Christmas Gifts for Piano Students.
1. Books - Stories about the piano journey are a great way for your child to explore important concepts children need to achieve success such as how to set goals, how to overcome worries and fears about performing, how to be persistent in their learning, and how to take responsibility for their success.
2. CD’s - Listening to music is important for developing a musical ear. A Piano CD would make a great gift for students. Then leave it in your car so you can play it on the way to school, or on your way to piano lessons.
3. A Piano Bag - A piano bag makes a nice gift that will make your piano student feel special and also keep them organized and ready on piano lesson day. This way they can keep all their books in their piano bag and always have the music they will need at their lessons.
4. Games - Musical games make a terrific Christmas gift for children. Find games that the whole family can play together. This is a great way to support your child in piano lessons.
5. Piano Practice Pals - These are cute little stuffed animals students can put on their piano at home to keep them company while they are practicing. Give your child a new practice pal each time they achieve a new musical goal.
6. Piano Journal & Memory Books - These are a wonderful way to help your child in piano lessons celebrate their musical journey. They can include photographs of holiday recitals and other events as well as a place for students to keep a record of their goals and progress.
7. Metronome - a Metronome is a great little gadget that goes tic-toc, tic-toc, kind of like a clock, but it can be set to different tempos. Students use these to learn to follow a stead beat. They are also great for helping student develop sight-reading skills. Using a metronome helps them learn how to look ahead in the music and anticipate playing the next note.
8. Piano Sheet Music - Piano sheet music is a great gift for new piano students. Be sure you get music that is appropriate for your child’s age and experience.
9. Mp3s - Download mp3s and save them to a CD for your young child in piano lessons to listen. You can even find them for free.
10. Piano Club for Kids Membership - Enroll your child in a piano club for kids. This a great way for your child taking piano lessons to feel supported and have more fun with music. Enrollment comes with special gifts including many that I have already mentioned including books, games, stories, piano lessons, piano bag gift sets, free sheet music you can download, and free mp3s.
11. Give your child a subscription to a Piano Magazine, or E-zine that will automatically come to them every month - Monthly Internet E-zines come with articles about piano lessons written for kids, plus come complete with midi files of classical music, and sheet music that is safe to download. Today’s kids are part of the computer age and need to know how to use technology to advance their education. This is a great way to give kids a head start with technology as well as supporting their music education.
12. Award Certificates - Music award certificates don’t always need to come from their piano teacher. Parents can also give their children family music certificates. Give your child a personalized Music Award Certificate from you for practice points you award them each week for example. Let them turn in their certificates for a special treat such as a new Practice Pal, or Musical Story Book.
For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.
These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com
You know exactly what you’re getting in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: another goofball, slapstick comedy of chaos and catastrophe with Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and family. This time, there’s no traveling involved: Clark and Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) prepare for a nice Christmas with the kids (played by none other than Juliette Lewis and Roseanne star Johnny Galecki), when their home is invaded by backwoods cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his brood, along with assorted other crazy and/or stuffy relatives. Complications, of course, are inevitable. The film is preceded by National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985) and followed by National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation (1997). Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, who went on to do Benny & Joon and the Sharon Stone remake of Diabolique. –Jim Emerson
