Transform your classroom into a happy community of higher achievers by cross-training the brain through singing folk songs and playing singing games!   Watch this video about an entire country dedicated to getting all children singing daily in their schools.   UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & COURSES  Hamline University - June 2010  Des Moines, IA Public Schools - Feb 15, 2010 Minnesota Music Educators Association - Feb 13, 2010   Hamline University, St. Paul, MN Educ 6253-53215 Target audience: Educators K–12 1 semester credit Cost: $266, includes fee for required materials Mon-Thurs, June 28-July 1, 2010 8:30 a.m.-12 noon  Singing and playing singing games enlivens children, cross-trains their brains for processing language and math, and dramatically raises achievement. Learn how to Affirm Parallel Concepts ™ among reading, math, and music. Join hundreds of teachers who are using the strategies within their current curricula.   For customized district workshops, contact: Ann Kay Center for Lifelong Music Making 952.937.1110 annckay@comcast.net

TEACHERS SAY:  ·         My kids…are still loving school and the singing is a big part of it.  Their fluency has gone up. ·         Lincoln was #1 in the increase in phonemic awareness from fall to winter…of ALL the Minneapolis schools.  Coincidence?   I think not!  I think singing!!!!! ·         One of the best things that happens with folk singing, dancing, and playing games is the development of a sense of teamwork among the students - a primary place for them to feel that they share a common culture in the classroom.  ·         When I applied singing…with my students it was as if a bomb of enthusiasm had struck the class (high school teacher). ·         Our English Language Learners have done well in district assessments and I contribute part of that to all the singing we do in our classrooms.  [The songs] became a language pattern for the many ESL students, and helped expand their vocabulary. ·         It appears that the most significant increase…for kindergartners has shown up in their rhyming scores: each year my children’s scores increased 5-5.6 points (avg) in the years before taking your course.  The year I followed your program, the scores increased 10 points (avg).  Then, last year, when I did not have time in the day to do your program because of Reading First, the average score was 5.8. ·         This has been the most helpful class that I have ever taken that has been offered during the school year (MPS teacher for hospital-bound children). ·         …in all the classes I have taken over my 26-year career, this class is the only class to which I have ever looked forward (HS foreign language teacher). ·         … I bet there is scientific research to prove that singing keeps you young.  I sure hope so because I can’t afford to retire until I’m 67!  At the very least, singing will continue to keep me excited and motivated to teach.