by Kathryn Brunner, Founder of Musik at Home, LLC
Welcome to Family Music for Mixed Ages: Meet Your Classmates!
In the summer of 2017, I filmed 15 new Musik at Home classes. Six of these classes are part of our new series, Family Music for Mixed Ages.
As a stay at home mom, I spent every moment of margin I had during my summer months planning the content for each class. I wrote new lyrics where they were needed. I connected with friends who would be willing to participate in a video. I worked with a professional videographer to get the job done well.
Behind the scenes, I did my own wardrobe styling to pick out 18 different outfits for the classes, intro videos and promotional videos. I created a color scheme for what our students and parents should wear.
It is my mission to make Musik at Home classes into a work of art from start to finish. While I don't consider our classes to be visual entertainment, I want them to be as visually pleasing and enjoyable as possible.
Most importantly, I made sure our Musik at Home students would get to pick out an entire pack of stickers, and a lollipop or a popsicle when the filming was complete. :-)
The students and parents in these videos are every day moms, dads and children with one thing in common. We all want MORE music in our children's lives. We all believe in the power of music education for child development.
We believe music is a fundamental part of boosting a child to reach his full developmental potential both now and into the future.
The developmental benefits include musicality, intellect, language skills, creativity, math skills, literacy, emotional development and so much more.
Family Music for Mixed Ages includes:
- Six 18-22 minute classes designed to be repeated 4-8 times or more.
- 94 activities for structured musical play including songs, poetry, movement and rhythm activities
- Songs in major and minor tonalities
- Songs in duple and triple meter (just a fancy way musicians talk about counting rhythm)
- Tonal and rhythm pattern echoes
- Patterns are the foundation of every song. Singing and chanting them builds your child’s repertoire of the building blocks of music -- and fuels the pathways in the brain for composing and tuneful singing.
- Simple instrument playing - Rhythm sticks, shakers, scarves, jingles, bean bags and grooved rhythm sticks.
- Imaginative movement exploration
- Creative dancing, playing with scarves, playing singing games.
To see what this class series is all about, check out this short preview video:
Who's Who in Family Music for Mixed Ages?
Grab your behind the scenes look into the lives of your classmates and their parents below.
Class 1 - Nimble & Quick - Clocks & Candles
My name is Kathryn. Along with being the instructor here at Musik at Home, I'm a stay at home, work at home mom. Stanton is my husband -- you'll see him in the first class of this series. We treasure our days with our girls, Kiara and Geneva. Both of our girls have severe nut allergies. I spend a lot of time navigating that challenge to keep them alive and well (and eczema free!). I am getting all prepped to begin homeschooling my girls this coming school year. As an educator at heart, I am super excited about it! To be honest, juggling life as a mom is hard on most days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything the world. When I'm not reading books to my girls or in the car running them around town, I run Musik at Home and operate a piano studio in Northern Virginia. In my spare time (What spare time? Maybe I'll have some again someday?), I enjoy composing music at the piano, knitting, baking with my daughters, essential oils, all things natural, and going on walks with my family.
I’m Stanton. I am married to my beautiful wife, Kathryn, the founder of this whole thing here at Musik at Home. I enjoy getting to see Kathryn’s energy, passion and joy for helping children have access to music education at home. Our girls bring us much joy and plenty of personal growth opportunities. When I get home from work, I am usually on bath and bedtime duty while Kathryn dives into making this website run smoothly for everyone who enjoys Musik at Home classes. I grew up fencing, fenced through college (Go Irish!) and hope to help my girls grow to love fencing as well. When I’m not working or caring for the kids, I enjoy home projects, reading great books, and date nights.
Geneva is 2 years old. She loves jumping, bouncing, singing and running around in all directions. At home, you might find her in a different princess dress every 15 minutes. She enjoys reading books out loud with mommy and daddy, making up her own stories while turning the pages of a book, playing dolls with her sister and painting. Her favorite food is "Mac N Cheese." Geneva's first preschool teacher said she is “most likely to be on Broadway.”
Kiara is 5 years old. She is a little songbird. She enjoys making up her own songs, making up new words to familiar melodies, and exploring sounds on the piano. She has her heart set on learning how to play the violin someday. Her favorite food is spaghetti, her favorite activities are crafts of any kind and she loves mommy-snuggles. She enjoys swimming so much that in the summer, you might think she’s a real mermaid...or dolphin. When she grows up, she wants to be a veterinarian.
Class 2 - Nimble & Quick - Bath Time & Bed Time
& Class 4 - Twist & Turn - Rhymes & Rhythms
My name is April. I love being a stay-at-home Mom of 3 girls ages 6, 4, and 2. With my oldest in Kindergarten, this is my first year homeschooling. I’m finding it very fulfilling and uplifting. I love to sew and to do all things crafty in my spare time. Most recently I spent time redecorating the youth room at our church where my husband is one of the pastors. I’m also not afraid to try new foods including my husband’s favorite Korean foods. I love spending time with friends and family.
Vivian is 4 years old. She loves snack time! :-) She also loves sitting in momma’s lap and having a pile of books read to her. We've always struggled with managing her persistent allergies, but her joy is still non-stop. She has tons of fun pretending with her stuffed animals and also pretending that she is an animal. She also loves being with her big sis! When she’s wearing a dress, she’ll be the one twirling in circles to watch her dress fly and wave in the wind.
Tessa is her mommy’s shadow! She likes to chat with her mommy and sisters in her little 2 year old extensive vocabulary about whatever is on her mind. She is very expressive and bright. She also loves caring for her baby doll and favorite panda bear. While she might be known to mess with toys her older sisters are playing with, her sweet hugs make up for it because they are the tightest and best hugs ever! Even though she’s the youngest of three girls, she is not afraid to show her independence.
Class 3 - Nimble & Quick - Flying & Floating
My name is Darrell. My wife and I have four kids ages 7, 6, 4, and 1. We are a homeschooling family. We love helping our children learn, grow and thrive. Judson and Eden, who you'll see in class 3, are our youngest. I work in technology and on the side, I enjoy doing some of the back end programming for mymusikathome.com. We are also grateful to be able to make Musik at Home a part of our kids’ homeschool education. We are active in our church where our three oldest sing in the children’s choir. For fun I enjoy family bike rides, making homemade ice cream, and playing a good game of Settlers of Catan.
Judson is 4 years old. He loves singing and pretending/trying to play guitar. He also enjoys his play time by taking practically everything apart (including any couch cushion he can find). Outside you will find him collecting sticks and getting into mud along with using his imagination to build things with whatever he can find. He will gravitate toward snacks and candy if it’s anywhere nearby. He is tender-hearted and tough all at the same time.
Eden is 1 year old. She has a very expressive personality, a beautiful smile, tons of energy, and mind of her own. She loves taking off her own shoes and exploring everything with her bare feet. She enjoys playing with baby dolls, dress up shoes, and styling purses with her outfits. One day she hopes to take piano lessons like her big sisters! She will sit at the piano and explore all sorts of sounds. She also gives great hugs!
Class 5 - Twist & Turn - Bouncing & Bounding
My name is Regan, and I am Grayson's mom. I also have a 2 year old daughter. Although the transition to motherhood was a challenge, I think the joy grows everyday with these kiddos, seeing them blossom and learn. I grew up playing the violin and singing and enjoy still doing that occasionally when time provides. We bake a lot in our home, love taking family walks, spending time with friends, and reading. Our most fun is at the family beach house with cousins. During the time of filming these classes, I had just announced that we would be expecting our third child. He was born in February 2018.
Grayson is 4 years old. He is our sweet, enthusiastic and inquisitive boy. Much of the time you can find him building and creating towers, train tracks, magna-tile garages for all of his cars and trucks, and playing construction in his rice bin. He loves to be outside riding his bike, playing on playgrounds and exploring nature. We love his sense of wonder and excitement about all things new. He loves his little sister and is excited to have a new baby brother at home!
Class 6 - Twist & Turn - Splashy Songs & Rainy-Day Rhymes
My name is Ali and I am a busy mom of four young kids (ages 7, 5, Chase - 4 and 2). I love my kiddos...and my weekly date nights with my amazing husband. My oldest son was just diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, so caring for him has become my full time job. However, I make sure I find time for ice hockey lessons (in order to keep up with my kids on the ice) and deep tissue massages (in order for my body to keep up with my kids). Our bedtime dance parties are also pretty epic.
Chase (who goes by the name of “Fire”) is a caring, outgoing and extremely strong 4 year old. He loves ice hockey, doing flips off the diving board and conquering any monkey bar that he comes across in life. He is determined to keep up with his two older brothers as well as protect his little sister. He also loves listening to music and dancing all hours of the day.
Here's a behind the scenes look at our filming day. This is class 3 with Darrell, Judson and Eden:
Our class series couldn't have been completed without our awesome camera crew! Katharine McKenny of Wildwood Space LLC (left below) directed the film shoot, Aaron Rosene (right below) manned one of the three cameras at all times, and we had a couple of very gifted teenagers who helped us with everything from lighting, to sound, to helping children and parents flow through the set from one class to the next.
If you haven't jumped into a class yet, click here to JOIN! Use promo code SAVEFIVE to get $5.00 off your membership. Code Expires 5/4/2018. If you don't love it, you can cancel your membership anytime.
