Hello Students and Parents,

This month’s Book Recommendation …

Allegro: A Magical Journey Through 11 Musical Masterpieces is a book you may have seen around the studio. The book tells the story of a little boy named Allegro who is having a difficult time practicing piano on this particularly rainy afternoon (a lot like today!). But music has a magical power about it, and suddenly Allegro is transported into far off lands. With beautiful and engaging artwork, the author has masterfully shown how music can transport us to far away places and help us to feel emotions spanning the entire spectrum. As Allegro discovers new music, your child can too, by pressing the buttons on the side and hearing exactly what Allegro is hearing 😊 The author even goes so far as to put a Meet the Composers page in the beginning and a short history of each song at the end of the book. This is the perfect book to begin to introduce classical music to your children in an visually engaging way!

Adults – The Musical Child: Using the Power of Music to Raise Children Who Are Happy, Healthy, and Whole has been one of my most recent reads. Joan Koenig has an impressive resume, and prides herself in running schools in Paris where the children are fluent in 3 languages: English, French, and Music. Drawing from her extensive experience with her schools, her classical music training, and her studies in science, Koenig introduces the idea and joy of “musicking” with your child – and it has absolutely nothing to do with how musical you are yourself! Written in an easy to read and understand format, Koenig has also included sound bites and videos on her website to make the entire experience as comprehensive for you as a parent as possible 😊

Music is amazing, isn’t it? It has the power to engage our imaginations, our emotions, and even change the trajectory of our learning and our children’s development. Music can even drive us and provide an avenue for us to help others in times of need. Don’t forget that our Practice-A-Thon will begin November 1^st, and we are using the month of October to gain sponsors for the event! I’ve been so impressed with some of your sponsorship ideas. Several of you mentioned last week making videos to gain attention on Facebook pages … I love this!

Happy Reading,

~McKenzie