Kids Learn to Play the Ukulele at Over the Moon Music
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Nothing pleases Jackie Freimor more, as a lifelong guitar player, than when her young Music Together students gather around the guitar to strum it at the end of class. That's also when their parents tell her how much their children love the instrument and would love to learn how to play it. Because her students are younger than 5 years, Jackie--director of Over the Moon Music and More in Scarsdale--has often found herself recommending to the parents that they buy ukuleles for them to start them off. Not only are ukuleles small and uniquely suited to the size of children's hands, but they are also inexpensive and easy to play.
As a result of this advice, a number of parents did indeed buy ukuleles, only to realize that they needed someone to teach their children--and themselves--how to play them. By popular demand, then, Jackie sat down this past summer to write a mommy-and-me ukulele program called Uke U. for children from 3 to 6 years of age. "My son loved playing with his ukulele at home," said Katie Saliba, "so I was thrilled to find a class where he could learn how to play the instrument that was targeted to his age group." Because the children are so young, each 45-minute class features about 15 minutes of formal instruction, punctuated by more informal activities such as dancing, playing percussion instruments, and coloring.
Uke U. made its debut at the Over the Moon Music storefront in Scarsdale this fall, and thus far, it's been a big hit with the parents as well as the children. "Ukulele class has given me a great way to enjoy music with my son," said Anne Lund. "He learns to play, and I do, too!" In fact, the classes--one for 3- and 4-year-olds and another for 5- and 6-year-olds--have been so well received, this winter Jackie is taking the program to her families in Chappaqua as well. According to Leah Kaplan, "My son enjoys ukulele class and likes to teach everyone at home what he learns. It's lots of fun!"
Each Uke U. class meets for 45 minutes once weekly for 8 weeks. Classes will begin the week of January 20, and registration will open on November 11. The tuition fee is $260 for the 8-week series and includes a ukulele for each parent and child and a workbook and tuner for each family. For more information and to register for class, visit www.overthemoonmusicandmore.com or call 914-722-2025.
This article was sponsored by Over the Moon Music and More, 78 Garth Road, Scarsdale, 914-722-2025, www.overthemoonmusicandmore.com.
Summer Reading Program At Scarsdale Library Reaps Rewards for Kids
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Scarsdale kids like to read. In fact, more children were reading more books this past summer in the Scarsdale Library's Summer Reading Program than in 2012, which was an impressive year. The Summer Reading Game encourages children from infants through 4th grade to read or be read to during the summer months.
From late June to late August, 317 children participated in the program. They read a total of 6,899 books, just shy of 22 per child. In 2012, 267 children read 4,799 books, or about 18 per child.
In addition, the library's Children's Department reported that in July and August 1,546 patrons attended 26 programs organized by the library. The most attended were the four sessions of Drop-in-Crafts, which had 227 participants. The single most popular program was Animal Antics' from Green Meadow Farm with 178 attendees, followed closely by the Caps for Sale puppet show with 150 wide-eyed children and adults. The programs included science, music, art, architecture and chess.
"We did it all this summer," said Karen Zielinski, Children's Services Manager. "The participation, energy and enthusiasm of the children, and their parents, were terrific. It has to rank as our most successful summer ever."
Popular books in the Summer Reading program were Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as the Heroes of Olympus series. Also, as in past summers, Harry Potter was in high demand, along with Cupcake Diaries by Coco Simon, Rainbow Magic Fairies by Daisy Meadows, and Wonder by Patricia Polacco.
The library employs Reading Game Listeners who encourage participants to keep reading. "The children are quite proud of what they are doing and they like to come in to talk to the librarians and listeners about the books they are reading," Zielinski said. "Many of the children set goals for the summer and we also see some competition in families among siblings to see who can read the most books."
Children receive rewards based on the number of books read or listened to. After two books, the participating children receive a sticker, after five books they can dig into the "Treasure Chest" for a fun prize and after 20 books they receive a free book to keep. To encourage the children to come to the library, each receives a raffle ticket every time for a drawing for a $5 certificate at Haagen Daz, donated by Steve Mandani the owner of the local store. In addition, two book baskets were raffled off containing, books, crafts, and games.
Kids Learn Life-Saving Lessons at Fire Safety Day
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Jeff Koslowsky, Captain of Scarsdale Volunteer Fire Company 3 and Volunteer Lieutenant Charlie Swift were just two of the many volunteer and career firefighters who visited Scarsdale elementary schools on Friday October 18 to educate children about fire safety. As they have over years past, the local Scarsdale Volunteer Firefighters, spent the day visiting our local Elementary Schools first grade classes to teach the ABCs of fire safety. Over 375 children participated in the program. This years' theme was preventing kitchen fires. Children got to interact with the firefighters, watch Sparky TV videos, check out one of the town's Fire Engines, and bring home their fire safety checklist to share with their family at home.
See these photos of the events at Heathcote and Quaker Ridge elementary schools taken by Jon Thaler, and view more of his photos at www.jonthaler.com.
At Edgewood School Scarsdale firefighters Lou Mancini, Jeff Goodwin, Mark Bezos, Michael Apcar, James Marinello and Jeremy Stemple visited first graders and taught them about fire safety. Here are some of the key facts they shared about fire safety:
- If the fire alarm goes off in the house, the children were told to move away from the area of the alarm and find an adult.
- If there is actually a fire, the children learned that they need to get out of the house as quickly as possible.
- Each family should determine a meeting place outside the house where they can find each other and call 911 in the event of a fire.
After showing the first graders how to stop, drop, and roll, firefighters showed a video called "Sparky's Kitchen Rules" that outlined four rules for kitchen safety:
stay at least three feet from the stove;
- Do not use a microwave unless a grown up gives you permission;
- Open containers with hot food slowly and keep them away from your face
- If you do get a burn, put it under cool water and find an adult right away.
After the video, one of the firefighters crawled into the room in all of his gear and the children learned about the clothes worn by firefighters and the equipment they use. Finally, the children went outside and saw Engine 54, a pumper engine. They learned about the parts of the fire truck, including the jaws of life and the hoses. With the help of first-grade teacher, Mrs. Lamonaca, the firefighters sprayed water from the fire hose and the deck gun on top of the truck. The children asked many questions and seemed eager to attend the Fire Fair at the Crossway firehouse on October 19th.
(thank you to Edgewood correspondent Maura Lee and photographer Jon Thaler)
Halloween Fun in Scarsdale this Week
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Scarsdale is awhirl in Halloween activities this year. We already had a highly successful Halloween Window Painting Contest, the Zombie Asylum Haunted House at Supply Field is scaring residents both young and old, the Halloween Breakfast for High School Seniors is planned for Thursday morning 10-31 with the Halloween Parade for the younger set scheduled for Thursday at 3:30 pm in Scarsdale Village. ... all this before trick or treating even begins on Thursday night. This year, no snow and mild weather are forecast for the big night, so hopefully Halloween will be safe and fun for all.
Here are recommendations from the Scarsdale Police and AAA for a safe holiday:
Halloween is coming, and because trick‐or‐treaters often forget about safety, the Scarsdale Police Department and AAA are urging both parents and motorists to be even more alert on October 31st.
On Halloween, children are being placed in potentially dangerous traffic situations, and are more likely to be injured by a motor vehicle than any other night of the year, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While Halloween lands on a Thursday this year, many festivities often take place the weekend before, putting a large number of both youth and adult partygoers on the road at that time.
The Scarsdale Police Department and the AAA of New York offer the following tips to parents for their children on Halloween:
- Be bright at night; use reflective tape on costumes and treat bags, wear light colors and carry flashlights for extra visibility.
- Don't wear a costume that obstructs vision. Instead of masks, try non‐toxic face paint.
- Look all ways and listen for traffic before crossing, and review pedestrian safety rules
- before you leave the house.
- Cross at corners, not between parked cars or mid‐block.
- Use sidewalks where available. If there are no sidewalks, always walk facing traffic on the
- left side of the road.
- Younger children should always be accompanied by an adult or trustworthy teen. Older children should be given boundaries and should communicate with their parents along the way.
The AAA offers the following tips for motorists on Halloween:
- Avoid driving through residential areas where trick‐or‐treaters are likely to be present.
- Obey all traffic signals and travel with extreme caution through residential areas.
- Scan far ahead and watch attentively for children who may be excitedly running from
- house to house.
- Turn on your headlights, even in daylight, to make your vehicle more visible.
Before your kids go trick or treating on Halloween, snap a photo of them and send it to Scarsdale10583 at scarsdalecomments@gmail.com to share with your neighbors.
Civ Ed for all Freshmen - Why Not?
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Scarsdale High School Principal Ken Bonamo gave the first education report of the year at the October 7 Board of Education meeting and, based on his presentation, the high school is thriving. Teachers are making great use of the professional development programs available to broaden their horizons and deliver improved product for their students. Students are able to choose from an array of exciting and innovative course offerings, including multi-disciplinary courses and additional technology classes, and are also benefitting from low student-teacher ratios. The counseling system provides ample support to students, and the principal-to-student ration is in sync with other high performing school districts.
Mr. Bonamo pointed to average SAT scores as a measure of success, although one could make the argument that that this is as much a hallmark of Scarsdale parents' willingness to make a financial commitment to their children's success on the SAT as it is an indication of high school superiority. Similarly, the extremely high level of enrollment in 4-year colleges can be attributed to our population.
Regarding the Advanced Topics program, a topic no longer as controversial as it was during its conception and roll-out, Mr. Bonamo was convincing as to its superiority to the AP curriculum. Drawing on his experience as an AP History teacher, he was able to provide concrete examples of where students missed out when forced to adhere to a strict curriculum, rather than apply course concepts to relevant topics. As to the impact that not offering Advanced Placement classes has on Scarsdale High School's place in the popular U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek high school rankings, Mr. Bonamo downplayed their importance, and he explained just how easily those rankings can be manipulated.
The presentation was overwhelmingly positive, and left no doubt that our high school – Scarsdale's crown jewel, as it is so often called -is something to be proud of While the high school deserves its sterling reputation, is it possible that Mr. Bonamo missed an opportunity to point out weaknesses in the current program that could be easily rectified with increased funding? One example that comes to mind is the Civic Education program. Civ Ed, as it is commonly called, is offered to freshmen, and incorporates multidisciplinary English and History curriculum as well as community-building and counseling components. Currently, enrollment in the program is done by lottery, and not all who apply get it. Those who don't get a spot in the lottery, or who don't want to be in Civ Ed, are enrolled in Freshman Seminar, a less robust version of Civ Ed. Why is the school unable to accommodate all freshmen in Civ Ed who wish to be in it? If the issue is purely financial, this would have been an opportunity for Mr. Bonamo to ask for additional support.
Current or former high school parents - what other current programs would you like to see expanded or improved?
