Mill Pond Music Academy

Here are a few things going on this month with Mill Pond Music Academy here in Historic Allentown, NJ!

You can sign up for all of our events at our Mill Pond Music Academy BOOTH at the FALL FESTIVAL this weekend, or email [email protected]

SUGAR PLUM MUSICIANS
Saturdays, October 16 & 23 11:15 am - 1:15 pm
Learn the story and music NOW so you can enjoy during the holidays by learning the music and story of the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky by participating in SUGAR PLUM MUSICIANS. Meet a real ballerina!

IT’S A WRAP
Saturdays, October 16 & 23 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Learn, perform, and record a Halloween Rap Video. Show all of your friends.

THE GRATEFUL PUMPKIN PICNIC
Saturday/Sunday, October 30/31 1:30 pm
A not-so-scary sugar-free hour where kids wear costumes, hear some stories, play some games, and watch a CHARLIE BROWN'S GREAT PUMPKIN. Free Popcorn. Prizes.

For fees and details, go to www.MillPondMusicAcademy.com

Two of our AMAZING teachers- Mr. Matt and Ms. Alaina are excited for a new year at Mill Pond! They still have room on their schedules if you’re interested in lessons- stop into the shop or give us a call to sign up! 🎼🎶🎵

Two of our AMAZING teachers- Mr. Matt and Ms. Alaina are excited for a new year at Mill Pond! They still have room on their schedules if you’re interested in lessons- stop into the shop or give us a call to sign up! 🎼🎶🎵

Some of our students enjoying the first week of lessons!!! 🥳🙌🏻🎵⁉️

DID YOU KNOW ⁉️❔Mill Pond Music Academy now has a SHOP! We have a variety of music books to offer for your student - ask your teacher which book is best for you! 🥳

Stop in to the shop or give us a call to sign up! 🎶🎼🎵🎹

Stop in to the shop or give us a call to sign up! 🎶🎼🎵🎹

Welcome students and families! Today is the kick off of our fall lessons! Come check our our brand new spot at the Shops by the Old Mill- we even have a brand new gift shop which offers music books, instrument accessories, and so much more!

Welcome students and families! Today is the kick off of our fall lessons! Come check our our brand new spot at the Shops by the Old Mill- we even have a brand new gift shop which offers music books, instrument accessories, and so much more!

Mill Pond Music Academy updated their website address.

Mill Pond Music Academy updated their website address.

Pete the Ogre would love to see you on FAERIE DAY. IT’S TODAY!!
Etch a picture or wish on a leaf and hang it on our MAGICAL WISHING TREE this afternoon.
Shadow Box Fairy Story at 2:00 pm.
Steve Rodgers FAERIE HOUSES FOR SALE all day.
3:45 PM Sing Along with Pete the Ogre and original songs by Steve Rodgers
All at MILL POND MUSIC ACADEMY in the SHOPS BY THE MILL. We’re in the red barn.

Mill Pond Music Academy updated their address.

Mill Pond Music Academy updated their address.

Come once or every week.
It's FREE!

Come once or every week.
It's FREE!

MillPondMusicAcademy.com is happy to announce their
Summer Registration for ANIMAL ADVENTURES IN MUSIC for ages 2-6!

Come and hear about program
meet Mr. Pete
See the materials
Learn about TABLE TIME, RUG TIME, STAGE TIME
Learn about pricing
Get on the calendar!

Two Opportunities for you
at our new location in the Shops by the Mill in Allentown, NJ

Friday, June 11, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Saturday, June 12 10:00 am - noon

Call if you have any questions: 609-903-6560

Can't make it to our Registration? No problem. You can register online at
https://www.millpondarts.com/private-lessons-register.html

MillPondMusicAcademy.com is happy to announce their
Summer Registration for ANIMAL ADVENTURES IN MUSIC for ages 2-6!

Come and hear about program
meet Mr. Pete
See the materials
Learn about TABLE TIME, RUG TIME, STAGE TIME
Learn about pricing
Get on the calendar!

Two Opportunities for you
at our new location in the Shops by the Mill in Allentown, NJ

Friday, June 11, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Saturday, June 12 10:00 am - noon

Call if you have any questions: 609-903-6560

Can't make it to our Registration? No problem. You can register online at
https://www.millpondarts.com/private-lessons-register.html

As we approach the end of a very long school year,
we at Mill Pond Music Academy are preparing for our virtual recital, plus a move to the Shops by the Mill. In addition, it's time for us to register for summer lessons.

SUMMER is a great time to START music lessons,
but it's also a time when our existing students can slide backwards a bit if they don't revisit the piano throughout the summer. We are all for taking breaks! So we've had great success with our SUMMER SPECIAL (8 lessons for the price of 7-$245) which can be scheduled anytime throughout the summer for ages 3-103.

We offer lessons
~IN YOUR HOME with our RIGHT AT HOME program
~FACE TO FACE in our new studio by the Mill
~VIRTUALLY
~ASYNCHRONOUS (unlimited video lessons with 1 live check-in lesson per week
Prices range from $25 - $35
Register at www.millpondmusicacademy.com

As we approach the end of a very long school year,
we at Mill Pond Music Academy are preparing for our virtual recital, plus a move to the Shops by the Mill. In addition, it's time for us to register for summer lessons.

SUMMER is a great time to START music lessons,
but it's also a time when our existing students can slide backwards a bit if they don't revisit the piano throughout the summer. We are all for taking breaks! So we've had great success with our SUMMER SPECIAL (8 lessons for the price of 7-$245) which can be scheduled anytime throughout the summer for ages 3-103.

We offer lessons
~IN YOUR HOME with our RIGHT AT HOME program
~FACE TO FACE in our new studio by the Mill
~VIRTUALLY
~ASYNCHRONOUS (unlimited video lessons with 1 live check-in lesson per week
Prices range from $25 - $35
Register at www.millpondmusicacademy.com

MILL POND MUSIC ACADEMY is happy to announce our face to face SUMMER CAMPS for kids, tweens and teens at our new location in the SHOPS BY THE MILL in Allentown, NJ.

Please note the EARLY BIRD RATE for the JOUST! camp ends on MAY 15...THAT'S TOMORROW!
PLUS
Week #1 of Classy Kids Pirate Camp is now CLOSED but Week #2 still has openings.

Go to www.millpondmusicacademy.com to register
or call Mr. Peter Meerwarth at
609-903-6560

Socially Distanced Summer Camps are HERE!!!
Theater Bootcamp: JOUST the musical, K-2 Pirate Camp, Big Life Camps, and our popular Summer Lesson Special... check out the details below or
go to www.millpondmusicacademy.com to register.

How and why do we start piano at age 3 at Mill Pond Music Academy?
Www.millpondmusicacademy.com

Let’s talk about the WunderKeys Preschool characters and why we use them instead of finger numbers! #wunderkeyspedagogy

In our WunderKeys Piano for Preschoolers books (1, 2, and 3) your students are introduced to a loveable bunch of animal friends: Thumbelina, Pointer Panda, Middleton Mouse, Ringo Raccoon, and Pinky Pig.

These characters appear in the story-based portions of the books, BUT they also represent a finger on your student’s hand.

Why don’t we just use finger numbers?

WunderKeys preschool books were designed to be a resource that was *truly* created for preschoolers (not a simplified version of a primer). We did this because the brain of a preschooler is very different than that of a child who is age 6+.

Between the ages of 3-5, numeracy is a skill that is still developing. There are 4 different stages of numeracy development: emergent, perceptual, figurative, counting on and facile

Most preschoolers are in the emergent phase of numeracy development. This means that skills that their older peers have developed (counting, number words, one-to-one correspondence, understanding numerical sequences, etc.) are not yet solidified.

Because of this, asking a preschool-age child to label their pointer finger “2” when they a) haven’t learned to connect the word “two” to the symbol “2” and b) haven’t learned the concept of “counting on” is a request that is beyond their capabilities.

Add to that, “Place your 2 finger on a group of 2 black keys and hold the key for 2 beats”… and you’ve lost them! There are simply too many different skills being asked of them that they haven't yet developed.

Can some preschoolers do this? Absolutely. But are they simply mimicking and coping? Usually. We wanted to develop a solid grounding based on *true* understanding in an age-appropriate way.

WunderKeys helps your preschoolers to develop numeracy skills (we include number recognition activities, counting activities, one-to-one correspondence practice, number tracing, and patterning in the books) but while these skills are developing, preschoolers are still able to reap the brain benefits that are so valuable during these early years.

Enter the Wunderbies!

These characters give your preschoolers the ability to begin to learn to see their fingers as independent entities and to build coordination and strength by using them independently, they capture their imagination, they enable preschoolers to begin to read early musical notation, and they inspire an atmosphere of “play” at the piano.

Preschoolers develop the ability to connect symbol to sound using images of these characters and the corresponding fingers. The fingers are named in a way that makes it easy for your students to remember each one. Cute finger puppets or printable finger rings are available to further this connection in early lessons.

As your preschoolers develop numeracy skills throughout the program (and naturally at home), they then begin to understand groups of 2 and 3 black keys on the piano, then rhythmic values… and then… finger numbers are used once they graduate preschool and move into Primer 1, having already built strong keyboard and rhythmic awareness.

By this time, their coordination, finger strength, understanding of numbers, ability to count on, one-to-one correspondence, sound-to-symbol connection, and patterning recognition are ready for finger numbers.

Why not just wait?

Previously, many teachers would suggest students wait to begin piano lessons until they were age 7 (and when numeracy skills were such that finger numbers were understood). However, growing research suggests that the most brain benefits gleaned from piano instruction are experienced before the age of 6 or 7.

“When comparing a motor skill between the two groups, musicians who began before age seven showed more accurate timing, even after two days of practice. When comparing brain structure, musicians who started early showed enhanced white matter in the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibres that connects the left and right motor regions of the brain. Importantly, the researchers found that the younger a musician started, the greater the connectivity.

Interestingly, the brain scans showed no difference between the non-musicians and the musicians who began their training later in life; this suggests that the brain developments under consideration happen early or not at all. Because the study tested musicians on a non-musical motor skill task, it also suggests that the benefits of early music training extend beyond the ability to play an instrument.

"This study is significant in showing that training is more effective at early ages because certain aspects of brain anatomy are more sensitive to changes at those time points," says co-author, Dr. Zatorre, who is also the co-director of the International Laboratory for Brain Music and Sound Research.” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130212112017.htm

Starting early allows students to take advantage of this “brain-building time” AND provides a joy-filled start to the piano where students gain skills that assist them greatly as they begin Kindergarten. And... the Wunderbies allow all of this to happen in an age-appropriate, skill-building way!

How and why do we start piano at age 3 at Mill Pond Music Academy?
Www.millpondmusicacademy.com

Let’s talk about the WunderKeys Preschool characters and why we use them instead of finger numbers! #wunderkeyspedagogy

In our WunderKeys Piano for Preschoolers books (1, 2, and 3) your students are introduced to a loveable bunch of animal friends: Thumbelina, Pointer Panda, Middleton Mouse, Ringo Raccoon, and Pinky Pig.

These characters appear in the story-based portions of the books, BUT they also represent a finger on your student’s hand.

Why don’t we just use finger numbers?

WunderKeys preschool books were designed to be a resource that was *truly* created for preschoolers (not a simplified version of a primer). We did this because the brain of a preschooler is very different than that of a child who is age 6+.

Between the ages of 3-5, numeracy is a skill that is still developing. There are 4 different stages of numeracy development: emergent, perceptual, figurative, counting on and facile

Most preschoolers are in the emergent phase of numeracy development. This means that skills that their older peers have developed (counting, number words, one-to-one correspondence, understanding numerical sequences, etc.) are not yet solidified.

Because of this, asking a preschool-age child to label their pointer finger “2” when they a) haven’t learned to connect the word “two” to the symbol “2” and b) haven’t learned the concept of “counting on” is a request that is beyond their capabilities.

Add to that, “Place your 2 finger on a group of 2 black keys and hold the key for 2 beats”… and you’ve lost them! There are simply too many different skills being asked of them that they haven't yet developed.

Can some preschoolers do this? Absolutely. But are they simply mimicking and coping? Usually. We wanted to develop a solid grounding based on *true* understanding in an age-appropriate way.

WunderKeys helps your preschoolers to develop numeracy skills (we include number recognition activities, counting activities, one-to-one correspondence practice, number tracing, and patterning in the books) but while these skills are developing, preschoolers are still able to reap the brain benefits that are so valuable during these early years.

Enter the Wunderbies!

These characters give your preschoolers the ability to begin to learn to see their fingers as independent entities and to build coordination and strength by using them independently, they capture their imagination, they enable preschoolers to begin to read early musical notation, and they inspire an atmosphere of “play” at the piano.

Preschoolers develop the ability to connect symbol to sound using images of these characters and the corresponding fingers. The fingers are named in a way that makes it easy for your students to remember each one. Cute finger puppets or printable finger rings are available to further this connection in early lessons.

As your preschoolers develop numeracy skills throughout the program (and naturally at home), they then begin to understand groups of 2 and 3 black keys on the piano, then rhythmic values… and then… finger numbers are used once they graduate preschool and move into Primer 1, having already built strong keyboard and rhythmic awareness.

By this time, their coordination, finger strength, understanding of numbers, ability to count on, one-to-one correspondence, sound-to-symbol connection, and patterning recognition are ready for finger numbers.

Why not just wait?

Previously, many teachers would suggest students wait to begin piano lessons until they were age 7 (and when numeracy skills were such that finger numbers were understood). However, growing research suggests that the most brain benefits gleaned from piano instruction are experienced before the age of 6 or 7.

“When comparing a motor skill between the two groups, musicians who began before age seven showed more accurate timing, even after two days of practice. When comparing brain structure, musicians who started early showed enhanced white matter in the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibres that connects the left and right motor regions of the brain. Importantly, the researchers found that the younger a musician started, the greater the connectivity.

Interestingly, the brain scans showed no difference between the non-musicians and the musicians who began their training later in life; this suggests that the brain developments under consideration happen early or not at all. Because the study tested musicians on a non-musical motor skill task, it also suggests that the benefits of early music training extend beyond the ability to play an instrument.

"This study is significant in showing that training is more effective at early ages because certain aspects of brain anatomy are more sensitive to changes at those time points," says co-author, Dr. Zatorre, who is also the co-director of the International Laboratory for Brain Music and Sound Research.” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130212112017.htm

Starting early allows students to take advantage of this “brain-building time” AND provides a joy-filled start to the piano where students gain skills that assist them greatly as they begin Kindergarten. And... the Wunderbies allow all of this to happen in an age-appropriate, skill-building way!