A Monday reflection from Owner/Director and Mompreneur Holly Lesnick:

I’m often asked how I can do so much or be so busy. How do I do it? How do I manage?

I usually just respond with “I’m not sure, it just works.”

But I’ve thought about it, and the truth to me is completely simple. First, let me explain for those that don’t know exactly what “so much” entails. I own Grow and Sing Studios. 13 years ago, after 2 years teaching Kindermusik for anther studio and as a music therapist on a break when my son was 6 weeks old, I created my studio which offered a very simple TWO Kindermusik classes per week total. I began this journey because I yearned for connections with other parents and through my first passion which is music it seemed like the obvious fit. I craved to be in a happy, smiley, positive place and so, I decided to create it for myself. At the time, my husband did wedding and event video – another happy, smiley, positive place as well. During the recession, his video business was affected, but somehow Grow and Sing Studios GREW. Not only grew, but won awards. Lots of awards. How is that? Through the years, I’ve added numerous locations and various classes, a wonderful staff, birthday parties, piano lessons, voice lessons… frankly the list is VERY long and could go on because not all things I tried, stuck. But, through it all, the goal was simple though I’m not sure I saw it yet. On the surface yes, it’s to earn more money and support my family. Of course that’s mission number one. It’s also to be the best I can be in my field. When I’m “in it” I’m trying to compete, be fierce, stay on the cutting edge of social media. It sometimes seems exhausting but my focus never wavers.

A few years ago we added our photo booth business. To some, this seemed REALLY random. To other’s their response was “here we go, Holly and Will are at it again”, but to the few who REALLY know me, it was, oh WOW this makes sense. Will missed his connections made when doing event video. He enjoys the excitement. I thrive on happy environments. What’s better to merge together than a photo booth business right? Each time I help Will with a photo booth job, one thing just screams out loud to me. Something that happens in every Kindermusik class, every birthday party, every staff meeting I lead, and every photo booth gig we do. LAUGHTER. Let me tell you, the LAUGHTER that spills out of that photo booth is contagious. It’s incredible. Seriously. If you are ever nearby a photo booth. Just go stand near it and listen. I PROMISE your day will become brighter.

On top of all of that, two and half years ago, I accepted a part time contract position with Kindermusik International as a Kindermusik University Coach. My task is to lead KU students through online business AND pedagogy courses, a 3 day face to face conference, and through a vigorous 1 month practicum to ultimately send them into their own journey of starting a Kindermusik Studio. I have students all across sthe U.S. and even some in Canada and beyond. It’s so rewarding helping others achieve their dream. While along the way there is a lot of fun, laughter and I get to work with some amazing Kindermusik professionals that are also part of the KU training team.

I feel like this is becoming a review of my resume. But ultimately, it’s just an explanation of how I do “so much”.

In the end, the most important job of all is being a mother to Anna and Aiden. What a journey parenting is. Oh the laughter. Oh the teenage angst.

Okay, so what do I thrive on, and keep adding to my life and career? LAUGHTER. SMILES. CONNECTIONS. I finally figured it out. It’s the constant guarantee in life full of variables. Is life an experiment? Well yes, we are always trying new things, testing the waters, figuring it out. But I’m starting to realize that if you can find your constant that makes you the happiest, you WILL succeed. And so, I finally figured it out. HAPPINESS is my dream. LAUGHTER is what I long for, and what I strive for each and every day.

May your week bring you much happiness, peace, success and many giggles.

Thanks for reading.

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and in September will celebrate 20 years of marriage with her husband Will. 

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I woke up this fine Tuesday morning, after a nice Labor Day weekend with my family thinking about all the emails and messages I need to reply to. I’m so excited that many parents are investigating a musical experience for their child and themselves. It’s great. However, in reading these emails I am noticing a lot of the following.

“My son loves music.”

“My daughter loves to sing.”

“My child is always dancing.”

or on the flipside:

“I want to try to see if my newborn likes it.”

“I’m not sure my toddler will like music.”

I am not surprised at all to hear that a child loves music and that they like to sing and dance. It’s play, and it’s a child’s work to play.

However, I am surprised to hear that parents of small children want to try music to see if their child likes it.

Who doesn’t like music?

That is the question I asked myself this morning.

Did you know a study by Nielsen Music in 2017 reported that the average American listens to music 32 hours a week? That’s on AVERAGE. That’s a LOT of hours. Music is all around us. It’s in the background in the movies and shows we watch. It’s on in the background while we are doing work. It’s playing in the car. It’s playing in the grocery store. It’s everywhere.

Why?

Honestly, as a music therapist, I could go on all day on the healing elements of music. But I’ll give you a little list today that might help explain WHY your child loves music. Why YOU love music. Why music is everywhere.

First, music can improve cognitive function. Music ignites all areas of the brain. It lights it up, helps those connections, well connect. When parents say their child loves music I always think “of course he does”, because his brain is excited and it’s connecting through music in a way no other thing on earth could ever do. Music is rhythm and almost every function of daily living requires some rhythm. Walking, talking, writing, typing, running, throwing, kicking. All of it.

Another reason we love music is that it relaxes us. It’s scientifically proven that music reduces stress. By listening to music, the nervous system calms and recovers quickly from the many stressors in life. This is why in our classes, we work on the learned skill of relaxation while listening to music. We are teaching children early on to help their body calm and recover.

Have you ever tried to memorize something, and it just wasn’t sticking? But then, when you put the information into a song, or a rhyme, voila, you remembered? That’s because music has been proven to improve memory. Could it have something to do with the fact that our hearts have beats so we have an innate NEED for music and rhythm in our bodies and brains? I think so.

Music is also a great tool for managing pain, boosting mood, reducing depression and improving sleep. Who doesn’t like that?

I’m excited to reply to these parents who are in tune with the fact their children love music. However, in the future, I would love to get messages that read something like this:

“I know that music is one of the most important aspects of life. I’m ready to learn the many ways music benefits my baby, and what I can do at home when we aren’t in class”.

To everyone out there, I assure you, your baby will love it. After 15 years of teaching Kindermusik, I haven’t met a baby yet that hasn’t liked music.

Happy singing!

Holly Lesnick is a Licensed Kindermusik Educator and Studio owner at Grow and Sing Studios, a Bachelor of Music Therapy, mom of 2 and in September will celebrate 20 years of marriage with her husband Will. 

There are so many healthy benefits of music. Here are 7 reasons that may inspire you. Let your child’s healthy music life begin at #Kindermusik. growandsing.com

 Hello new families and welcome! If you are brand new to Grow and Sing Studios and you haven’t previewed a class yet, then this coupon is for you! CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND CLAIM COUPON AND WE’LL SEE YOU SOON!

Music is such a beautiful language!! growandsing.com

 Are you a planner? We are too! Classes all the way from now through May 2019 are now posted on our website. View our schedule (which we are always adding to based on requests/need) at http://www.growandsing.com/schedule. Looking forward to seeing you in class!
Please note that Kindermusik Playdate classes and Group Guitar classes are still pending and will be posted soon.

Is this your week? The one where you decide to UNPLUG for 45 minutes to be present and IN THE MOMENT with your child? It will be the most meaningful moment in your week. We are waiting to hear from you – info@growandsing.com 407.970.2774. Happy Monday!
CONTACT US.

This week we’ll be weaving in lots of Irish music, dances, instrument plays and story times. If you are new, please come join us for a free preview class!

Welcome to Grow and Sing Studios. Celebrating 12 years of connections through the magic of music. Providing exciting, loving classes filled with possibilities, connections and lifetime memories.

What is Kindermusik?
Kindermusik is music-making with a purpose. Early introduction to music and movement impacts your child’s brain and body development in a way few other learning methods can. We should know. Kindermusik has been transforming the lives of children, parents, and teachers around the world since 1978. Science has shown that children of any age learn more when the learning is playful and fun. Kindermusik kids laugh, smile, stomp, play, kick, clap, jump, sing, and dance. But having fun is just the beginning. Steeped in educational theory, our program engages the potential found in every child. Through our dynamic classes and research-based curriculum, we excel at setting a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning. Our purpose is simple. We’re here to develop young minds and change the world. One child at a time. Let it begin with Kindermusik®.

A RESERVATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND A FREE PREVIEW CLASS. This is so we never overfill our classes, and so the educator for your chosen class knows you are coming and can plan accordingly! Please contact us by email info@growandsing.com or calling 407.970.2774 for further assistance by letting us know your child’s age, and location preference(s) fromwww.growandsing.com/locations. We look forward to meeting you.

WE LOVE KINDERMUSIK WEEK
February 12 – 18 , 2018
Enter to win a FREE SUMMER SESSION of KINDERMUSIK CLASSES!

Dear Families,

It’s time for Kindermusik International’s 7th annual  “We Love Kindermusik” week ALL around the world. Kindermusik is enjoyed by so many, in over 70 countries, and once again we can all share our experiences and love for this amazing program together.

“WE LOVE KINDERMUSIK” week is truly intended to be a week of happy reminders of why we all love Kindermusik and most importantly, of all the special people – educators, families, and children – who come together every week to change the world through music…. one child and one song at a time.

Read below for details on how to share the love, and enter to win a FREE SUMMER SESSION of KINDERMUSIK (or $110 credit towards ANY of our services)!

We hope you enjoy sharing the love, and good luck! — The Grow and Sing Team

WE LOVE KINDERMUSIK CONTEST DETAILS AND RULES!

Share the love, and enter into our “We Love Kindermusik” contest! There are many ways. The more you do, the more entries you will have. Maximum number of entries per adult (not per family, hint hint!) is 15. 

Ways to enter:

1. Color a “We Love Kindermusik” coloring sheet complete with WHY your family loves Kindermusik. If you are enrolled, you can turn the sheet in to your teacher, or anyone can scan the sheet and post to our facebook wall. Click here to print coloring sheet.  — 1 entry 

2. Comment on previous posts on our facebook page. Take a look at our albums of amazing pictures and posts. We want to thank those that take the time to thoughfully comment! 3 comments equals 1 entry. Max entries in this category is 5 (which is 15 comments!) — 1 entry per 3 comments 

3. “Like” our facebook page AND facebook community group if you haven’t done so yet, or have a friend like our page and join our group. Please do not UNlike and then like again as we can tell, and you won’t get credit! You are welcome to let us know the name of the friend(s) that have joined our facebook community so we can be sure to enter your name. In order to receive this entry, your friend MUST like our page (and we suggest  you all click on get notifications so you can see our posts!) and join our group.  One entry per verified friend, so you could get your max entries right here! :) — 1 entry per friend that likes our page!

4. Like our Instagram! We have a very active instagram as well and would love for you to join the fun! Like our instagram account plus comment on three photos. –3 entries

5. Check out our We Love Kindermusik week video on our You Tube Channel. It will be posted sometime during We Love Kindermusik week. In order to earn these entries, you must do the following: Like and comment on our video ON You Tube AND subscribe to our You Tube channel! If you do all of that, you will earn 3 entries! — 3 entries

6. Post on our facebook page wall WHY you love Kindermusik. One heartfelt testimonial per adult will be counted! –5 entries

7. MEGA BONUS entry – Post a video or photo to our facebook page of your child(ren) or family telling us or showing us why you love Kindermusik. You will automatically receive 4 entries in our main contest, PLUS the Grow and Sing Studios staff will be voting for their favorite VIDEO and that winner will automatically win a free summer semester. Creativity counts!  — 4 entries in general contest  PLUS a chance to win free semester when Grow and Sing studios staff vote for their favorite video! 

We will be keeping close track of entries, and submit your name accordingly. However, if you are striving to get the maximum number of entries, please be sure you let us know exactly how many and WHERE your entries are, so we can verify and get your amount right! Do not send us several emails to verify, just wait until you are done and then send us one complete emailing listing all the ways you entered (and how your name appears on facebook!). Thank you! The contest begins February 12th and will close at 11:59pm Sunday, February 18, 2018. Prize may be gifted to someone else if you are not able to use it and can be redeemed for ANY service offered by Grow and Sing Studios. Each prize value is $110 and can be used for any of our services throughout 2018. Maximum number of entries per adult (not per family so both mom and dad can participate!) is 15. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends are welcome to participate on your behalf as well! Winners for our general contest will be chosen by random draw with the exception of the bonus entry (video) contest which will be chosen by our staff. Winners will be announced sometime during the week of February 19th on our facebook page once we tally up all the votes, so be sure to like our page and select get notifications so you don’t miss the announcement of winners.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ODDS OF WINNING WILL DEPEND ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ENTRIES RECEIVED EXCEPT FOR STAFF VOTE MEGA BONUS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH KINDERMUSIK INTERNATIONAL, FACEBOOK OR ANY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLET.

GOOD LUCK!!!!