Ms. Manda's Musicians 

Thursday, August 11, 2022 by Ms. Manda Freeman | Uncategorized

I am so excited to get to teach Let's Play Music this year! I officially have 6 students signed up and our parent orientation is this weekend! I had wanted to teach Let's Play Music last year but, being new to my community, I was unable to recruit enough students to have a class. After a lot of prayer, stress and tears, I decided that I needed to table Let's Play Music for 1 year. It was NOT an easy choice, but in hind sight, with the difficult pregnancy I experienced, I'm glad I only had my Sound Beginnings classes. Those I taught joyfully, and learned a lot about teaching and running a business from the sweet families who came to my studio!  

What a joy it was to see how much people enjoyed the Sound Beginnings classes I taught, and to see friendships blossom among the moms who participated in class! My biggest problem is not having enough morning classes to meet the demand! We'll see what I can do about that in the future. 

To all the families who participated in Sound Beginnings last year, thank you for coming to my fun music classes! I love singing and playing with your families! I'm looking forward to our new semester which starts next week! 

Saturday, July 9, 2022 by Ms. Manda Freeman | 2021-2022

The 2021-2022 school year saw me open my home studio in Prescott, AZ and begin teaching Sound Beginnings classes. My first semester was Brown Teddy Bears, and I had 2 classes. Most, if not all, of the people who signed up had met me on Facebook and came to my home for a free sample class, and enjoyed it enough to give me a try. 

During the 2nd Semester, which was Pink Piggies, and my classes doubled to 4! I couldn't believe it, and couldn't have done it without those parents who enjoyed Sound Beginnings enough to bring their friends! There were even some friendships among parents and children that would never have happened if not for the opportunity to meet in my home! What a joy it was for me to watch these little miracles of connection happen, as I taught these fun classes full of fun kids and their grown-ups! 

Sadly, I was unable to recruit enough kids to fill a Let's Play Music class in 2021, so I tabled that for later. It was a struggle to overcome that perceived failure, but I pushed on with the success of my Sound Beginnings classes being so well received! 

Then, in January, just after Pink Piggies began I found out that my pregnancy was going to be more complicated than I had prepared for! I decided to cut our semester short incase of an early delivery. The families participating in Sound Beginnings were so wonderful and supportive, and many of them brought meals or gifts to my family and me! 

Our baby, Ammon, was born healthy in May of 2022. 

Now that I have recovered from major surgery I am working on updating my studio and preparing for a successful 2nd year. To this end I have started this blog and built (with help) this website. I'm not much of a journaler, and have never been a blogger, but I think an occasional update with pictures will be a beautiful way to watch this experience develop in my life.