Feierabend First Steps in Music Certification

August 1 - 4, 2022

8:30 am - 4 pm

Swope Music Building Recital Hall

Slippery Rock University

Slippery Rock, PA

Created by Dr. John Feierabend, the First Steps in Music™ curriculum is designed so that all educators can build community through music by evoking enthusiastic participation of all students’ musical voices, minds, and abilities.

All people are born with the potential to become musical. With inappropriate or limited musical experiences in the early years, children consistently lose their intuitions for thinking tunes, feeling rhythms, and responding to expressiveness in music. The First Steps in Music curriculum will provide a bridge from research to practice and is designed to prepare children to become musical by being Tuneful, Beatful, and Artful.

TUNEFUL

Folk songs and rhymes from our rich cultural heritage as well as classical music are the primary source materials that are used.

BEATFUL

This research-based pedagogy contains all you need to lead a music class for preschool and early elementary students, including: Echo Songs, Call-and-Response Songs, Simple Songs, SongTales, Action Songs, Circle Games, Beat Motion Activities, Expressive Movement and more.

ARTFUL

Participants who successfully complete this course will receive an Official Certificate of Completion from the Feierabend Association for Music Education - FAME.FAM

REQUIRED TEXTS:

First Steps in Music for Preschool and Beyond: The Curriculum - Revised Edition

ISBN: 9781622775583

The Book of Movement Exploration

ISBN: 9781579992644

Both texts are available at giamusic.com

COST:  $400 for SRU Students

             $450 for Non-SRU Students 

            

There will be a 3% processing fee added to the total of your registration. 

 A non-refundable deposit of $50 is included in the registration fee.

WORKSHOP RULES

Please review the following rules that apply to the 2022 SRU Music Certification Workshop

1.The use or possession of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and/or illegal substances anywhere on University grounds or in its facilities, including the residence halls, is strictly prohibited.

2. Harassment of other participants or faculty is strictly prohibited, and includes, but is not limited to age, race, religion, gender, appearance, disability, or sexual orientation.

3. Weapons of any kind are not permitted anywhere on Slippery Rock University grounds or in its facilities.

4. Cell phones, while permitted, may not be used during classroom instruction, unless in case of emergency.

5. All faculty and participants must be treated with respect.

Participants will observe the Slippery Rock Universities policies regarding COVID-19

1. Participants will maintain 6-foot distancing at all times.

2. Participants will clean (materials provided) University-owned items after use.

3. Any additional provisions as directed by SRU administration, faculty or camp faculty.

Leslie Weaver has been a public-school music educator in the state of Pennsylvania since 2005. She began her career as a Class Instrumental Music Teacher in the School District of Philadelphia before accepting a position in the Hamburg Area School District in 2009. Leslie currently teaches K-5 General Music, 7th Grade General Music, 3rd Grade Recorder, 4th and 5th Grade Chorus, Elementary Autistic Support Adaptive Music, Elementary Life Skills Support Adaptive Music, and High School Life Skills Support Adaptive Music. She has implemented material and techniques from First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege in all of these courses.

Leslie graduated from Lebanon Valley College with a Bachelor of Science degree in music education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music performance in 2004. She then was introduced to First Steps in Music and Conversational Solfege in 2010 and 2011 respectively. While implementing both curricula into her elementary school music teaching, she earned a Master of Music degree in music education from Boston University in 2016. She reached her latest academic and professional career goals by becoming an Endorsed Teacher Trainer in First Steps in Music in the summer of 2017.

In addition to teaching elementary school, Leslie also teaches private woodwind lessons. She is a member of the Music Educators of Berks County, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, NAfME, and FAME. She enjoys reading, visiting the U.S. National Parks, rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles, and spending time with her husband and dog.

“The Feierabend approach to music education brings the heart of music-making to life in an organic and sensible way. Implementing the First Steps curriculum has returned the joy to my music classroom. I no longer bore my students with monotonous lectures in order to fill their heads with terms and facts. Now our lessons are filled with student-teacher engagement and consistent student participation. From the first day of Kindergarten music class, my students are singing, moving, and learning to keep a steady beat.”

Leslie Weaver
Allentown, PA

Email: leslieweaver515@gmail.com