|
| |
|
ANGELA'S KEYNOTE APPEARANCES
More
About Us...
Workshop Details
.jpg)
.jpg)
|
|
About Us
.jpg)
Angela Russ-Ayon,
Owner
A ngela
Russ-Ayon
resides in Long Beach, CA with her husband and 2 children. She is the owner
of AbridgeClub.com a
Russ InVision Company site, and is a nationally recognized,
award-winning singer-songwriter, children's book author, public speaker,
performer, and producer of interactive & educational children’s media.
Angela is a product of her experiences. Through extensive research, she
discovered the importance of music and movement during the early years and
development of her children and began singing little ditties in the car and
at home to keep them entertained and interactive. She was eventually
encouraged by peers, who had children of a similar age, to leave her 15-year
sales management position and embark on a career in educational media.
Before her first workshop, she worked closely with consultants in the field
of child development and physical activity, then proceeded to spend time in
every music and movement workshop at the California AEYC conference,
observing what worked to engage attendees, but mostly what didn't. |
|
Many workshops later, she was approached by colleagues and professionals
in education to embark on her keynote career. She hasn't looked back
since. Her specialty is engaging young children in interactive song and
dance using fine & gross motor activities that promote imaginative play,
bridge educational gaps, and help build brain pathways.
Angela uses a lecture format with PowerPoint imagery, and an infusion of
activities to support the theories she presents. The time she spends in
front of children either performing, participating in city programs, in
preschools, and in school districts provides the perfect hands-on testing
grounds for her music prior to production. The quality of her songs
eventually opened the door to her career as an award-winning children's
author, and she is now self-publishing mini e-books to compliment her songs.
Angela
has presented her music and movement concepts for state & national
childcare, child care food program, preschool, gymnastic, and teacher’s
associations with the goal of boosting the level of creativity for educators
working with young children. She has also produced music for
First 5, WIC, Head Start,
and Kaiser Permanente video productions.
Using a PowerPoint style lecture, with an
infusion of 6 to 8 activities, she has dazzled attendees at NAEYC - National
Association for the Education of Young Children, State AEYCs, State Food
Programs, CTA - California Teachers Association, NHSA - National Head Start,
Early Head Start, First 5, Child Care Agencies, USA Gymnastics, and at many
other educational conferences. Angela presents independently, as well as, on
behalf of school suppliers, and is recognized by school districts for the
educational and bi-lingual value of her songs.
SING! PLAY! MOVE!
LEARN! TEACH!
|
|
 |
"We Eat Food That's
Fresh,"
won the
2010 Benjamin Franklin
Award™ in the
Children's Book &
Audio Book Set category. Named in
honor of America's most cherished
publisher/printer, the Benjamin Franklin
Awards™. The Independent Book Publishers
Association (IBPA) Benjamin Franklin
Award for excellence in book publishing
is regarded as one of the highest national
honors for small and independent publishers.
Publications, grouped by genre, are judged
on editorial and design merit by top
practitioners in each field. The Benjamin
Franklin 2010 Awards™ presentation ceremony
was at the Roosevelt Hotel, New York, NY on
May 24, 2010.
|
|
 |
2010
Moonbeam Silver Award
winner, "We Love the Company,"
written by Angela Russ and illustrated by Mirskaya, focuses on the
importance of friends and family dining together and using table
manners, with healthy choices appearing in colorful water
colored borders. Both 32-page picture books were released
in 2009 by
OurRainbow Press.
The Moonbeam
Children's Book Awards are intended to bring increased
recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators,
and to celebrate children’s books and life-long reading. Each
year's entries are judged by expert panels of youth educators,
librarians, booksellers, and book reviewers of all ages. |
|
|
2009
Moonbeam Silver Award
winner, "We Eat Food
That's Fresh," written by Angela Russ, and illustrated by Cathy
June, focuses on the many attempts made by a whimsical chef to
get children to try a new fruit or veggie. Published by
OurRainbow Press.
“This year’s Moonbeam award winners confirm that books can
change children’s lives,” says Moonbeam Awards founder Jerrold
Jenkins. “They’ve already had a big impact on the judges and the
kids that read them, so we know these books were created to
enrich children's lives. The Moonbeams are all about rewarding
these books and bringing them to the attention of parents,
booksellers, librarians – and to the kids themselves.” |
|
 |
"Smart &
Yummy 1" was awarded a
2009
Parents’ Choice Recommended
Award. Approximately 20% of those items submitted to the
Parents’ Choice Awards™ program receive a commendation in one of
the six award levels: Classic, Gold, Silver, Recommended,
Approved, and Fun Stuff, underscoring the influential and
celebrated achievement of being honored with a commendation from
the Parents’ Choice Awards program. |
|
 |
"Smart
Start: Birth & Beyond," awarded a
2008
Directors' Choice from Early Childhood News. In
2008, there were 22 winning products representing
Administrative/Professional Development, Arts & Crafts,
Assessment Tools, CDs, Children's Books, Furniture,
Infant/Toddler Products, Play Equipment, Teacher Resources, and
Toys/Games. Items were evaluated based on the following
criteria: appropriateness for use in a child care setting,
safety, durability, age appropriateness, effectiveness for
intended use and value. |
|
 |
"Smart Moves
1: Tot - Pre-K" (2004) and "Smart
Start: Birth & Beyond," (2008)
were awarded
Parents’ Choice Approved
Awards. Winning musicians and storytellers share a common bond;
they know what it takes to grab and keep a child’s attention.
Those who write original songs and stories deliver intelligent,
inventive lyrics; they craft and tell a captivating story, in
words and music. They create magical worlds that kids believe –
and want to live in – if even for only a few minutes. Their
stories and songs may be imaginary; their creativity and talent
is anything but. Those who perform traditional songs or stories
do so with a fresh approach and a personal imprint. Serious or
silly, the material is delivered with a respect for the audience
and the medium. |
|
 |
"Smart Moves
1: Tot - Pre-K," awarded a
2004
Directors' Choice from Early Childhood News. This prestigious distinction serves as a resource for child care
providers and preschool teachers to assist them in choosing
safe, durable, and age-appropriate toys for young children.
Directors’ Choice differs from many “best of” toy lists because
of its focus on evaluating products for use in a professional
child care setting. In addition to helping teachers select the
best products, Directors’ Choice gives manufacturers valuable
feedback on new products. |
|
 |
"Bugsters
Tunes & Tales," awarded a
2003
National Parenting Publications NAPPA Award.
The National Parenting Publications
Awards (NAPPA) is one of the oldest and most respected awards
programs in the country. With over 20 years of experience in the
industry, we have been continuously celebrated as the "go-to"
source for parents and professionals seeking the best products
for their children and families. |
|
 |
The
Produce for Better Health Foundation (National 5-a-Day, More
Matters, team) commissioned Angela to produce entertainment for
young children that promoted healthy eating and physical
activity. The “Smart Fruit & Veggie Songs” music CD for young
children, “The Fruit & Veggie Race” nutrition board game (for
ages 3 and up), the "Fruits and Veggies Makin' Faces" - Card
Game, and the "We Eat Food That's Fresh" picture book for young
children all appear in the PBH "More Matters" catalog, and are
available online and through the www.5aDay.org, or
fruitsandvegetablesmorematters.org,
catalog. |
|
 |
Angela consulted and exclusively produced music
for the " Enjoy Physical Activity Breaks" DVD funded by
Kaiser Permanente.
The
motivational songs in this DVD encourage everyone to eat more
nutritious foods, grow foods in the garden, eat together as a
family, drink tap water, watch less TV, breastfeed, and take
breaks together to get physically active. The DVD encourages
everyone to take 2-3 minute physical activity breaks several
times a day.
AbridgeClub.com distributes the title on WIC's behalf. |
|
 |
Angela has consulted on,
and produced music for, the Telly Award Finalist video/DVD
production of "Have Fun and Be Active" for First 5, WIC,
and Head Start. The DVD is designed to encourage families with young
children to keep active. Over 50,000 have been distributed to health service
agencies and families nationwide. AbridgeClub.com is the sole distributor of the title on WIC's
behalf. |
|
  |
'Smart & Tasty 1" is featured in the new
"Music & Movement: Nutrition in Action" curriculum which
includes eight lessons that are packed full of fun activities.
It is a brilliant introduction of music, movement, and nutrition
education that is tailored to excite and stimulate children's
movement through music and incorporate healthy eating and
physical activity into their daily lives.
As a USDA
MyPyramid Corporate Partner,
Nutrition in Action and the USDA share common goals of
developing complimentary programs that encourage healthy eating
and activity.
Each lesson incorporates a story, physical activity, music,
and a seated activity into the nutrition education session.
Snack suggestions, additional learning activities, and a
parent handout with recipes are included with each lesson!
http://nutritioninaction.org.
|
 |
Selections of Angela's music are also being used in the
National Head Start Bureau's
"I am Moving. I am Learning"
(IMIL)
active children campaign, which is designed to prevent childhood
obesity by improving the quality and quantity of exercise in the
classroom and encouraging daily wise nutrition choices.
IMIL was created in
response to regional and national trends toward childhood
obesity. The project was designed to fit within the Head Start
Performance Standards and the Head Start Child Outcomes
Framework through enhancements, chosen by the individual Head
Start program, to current teaching practices by providing more
focused guidance on quality movement, gross and fine motor
development, and child nutrition. IMIL gained national
recognition as the recipient of the 2006 ACF Honor Award of
Excellence in Partnering from DHHS.
Additionally, IMIL goes beyond
the classroom teaching practices to enhance the approach family
service workers take with Head Start families in the area of
movement and nutrition, as well as, in the approach Head Start
health staff takes in working with children and their families. IMIL uses a train-the-trainer model with directors and their
management teams attending a 2½ day training events throughout
2007 and 2008. |
|
In early 2007, the
Louisiana Office of Public Health supplied 25,000 "Have Fun
and Be Active" DVDs to WIC families at the STATE level. The initiative was
for their fight against childhood obesity entitled, "Fit Kids. Healthy
Kids." |
|
 |
Angela is a voting member of The Recording
Academy®. Her music has been featured in publications such as
Early Childhood Today, Early Childhood News, School News,
and
Los Angeles Magazine. Her titles are represented by school
suppliers such as CM School Supply, Kaplan Early Learning,
School Specialty, and
Sportime. She has received awards from ChildrensMusic.org, the
Parents’ Choice Foundation, the National Association of Parent
Publications (NAPPA), and Early Childhood Today’s Directors’
Choice. |
|
.jpg) |
Thirteen
Abridge Club songs are featured in the 2010 released
SPARK Early Childhood
program, designed to be more inclusive, active, and fun for
young children. SPARK was proven to work with both physical
education specialists and classroom teachers. Today, after
lessons learned from more than 20 years of ongoing research and
field testing nationwide, SPARK PE is one of the best physical
education programs in the world – a true solution to our growing
problem of overweight and obese children. |
|
 |
Angela's
music is offered by The Colorful Way. WAY programs
have been designed as multidisciplinary education programs that
emphasize physical activity, nutrition, and wellness while
meeting national and state educational standards. |
|
 |
"Caterpillar Conga" from the
"Bugsters Tunes and Tales" CD was chosen by Fisher Price®
in the fall of 2006 to be featured in the on-air commercial that launched their
Kid-Tough FP3™ Player. The Kid-Tough FP3™ Player is a real digital
player designed to be used and dropped by preschoolers, and is the first of
its kind. Parents can also
download "Bugsters" songs and stories onto the player from the Fisher-Price®
FP3 Song & Story Online Store. |
|
 |
The
majority of the music being used in the 2-million dollar University of
Tennessee "Team PLAY (Positive Lifestyles for Active Youngsters)”
initiative comes from AbridgeClub.com titles. The grant is funded by the
State for a 5-year clinical trial that began mid-January of 2007 and focuses
on improving nutrition and physical activity behaviors in families. |
|
 |
Angela Russ received a
2009 Best of Long Beach Award in the
Audio-Visual Program Production category from the U.S. Commerce
Association (USCA), WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009.
The
USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes
outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year,
the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved
exceptional marketing success in their local community and
business category. These are local companies that enhance the
positive image of small business through service to their
customers and community. |
 |
"Smart & Tasty 1" was
selected by the Pennsylvania Public Library system to companion a
book entitled, "Up, Down, Around" for the 2008 world-wide "One Book"
project. "One Book" projects are
community-wide reading programs that were initiated by the Library of Congress's
Washington Center for the Book in 1998. |
|
 |
Angela is a member of
ECMMA,
whose members are advocates for joyful music and
movement experiences vital to the development of the
whole child. They focus on furthering the
advancement and development of music and movement
education for young children and encourage ongoing
professional development of educators in music and
other areas of early childhood education.
|
|
 |
Angela is a member of SCBWI,
Society of
Children's Book Writers and Illustrators,
a professional
organization dedicated to serving the people who write,
illustrate, or share a vital interest in children's literature.
SCBWI is one of the largest existing organizations for writers
and illustrators. It is the only professional organization
specifically for those individuals working in the fields of
children’s literature, magazines, film, television, and
multimedia. Find Angela's profile
SCBWI.org. |
|
 |
Angela is a member of CALIFORNIA READERS,
a group of educators, librarians, authors, artists, parents,
booksellers, and others, sharing the goal to connect California
authors and artists with students and educators in Southern
California. Find Angela's
author interview,
simply click on "R-S" and look for her
last name. Click here for more information:
californiareaders.org
|
|
 |
Angela is a member of
NAWBO. The
National Association
of Women Business Owners
is the unified voice of America's more than
10 million women-owned businesses
representing the fastest growing segment of
the economy. NAWBO is the only dues-based
organization representing the interests of
all women entrepreneurs across all
industries; and boasts over 7000 members and
80 chapters across the country.
|
Contact us for
questions and information
info@abridgeclub.com
AbridgeClub.com is owned and operated by Russ InVision Company
Russ InVision Records
3219 Conquista Ave, Long Beach, CA 90808
P: 562.421.1836
Fax: 562.420.9101 |
children's music
