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Workshop Details
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About Us
Awards and Associations
More About Us...
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About Angela
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, Angela
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 her State AEYC conference, observing
what worked to engage attendees, but mostly what didn't, hence the birth of
her first workshop, "Just Don't Bore Them!" Many workshops later, she was
approached by colleagues and professionals in the education industry to
embark on her keynote career, and at the close of her first keynote,
received a standing ovation from attendees. 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 dabbling with the idea of
self-publishing additional picture books that support the content of 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 6-8 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!
AbridgeClub.com Music
Offers...
●
Age-appropriate fine and gross motor activities that enhance
coordination, promote
social skills and encourage self-expression
● Melodies, lyrics, and rhythms that capture attention and
explore cultural diversity
● Physical activities that help build brain pathways
● Simple instructions that prompt verbal or physical
responses in a timely manner
● Basic math skills, patterns & sequences that help in anticipating
the next step and solving problems
● Lyrics that are the building blocks of language and literacy,
and are just plain fun to sing
● Educational concepts introduced through movement & direction
● Healthy lifestyle promoted using physical activity combined with
healthy messages
● Music appreciation through positive experiences
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"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.
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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. |
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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 childrens’ lives. The Moonbeams are all about rewarding
these books and bringing them to the attention of parents,
booksellers, librarians – and to the kids themselves.” |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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'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.
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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. |
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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." |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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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
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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.
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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. |
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"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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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"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. |
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
