What a joy it is to watch your child grow! In a well-designed music class you can take delight in the endless energy of your children, in their joy in having you there to share rocking and jumping, hugging and bouncing, being together in the wonderful environment of music. As they grow you can imagine them singing in the choir, playing in the band, or playing Christmas tunes on the piano for a family gathering in just a few years. These are all realistic pictures, as we lay the foundation of musical skills and prepare them for the next step.
For the young child, music class is a time for moving, exploring, and listening. Moving is your child’s favorite way to learn! As one expert says – although teachers and parents have been asking children to “sit still and listen” for centuries, they still cannot do it. Children learn to move as they move to learn, engaging body and mind simultaneously.
Exploring is your child’s natural way of being, when you are there to give support and let your child know that it is safe to venture away. Music class provides your child with a structured environment for early exploration - whether choosing an instrument from a basket or exploring the sound of his/her own voice, laying the foundation for the singing voice, which will increasingly emerge.
Listening lays the groundwork for the skills needed to make music, while preparing your child for solid educational advances later. In a music class, you and your child will listen to beautiful sounds, develop a repertoire of familiar tunes and patterns, and practice distinguishing one sound from another, through focusing listening.
All these skills are valuable preparation for future enjoyment of music, and vital preparation for learning, especially in the barrage of sound which fills our daily lives.
Where does this lead? The great pedagogue Maria Montessori said: “Experiences in the early years open doorways for a lifetime.” Your moving, exploring, listening child is prepared to take off into the world of language and imagination. You will marvel as you watch him/her make up sounds, stories and movements; obtain purposeful movement to express themselves, become part of group activity, sing more patterns and eventually discover those patterns in the music they sing and hear.
For the young child, music class is a time for moving, exploring, and listening. Moving is your child’s favorite way to learn! As one expert says – although teachers and parents have been asking children to “sit still and listen” for centuries, they still cannot do it. Children learn to move as they move to learn, engaging body and mind simultaneously.
Exploring is your child’s natural way of being, when you are there to give support and let your child know that it is safe to venture away. Music class provides your child with a structured environment for early exploration - whether choosing an instrument from a basket or exploring the sound of his/her own voice, laying the foundation for the singing voice, which will increasingly emerge.
Listening lays the groundwork for the skills needed to make music, while preparing your child for solid educational advances later. In a music class, you and your child will listen to beautiful sounds, develop a repertoire of familiar tunes and patterns, and practice distinguishing one sound from another, through focusing listening.
All these skills are valuable preparation for future enjoyment of music, and vital preparation for learning, especially in the barrage of sound which fills our daily lives.
Where does this lead? The great pedagogue Maria Montessori said: “Experiences in the early years open doorways for a lifetime.” Your moving, exploring, listening child is prepared to take off into the world of language and imagination. You will marvel as you watch him/her make up sounds, stories and movements; obtain purposeful movement to express themselves, become part of group activity, sing more patterns and eventually discover those patterns in the music they sing and hear.