Family Music for Babies (Newborns - 18 Months)

30 minute classes

 What could be more special than the bond between parent and baby as they rock and dance to their special music?  Watch as your baby starts to respond as soon as she hears "that song" playing!  Tap the beat on his back, tap on their rhythm sticks, play peek-a-boo with the scarf - all part of our Family Music for Babies class!

All babies are born with an aptitude for music. But research shows that their aptitude diminishes if it is not nurtured. The best way to nurture a child's music aptitude is through active music making. By singing and dancing for and with our children in a variety of tonalities, meters and styles we are helping our children reach their full music potential.

This class offers adults the opportunity to play with their babies in a musical setting, experiencing music and movement activities designed to delight the child and awaken his or her curiosity about music. By singing, dancing, bouncing, and rocking, the child's music aptitude is being carefully nurtured, laying the foundation for beat awareness, vocal production, and aural discrimination.

Because your baby's ear is fully developed at 4 1/2 months in the womb, we invite moms-to-be to join our baby classes, especially in your 3rd trimester.

Activities include singing, bouncing songs, rocking songs, dances, finger plays, body awareness games and echoes.

Materials the first semester include an instrument pouch with rhythm instruments and manipulative.

Family Music for Toddlers (16 months - 3 1/2 Years)

30 minute classes

What is more fun for your toddler than singing and playing with their friends?  When you see your child's eyes light up when the instruments are brought out, you know you're in the right place!  When I hear your child echoing their first rhythm pattern, I know they are on their way to becoming a musician!  New friendships form, for kids and parents alike!  This class is designed to bring the joy of music and movement to toddlers and their caregivers.

Activities include singing, dancing, focused listening and simple instrument playing, creating an environment in which the child's music aptitude is nurtured and skills are developed. Families receive CD and full color book each semester.

There are 4 semesters of Family Music for Toddlers:
 

Cycle of Seasons (Ages 3 - 5 years)

45 minute classes

Your preschooler is ready to sing, dance, act out stories, play instruments, and play make believe with their friends!  He gets to make his own choices in songs and stories, and she creates her own dances and songs, sometimes with parents, sometimes with new friends. This class is designed to nurture the emergent independence of the 3 to 5 year old.

Activities include lots of singing, chants and rhymes, listening games, patterns to echo, and movement games, all of which nurture the child's musical development while satisfying the child's need to learn in a holistic environment.

Parents stay for the class, although some of the activities are designed to have the children participate independently of their parents.

Home materials including two CD's (one for summer), songbook, and manipulatives allow the learning and fun to continue at home.

Music Makers: At Home in the World (pre-piano I) (Ages 5 - 7 years)

60 minute classes

This class cultivates the child's musical development through songs, tonal and rhythm patterns, poetry and stories, movement activities, listening games, instrumental play and manipulative games. Rudimentary music skills such as pitch matching, beat competency, ensemble development, and music notation are dealt with using themes taken from the child's home environment and natural surroundings.

Material packets include a CD and digital download, a poster and game pieces, notation games, instrument pages and a book. Children receive a new packet about every 8-10 weeks.

Music Makers: Around the World (pre-piano II) (Ages 6 - 8 Years)

60 minute classes

This class is designed to accommodate the 5 to 7 year old and is a perfect follow-up for children who have completed Music Makers: At Home in the World. In this class, children explore the music, dances and stories of different cultures. As always, the key ingredients are singing, listening, playing instruments, lots of movement, and tonal and rhythm patterns. Through echoing patterns, the children will build a vocabulary of musical phrases which they can recognize aurally and visually, which leads to an understanding of musical notation. At the end of the year, the children will be introduced to the keyboard, using the same method they'll use in Music Makers: At the Keyboard next year!

Materials include a CD and digital download, a map, song pages, and notation games. Children will receive a new packet about every 8-10 weeks.  Parents will receive a parent book twice a year.