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CLASS DESCRIPTIONS


Special Summer 2008 Class

During the summer of 2008, a class based on the following CD will be offered: Singing With Treblemakers: Songs for Young Singers. We will sing, dance, chant, and play instruments together as we enjoy the many classic folk songs found on this CD. The class is multi-age, and will be offered for 6 weeks. If you know, in advance, that you will miss certain sessions, the class can be prorated, please see below for that information.

You are responsible for ordering your own CD this session. It is available for $15 from CDBaby: cdbaby.com/cd/treblemakers2 It can also be downloaded from Amazon in MP3 format for 6.99. Be sure you get the right CD: Singing With Treblemakers: Songs for Young Singers (yellow cover).

Prorated Fees:

First child:

Full 6 weeks: $33

5 weeks: $30

4 weeks: $25

3 weeks: $20

Second child, six months and older:

Full 6 weeks: $27

5 weeks: $25

4 weeks: $23

3 weeks: $20



Family Music for Toddlers (FMT) - Not Available Summer 2008
For ages 16 months through 3 years old
30 minutes with an adult
Class size: Minimum of 5 children, Maximum of 8

Participate with your toddler in singing, chanting, moving, dancing, listening, and playing simple instruments - while developing a strong musical bond with your child. Through activities that bridge the natural connection between music and movement, your child's musical aptitude and listening abilities are enhanced and further developed.



Cycle of Seasons (Cycles) - Not Available Summer 2008
For ages 3.5 - 4.5 years old
30 minutes, last 10 minutes with an adult
Class size: Minimum of 5 children, Maximum of 8

Children this age love to explore their world through songs, creative movement, stories, instruments and their imagination. This curriculum is based on the seasons of the year while encouraging the young child's sense of wonder. Musical concepts are introduced in this 30-minute class where parents join us for the last 10 minutes. Parents are welcome to attend the entire session if it makes their children more comfortable, however please limit others’ presence. Home materials include a CD, songbook, and manipulatives, allowing the learning and fun to continue at home.


Why Early Childhood Music?

Many parents of young children enroll their child in music class. It is a fun way to spend time together, and since children are innately musical, it is an activity to which they are naturally drawn. But are you aware of all the benefits that music has to offer your child? Following is an excerpt of an article recently presented in Early Childhood Connections, a journal for early-childhood educators.

  • Music is a language, and children instinctively recognize spoken language as communication.
  • Music evokes movement, and children delight in and require movement for their development and growth.
  • Music engages the brain while stimulating neural pathways associated with such higher forms of intelligence as abstract thinking, empathy, and mathematics.
  • Music’s melodic and rhythmic patterns provide exercise for the brain and help develop memory. Who among us learned the ABCs without the ABC song?
  • Music is an aural art and young children are aural learners. Since hearing is fully mature before birth, infants begin absorbing the sounds of their environment before birth.
  • Music is perfectly designed for training children’s listening skills. Good listening skills and school achievement go hand in hand.
  • Developmentally appropriate music activities involve the whole child – the child’s desire for language, the body’s urge to move, the brain’s attraction to patterns, the ear’s lead in initiating communication, the voice’s response to sounds, as well as the eye-hand coordination associated with playing musical instruments.
  • Making music is a creative experience which involves expression of feelings. Children often do not have the words to express themselves and need positive ways to release their emotions.
  • Music transmits culture and is an avenue by which beloved songs, rhymes, and dances can be passed down from one generation to the next.
  • Music is a social activity which involves family and community participation. Children love to sing and dance at home, school, and at church.
Best of all, unlike cribs, strollers, and clothes, children never outgrow music and all its benefits. Music has something special for each child – no matter his or her age. As you think about your child’s activities for next year keep this in mind, and plan to make room in your schedule for music.
             © Musikgarten