♫ ”Hello, everybody, so glad to see you!” ♫♪
♪♫ ”Hello, everybody, we’re so so glad to see you!” ♫
Did you know that all children are musical? That we all, from birth, have the potential to learn to sing in tune and dance with accurate rhythm? This summer it was my good fortune to stumble upon a wonderful early childhood music class that really opened my eyes to how much my children enjoy and respond to music.
Music Together® is an approach that immerses young children, along with their caregivers, in a music- and movement-rich environment in order to facilitate early music development. One of the things I love about this approach is that it uses a research-based, developmentally appropriate curriculum with a strong emphasis on adult involvement. I think one of the reasons that children respond so well to the class is that instead of being expressly taught about music in a controlled fashion, they are allowed to “experience” music at their own pace in a playful and low-pressure environment. Rather than focusing on teaching the children the “right” way to sing or play an instrument, our instructor encouraged us to model for our children and then let them participate (or not) however they saw fit. Not only did this create a safe and nurturing experience for the children, it took pressure off the adults because we didn’t feel like we constantly had to be correcting our children or forcing them to participate. Personally, as a mother of two rambunctious 18 month-olds, this was a breath of fresh air!
Our instructor was Carolyn Kosmas, the Director of Music Together® Mid Cities. She always brought plenty of energy and enthusiasm to each class, and the twins loved her instantly. One (if not both) of them ended up in her lap at least once during the course of each session!
The benefits of early music education go beyond getting our children in touch with their inner Mozart- studies have shown that musical training helps develop brain areas associated with language and reasoning, boosts self-confidence and social skills, improves spatial intelligence (critical for mathematical reasoning and everyday problem solving), provides opportunities for fine and gross motor development, strengthens memory, and the list goes on.
At the beginning of the summer session, we were given a songbook and two CDs (one for home and another for the car) full of music from our curriculum. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the music was just as appealing to me as it was to the babies, which is a far cry from most of the children’s music CDs that we own that become downright annoying after a day or two! Another cool thing about the music from the curriculum is that it is divided into non-sequential collections, one per semester, and you can attend class for three consecutive years without ever repeating a collection
During class our activities included singing songs, playing a variety of instruments, and participating in rhymes, finger plays, rhythm chants, and other movement activities. One of the highlights of each class was the “play-along” song, when Carolyn would dump a huge container of musical instruments in the middle of the floor and let the kids dive in!
Toots lets loose with the bongos.
Another unique thing about our Music Together® class is it was a mixed-age group for children from birth to age five. Although the idea of newborns rolling around amongst clumsy toddlers may take some getting used to, the theory is that having classes of mixed ages encourages “family-style” learning where older children learn by leading the little tykes, and younger children watch and imitate their older counterparts. I’m convinced that they are onto something, because I’ve seen in my own practice the benefits of peer modeling.
It was so much fun to watch each of my children as the six-week session progressed. As they got more and more comfortable in class, it was interesting to see the different activities that appealed to each of them. Toots, in particular, was really into the movement activities that we did, especially the scarves. On the last day, Carolyn dumped the entire bag of scarves out on the floor for some fun free play. My little girl was in heaven! Talk about a whole-body sensory experience!
Buried under a cloud of colors.
When I asked Carolyn if I could blog about her class, she agreed immediately and then took it one step further…she is offering a 15% discount on tuition for the Fall semester for Twodaloo readers! (classes at Southlake, TX location)
To take advantage of this great offer, follow these simple steps:
- Follow Twodaloo however you prefer (email subscription, facebook, Google +, RSS)
- Go to Carolyn’s website at http://musictogethermidcities.com/ and enter the following code at checkout: TWODALOOF12
And that’s it! Stay tuned for tips on fun music play at home that your toddler will love!
Until next time,
Twodaloo!
**I was in no way compensated for this blog post. I simply loved the class and wanted to share it with my readers. All opinions are completely my own!
We signed Aidan up for Saturday classes. Thanks for the suggestion. Can’t wait to take him!