My eyes were opened to the world of music and babies, when my wife first mentioned “the music class.” As a first-time parent, I had no idea what that was. How could I have lived here for all this time and never have heard about music class? Turns out, those with children know things those without children don’t know….
In part for our child’s “education” and in part for going to a place each week with other moms and their little ones, our son, then 10 months old, was enrolled in these music classes. Having a flexible work schedule, I managed to join them one Friday morning and found myself, shoes off (good thing I wore clean, no-holes socks!), sitting on the floor … then standing … then marching in a circle imitating the movements and sounds of an elephant and … smiling as it felt GOOD and I was sharing some amazingly intimate time with my little boy.
What I found in his music classes was a dedicated music educator and a roomful of like-minded parents/caregivers and children ranging from infants to 4-year-olds. Over the next 3 years, our son became one of the older children and, as it turns out, it never was an issue that the children were of different ages. It seems that they learned and played well with each other.
I so enjoyed these music classes, as did our son, that I made it a point to go every week!
One day, in the car, the CD player changed from The Music Class CD to the Best of Frank Sinatra. I turned my head to tell our little boy that “this is one of Daddy’s favorite singers” to which he replied, “No, Daddy, that’s Wonder Pets!” (For those of you who haven’t seen it, there is a Wonder Pets episode where Lenny, Ming-Ming and Tuck help Sammy, Dino and Blue Eyes – 3 rats in tuxedos in Las Vegas.) He recognized the style of the music on the CD in the car from the TV show!
A child’s brain is not fully formed at birth, but instead continues to develop during the first years of life and is highly influenced by the experiences of the child during those formative years. This concept is true for music, as well. Children who grow up in an enriched music environment are better able to understand and enjoy music for the rest of their lives.
My son may or may not become a musician; but he loves stopping in the local music store and strumming a guitar, tickling the keys of a piano, and even picking up some sticks and playing the electronic drums! Would he have this interest without those music classes? I don’t know. However, what I do know is that there is a set of electronic drums soon to be gifted to my son; I will be assembling it and questioning whether buying a 5-year-old drums was a stroke of brilliance or stupidity.
Consider how children learn language. The best way to learn language is to be immersed in language, in class and at home, day after day. The same is true with music. The most effective way to learn music is by being immersed in the sounds of music, including a broad variety of musical scales, rhythms, and styles, and starting at a very young age. The Music Class provides just that opportunity. Our classes, music, and activities provide a fun way for parents and children to enjoy our songs together – and our CDs enable families to take home those songs so that they can enjoy our music and activities repeatedly throughout the week.
Want to join in on the fun?
Classes are offered on Fridays at the Berewick Recreation Center in the Steele Creek area, on Saturdays at The Park Church South Charlotte in Pineville, and on Monday and Tuesday at Elevation Blakeney Church in the Blakeney area. Classes start March 9, 10, 12 and 13. Classes end May 21, 22, 25 and June 2.
10 classes in the Spring Session featuring The Monkey Collection normally is $160 including the award winning music CD and songbook. But CMF readers can get $10 off with the code: SCP02292012, which is good through Sunday, March 4th.
Younger sibling over 8 months of age as of March 1, 2012, is $110 less $10 club discount. Younger sibling under 8 months as of March 1, 2012, with paid older sibling registration is FREE!
TO REGISTER, visit: http://www.themusicclass.com/Center/Default.aspx?centerid=417
Curious? Check out this video!
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