Growing with Music

Jillian and I just finished our first quarter of a Growing with Music class. The class a developmentally based music curriculum designed for toddlers and preschoolers, and is led by a music therapist. We go one time per week for 30 minutes, and Jillian really loves it. Though I did enjoy the Kindermusik classes we tried in the fall, I much prefer this curriculum and instructor. Brenda leads a highly structured, consistent class where she is firm in expectations and yet nurturing at the same time. She is kind, positive, and patient. She does a great job of telling the kids what they can do, instead of what they cannot. The kids are expected to wait their turn to pick an instrument, and I watched in amazement at how quickly she was able to get my busy bee to stand patiently in front of a bunch of instruments and wait for her name to be called. Brenda allows videos/pictures to be taken the last class of each quarter, so I managed to capture a few bits and pieces of the class to show you a glimpse. You will have to forgive the poor camera angles and bouncing around...it's not easy to record busy young musicians!

The class begins with a hello song, and the kids take turn deciding how they want to say hello...usually we clap our hands, jump up and down, or as depicted here, "stomp your feet to say hello". Jillian gets the idea.


Next, the kids must wait their turn to choose an instrument. This is not an easy task for wee ones, but they do pretty well!


Then, the kids have a chance to strut their stuff and play away. We worked a lot on playing "chickas" (short, fast beats) and "booms" (loud, slow beats) this quarter. Jillian chose the drums on this particular day. She is such a people person that it is sometimes difficult to get her to stop people watching and start feeling the beat!


Brenda also incorporates action verses, and other songs with props or movements. This class, the kids chose a colored scarf to wave around high (like a bird) and low (like a crab) depending on what the song instructed them to do. Kind of looks like mass chaos, but it's lots of fun!


The class ends with a goodbye song. This clip is a perfect example of what Jillian does during a large portion of the class--she prefers to stand and study every other kid and rarely sits in my lap. You can just see her wheels turning.


Just before leaving, Brenda gives the kids each a "happy note" and a "special stamp" that she applies to each arm as a reward for participation. Jillian loves to roll up her sleeves and proudly display her prize.


After a week of break, we'll be back in musical action for the spring quarter!