Hello Everybody!

It was lovely to see everyone last week, and we enjoyed the environment of Tiger/Dragon on Sunday.  If you were in one of those classes, please take the time to give us some feedback of your impressions of that space with Barnaby this week, or call him at the office any time.

Bells on!

We are into our second week of Bells, which is a delightful collection, and one we are loving to be back at.  If you have not received your materials (Book & CD), please see us in class right away, or call the office (416-651-7529).  It is very important that you have these so you can get the full benefits of our class at home, and together as a family.

Free Webinar

Lili Levinowitz, co-founder of Music Together will be taking part in a free webinar.  Lili has a Doctorate in Music Education, is a professor at Rowan University, and is the Director of Research for Music Together.  Her speaking on early childhood and music education is always extremely interesting and informative, and if you can hop on to listen, we strongly encourage you to do so.

Supporting Children’s Development of Early Math Skills through Music and Movement
Songs, rhythmic chants, and small- and large-movement activities can be an enjoyable way to holistically support young children’s emerging math skills. Before children are able to count to ten or add and subtract, they are developing their mathematical understanding. In fact, the construction of mathematical concepts actually begins at birth. Music can therefore be a natural and enjoyable way to support the development of these skills in early childhood. Music inherently includes exploration of emergent math concepts, such as patterning, sequencing, proportion, and opposites (e.g., faster/slower, bigger/smaller).

In this webinar, you will learn the ways that music, movement, and rhythmic chants can support even the youngest child’s growing mathematical understanding—all while the children and YOU are having fun with music!

To register for this free webinar, go to www.edweb.net/artsandmusic. A recording of the live webinar will be available to all members of the Arts & Music in Early Learning community—joining is easy and free!

Our Class & Home Focus

During the course of each collection of music, we choose 3-4 areas of focus to direct your attention to on a weekly basis, with each week having a slightly different perspective for your consideration.  The first three weeks of Bells is focused on Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.  Weeks 4-7 will deal with the idea of Listening to Encourage.  It is our hope that these concepts will make you think about ways to evaluate and expand your own musical toolkit for use at home with the whole family.

Class Spots Still Available

We still have limited spots in a couple of our classes:

Sunday @JJP 10:00   (2)
Sunday @JJP 11:00   (1)
Monday @Tiger/Dragon 10:45   (6)

Any help you can give us to fill those remaining spots would be greatly appreciated, and eligible for our 20% discount through the end of June 2015.

BBC Article about Music & Literacy

If you are interested in reading about links between learning music and improved literacy, there is an article on the BBC that you may find interesting.  We’ll be demonstrating a little bit of technique you can use at home with your books and children later this semester.

 

See you soon!