At Eclectic Music, we have been looking for a program that would bridge the gap between teacher-led group musical experiences and private lessons. How do you introduce kids to actually playing musical instruments (not just trying them out for thirty seconds) in an age-appropriate way, if they are not ready to choose one and commit to private lessons?
Our solution is Early Birdies Flight School. This class, designed for ages two-and-a-half to four consists of a relatively short program (just ten to fifteen minutes of introducing new songs, demonstrating a new activity, or playing a musical game). The balance of the time (fifteen minutes at the start, and up to 30 minutes at the end) is unstructured time in which the students and parents visit different activity centers while the teacher moves from family to family, providing guidance, making recommendations, and answering questions.
The fact that the class is less structured allows us to adapt each session to various sizes, ages, interests, and developmental needs. In the activity centers, children can play guitar, ukulele, keyboard, violin, drums, bells, and more. They will learn to recognize musical symbols and rhythm patterns, and develop their critical thinking skills and understanding of patterns through the use of specially-designed manipulatives. They'll experience musical concepts such as high and low, loud and soft, and long and short, and use creative play to enhance their understanding of their world. Their adult companions will learn helpful tips for extending the musical learning beyond the class and into the daily home routine.
Best of all, this class does not require a consistent commitment. Purchase a package of day passes (ranging in price from $10 - 20 per session) and choose only the dates you would like to attend. As the program grows, we will be able to offer more days and times to choose from, providing the perfect "my kids won't nap today so let's go do some music" solution.
Perhaps the best news: the per-session rate is per family. That means you can bring your one-year-old, two-year-old, and four-year-old - all of them will get something out of the program, and you pay once. How could it get better than that?
Held at the Eclectic Music Room at 24 Waddell Street, NE in Inman Park. Begins the week of August 16: Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11 AM and Thursdays at 1 PM. More days and times available upon request.
Register now!
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The classes will run on a six-week session from the week of August 30 to the week of October 4. Currently, we are offering Tuesdays at 1:15 PM and 2:00 PM and Wednesdays at 2:00 PM. We will consider adding additional days and times if these do not meet your needs.
