Freeway PLAY

Your child will experience music through fun, playful, and socially interactive music activities that include singing, chanting, and moving. We aspire to develop every aspect of your child’s musicality that will foster a lifetime of music enjoyment and appreciation.The class is designed for young children from newborns to five-year-olds to be accompanied by a parent/guardian. We learn music much like we learn language. The first and most important thing is that a child absorbs a rich music vocabulary. Using a combination of Music Learning Theory (MLT), Orff, and Kodaly music learning methods, we strive to engage your child in a musical environment that will develop your child’s musical aptitude and foster musicianship skills necessary for any instrument.

• Looking response – actively listening
• Movement response – may or may not seem coordinated with the music
• Rhythm babble – approximations of rhythm patterns and chanting songs
• Tonal babble – approximations of tonal patterns and songs.

Your participation is vital in setting up a safe and nurturing learning environment. Your child trusts you. If they see you having fun and participating, the likelihood of them feeling safe to do so increases tenfold. We also ask that you accompany your child so that our classes can remain focused on music learning and our teachers can have one-on-one time with each child.

We do not look for or force any kind of participation at first but rather let the child be engaged in a musical environment and learn through play. It is important that we let the child explore music-making in their own way and in their own time.

It is important to demonstrate free-flowing continuous movements in order to help them avoid rigidity. We want the music and movement to flow from the child freely. Remember, the most important thing about keeping a “steady beat” is understanding and feeling the space between the beats.

Music development begins at birth (if not before). Every child is born with the potential for learning music. This program is designed to help foster that musical potential and develop music learning readiness.

Children learn best through imitation and play. If you engage in musical activities yourself and show your child that you can have fun with music no matter your skill level, your child will feel much more confident in their own music learning journey. Show your child that it’s ok to make mistakes. Art is messy!

• Each child must be accompanied by only one adult.
• Social distancing must be maintained throughout each class.
• Child/adult participants should not attend class if either is experiencing Covid-19 symptoms or other signs of illness.
• We ask that the adult participants wear their masks during the class so that the children and the teachers can safely remain unmasked.
• Caregivers should be with their little ones at all times
• Masks are not required but please do not attend if you or your little one are experiencing symptoms
• It’s ok if your little one is not actively participating at first.  We encourage that they do this in their own time.
• Help your little one remember that we can have but that this is a learning environment.
• This is a safe space – No judgement here! If your little one sees you having fun making music, they will feel safe to do so too!