Why should your 2-6 year-old start music lessons?

Young children’s minds are able to comprehend so much more than one can even begin to imagine. Their brains are constantly growing, absorbing information like a sponge.

In Rishi Srirams 2020 article "Why Ages 2-7 Matter So Much for Brain Development" (located here), they mention how "children's brains develop in spurts called critical periods". The periods start at 2 and conclude around age 7. During these periods, children's brains are able to learn twice as fast than at any other time of life. To quote Sriram, "children's experiences in this phase have lasting effects on their development".

Younger brains are more likely to recall bright colors and loud sounds compared to dim hues and quiet voices. This is one of the reasons many young children shows involve a sort of "bouncey" voice when singing songs, as well as bright colors and lively themes. Ever sat with a child and had a TV show's theme song stuck in your head all day? Bright colors and sing-songy style learning works!

In Anne Steinhoffs 2016 article "The Importance of Music in Early Childhood Development" (located here), Steinhoff mentions that "the years from birth to the age of six is the most important period for a child's musical development.” During this time, the youngest of toddlers can understand the different tones and can even begin memorizing the music. This type of learning and understanding not only develops their musical abilities, but also assists with language development.

Why Animal Adventures in Music?

This program covers 10 instruments in 10 levels. Throughout this exciting program, your child will travel through 10 themed books with their teacher, exploring a different instrument in each. Every book is filled to the brim with learning activities, games, stickers and more. Each level is extremely structured and builds off the previous level.

While designing this curriculum, we didn’t want to just teach basic music theory at children, we wanted to engage your child through stories. For example, while learning about the flute, children are invited to work with Bianca the Bee to find the missing flute pieces stolen by some pesky ants! Plus, the private one-to-one structure of the program ensures that no child is going to be rushed to grasp a concept. They can take their time exploring the world of music and have a blast while doing it, creating a love and enjoyment of music that will last a lifetime!

By the time your child graduates from this impressive program, they will be able to identify and understand basic music symbols, read and clap rhythms from quarter note to sixteenth note, and read three octaves of notes on the grand staff, in addition to learning about instruments such as the piano, guitar, drums, violin, cello, clarinet, saxophone, and more!

What‘s a typical class like?

Classes are split into 3 sections - Table, Rug and Stage. Each section is 10 minutes long and jam-packed with fun and learning.

• Table Time - The student and teacher work together to learn and practice new concepts using their Animal Adventures workbook as well as other resources such as a music staff whiteboard and flashcards.

• Rug Time - The student and teacher meet on the Animal Adventures music staff rug for practice in note reading, rhythm, and musical expression. This high energy segment of the class solidifies concepts for young students utilizing fun backyard-style games and silly role-reversal variations.

• Stage Time - The final segment of the class is spent in hands-on exploration, listening, and learning about one of the 10
  instruments that are covered.

What do you mean when you say “levels”?

Just like the martial arts Black Belt program, we use different levels as a way of tracking progress and advancement in the program. Each level builds on the previous one! During each level of the program, your child will explore a new instrument and have the opportunity to listen to it, see it, touch it, and learn how it works! They’ll also learn new musical theory concepts and review any previous concepts they learned. After a child has completed a level, they receive a custom medal featuring that level’s character and color! The full series includes: