|
To enroll in the
Summer or Fall 2004 session call 416-535-5247.
Rainbow Songs®
Program Descriptions:
Music
for you and your Baby
In this class,
since babies are not yet capable of singing, the onus is on the parents
and caregivers to make the music. Our classes encourage group participation
in the collective making of music. Your child will respond to being surrounded
by people making music together. Attending these classes puts in place
an organized structure for you and your child to learn more about music
and to share it.
The baby
class is an opportunity for parents to improve their own musical skills.
This is done by learning new songs, making music as a group, and learning
about and playing instruments. These abilities and songs are then passed
on to your children over time.
The learning
does not end in the classroom. This program is also an opportunity for
parents to learn new songs that they can sing to their children throughout
the week. We encourage our participants to make singing a part of their
everyday lives. Songs to dress to, eat to, work to and play to.
Music
for you and your Toddler (1-2 year olds)
As your child
enters his/her second year, his or her ability to participate in music-making
grows rapidly. In these classes there is greater emphasis on the children's
participation in the actions of the songs. The actions, in songs that
identify body parts or have simple movements, can now be done by the children
in these classes. Learning to clap their hands and stomp their feet becomes
the first way your child will count beats in music, thereby gaining an
appreciation of the relation between words, melody, and rhythm.
Also in these
classes children are encouraged to play percussion instruments. During
jam sessions, children are allowed to explore and experiment in making
music with their caregivers and the other participants in the classes.
Music
for you and your Child (2-4 year olds)
In your child's
third year many new achievements in music are possible. Learning to count
beats and bars through clapping is one way that your child learns about
the structure of songs. Even the very young can count to music, and since
most songs have only three or four beats to a line, not very many different
numbers are needed.
Call and response songs are featured in these programs. The leader of
the group sings a phase in a song and the children and caregivers respond
in song. The children simply repeat back what the leader sings. This method
of learning by imitation is the oldest, easiest, most natural, and perhaps
the best way of learning music. One simple example of this method in action
is our welcoming song used at the opening of each class:
Leader: Hello
Group: Hello
Leader: Hello everybody Hello
Group: Hello everybody Hello
This simple
structure is repeated for each child in the class with each child's name
substituted for the word "everybody" in each verse. A version
of the song is used at the end of each class to say good-bye. Such songs
can be used at home in many different family settings.
Please note that all classes are 40 minutes in length although they
are scheduled in 45 minute intervals. The last 5 minutes are needed for
one class to leave and the next to get settled.
For
more information or to enroll, please call
us at 416-535-5247.
|
