Through scholarly research, anecdotal evidence, and experience – both personal and professional – we at Do-Re-Wee Music Academy have seen the irrefutable importance of giving children a strong and early start in music education.
Picture the crying newborn who pauses in wonder and is soon soothed by a lullaby…
Recall the baby who stops suddenly, toy in midair, his head swiveling toward the source of that familiar melody…
Smile at the thought of the gleeful toddler who gives you a chance to make dinner as she happily bangs on pots & pans nearby…
Remember the beads, noodles, boxes of rice and actual instruments that are shaken instinctively by the children eager to create their own music…
Memories like these remind us all just how eager little ones are to hear music, to feel music, to move to music, and to make music. Yet children today are far less likely to be exposed to basic melodies that helped meld the fabrics of our societies in generations past. The rush of our daily lives often relegates music to the status of the back burner… why sing those bedtime songs when there are still dishes to be done and clothes to be folded?
As a result, the rush intensifies, as we spend time cajoling our children and waiting for them to move from one activity to the next, from the house to the car, from the family room to the kitchen table, our exhaustion showing in the frustrated requests that we find ourselves repeating over and over. And all this time, a few simple words sung to a familiar tune could have made these transitions easy and filled with patience and enjoyment.
At Do-Re-Wee Music Academy, we recognize the realities that daily life imposes (we’ve been there!) and are eager to help you and your little one learn how music can increase your parent-child bond and make these magical early years at home more smooth, fulfilling, and FUN!
But music isn’t a gimmick to help us make tooth-brushing time more fun. It truly is, as all our literature maintains, a gift for a lifetime. Sound and proven musical practices will help your child learn “the language of music”… tonalities (such as major and minor) as well as standard meters that typically define our music, plus some nonstandard meters that will become an important part of your child’s musical vocabulary. Along the way, we’ll practice counting; the ABC’s (in different languages and different musical genres for the slightly older children); introduce a number of foreign words, play oodles of instruments (and even take some home); gain increasing ability with fun and rhythmic movements; and explore such genres as country, swing, jazz, chant, pop, rock, nursery rhymes, spoken word, classical, Gospel, Latin, bluegrass, and more. The cd’s that we’ll use in class – and that you’ll get to take home – have been specially created to bring your child a broad range of age-appropriate music that is both educational and FUN!
What else makes Do-Re-Wee Music Academy different from other music programs for the preschool child? First and foremost, you and your child will feel special and unique in this program. Do-Re-Wee staff will know your names in no time and will be able to point out to you the ways – some subtle and some truly striking – that your child is growing musically. Taking various sessions in succession means that the teacher will meet your children exactly where they are and take them to the next level week after week, and session after session.
Second, the take-home materials given out at every class feel like an integral part of the program at Do-Re-Wee Music Academy. They’ll help you implement basic musical concepts into your home life, reinforce educational concepts that have been introduced, give your child a fun and age-appropriate activity, and have him or her looking forward to the next class with excitement.
There’s one other characteristic that sets Do-Re-Wee’s program apart from competitive programs. Some preschool music programs are so regimented in systems and routines that the classes start to feel formulaic. And while we at Do-Re-Wee acknowledge that young children thrive with patterns and familiar expectations, we have also seen that it’s that extra space for imaginative learning and listening that crystallizes these musical moments for children, that flips inside them the “I Love Music” switch. Therefore, classes will also feature imaginative music appreciation moments that help even the very young children connect music with ideas, images, and feelings… and it’s these connections that will bond your child to music for a lifetime..