Pre-School Music Programs

The Classroom Music for Little Mozarts series was written to provide appropriate classroom music instruction for four-, five-, and six-year olds. Book 1 is the first of three books that guide the children through a comprehensive approach to music learning that includes singing, listening, structured andexpressive movement, storytelling, rhythm activities, playing classroom instruments, and visual representations of notation. Each of the three books in the series includes ten lessons with the three books providing a comprehensive curriculum for a full year of music instruction. The musical experiences in Classroom Music for Little Mozarts address the National Standards for Music Education for young children, and also offer opportunities to link music to other curriculum areas in the classroom. The classroom program centers around the adventures of Beethoven Bear and Mozart Mouse, characters who live in an early childhood classroom, as they learn about music. Lesson 10 is a showcase for all parents to attend.

Listening examples in the Classroom Music for Little Mozarts include classical music, traditional folk music, and music composed specifically for the lessons. While listening to recorded music, children are often invited to move in creative and structured ways, and to engage in other activities such as coloring pages with illustrations of the lesson.

Three different types of songs are used in Classroom Music for Little Mozarts: familiar folk songs for interest and motivation; songs with words and motions to reinforce rhythm, melody and other music concepts; and songs to introduce expressive elements while stimulating creativity and musical imagination.

Playing percussion instruments is exciting for children. The tone colors of the various instruments (wooden clicking sounds, metal ringing sounds, thick drumming sounds) heighten the awareness of musical qualities and patterns. Since a percussion instrument is an extension of the body, children need to experience movement activities to prepare them to play the instruments.

Two types of movement (free movement and structured movement) are connected to music learning in the early childhood years. Children are natural movers. They often use their bodies in free, fluid ways to express their own ideas and feelings or to dramatize characters from a story or song. These movements are not synchronized to musical ideas such as the steady beat. Children also can learn to control their bodies in more coordinated ways, which can lead to synchronizing with musical ideas such as steady beat and rhythm patterns. Singing games with structured responses (placing an action on a specific beat) are other examples of this.

If your pre-school would be interested in learning more about this excellent music program, please contact Kimberly's Piano Studio.