Should Price be the first or only factor in choosing a music program for your child?

I've been getting quite a few calls of late from parents wanting to know why my Kindermusik classes and or lessons are so much more expensive (not by much!) than the local Park and Rec programs. Directly in question was my "All Keyed Up" Piano Encounters weeklong camp for young children. The price at my studio for this program is $160.00 for 10 hours. The price for the compared Park and Rec program was $55 for 4 hours (or $137.50 for 10 hours).

My first reply is always, I really can't answer that question as I'm not affiliated with the Park and Rec and/or the people who hold the programs, but I can tell you what I DO know.

These programs are priced lower because they are usually town, state or government subsidized. I myself did a program for special needs years ago in an adjacent town, and they charged families very little. Yet i was still paid my going rate.

In my program, there is a limit of 8 children, it includes music, a CD, a percussion instrument to work on steady beat at home, as well as a true evaluation as to whether your child is ready for private lessons. I pride myself on being honest about a students readiness, as it isn't good to set a child up for failure and discouragement if they truly are not ready.

In my program, you know that your child is working with a licensed and certified educator and musician.

What makes Kindermusik different from other young child music classes? Developmentally appropriate activities and tasks. We make sure that each program is appropriate for YOUR child. Even in our Family Class I make sure to go up to each parent and tell them how to use the activity or instrument in the appropriate way for their childs level. Children from Birth to 7 years of age aren't the same, and should be taught in developmentally appropriate ways!

Also, it is a struggle in these economic times, and sometimes those Park and Rec programs look 'just as good' and definitely look cheaper. Are you sure that program is being taught by an educator and or musician?

Is your child there to 'just have a good time' or to learn? Kindermusik through all it's levels teaches language skills, social skills, cognitive reasoning skills AND note reading and writing. Payment plans ARE available, just ask.

Dollar for Dollar, Kindermusik is still a great value at Kindermusik with Sandie. You receive at home materials including a CD (sometimes 2!) books, instruments and the comfort in knowing that your educator is indeed an educator and a musician!

School year semesters are LESS than $19.00 a week. We offer sibling discounts (almost 50% in our summer programs!) and the reassurance that your child will be learning and growing musically and developmentally.

Sing with you soon!

Sandie

www.musicboxwithsandie.com

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It's all about the beat!

In all Kindermusik classes, there is always emphasis on hearing, feeling, moving, and even “seeing” a steady beat. It may seem very elementary, but it is essentially the cornerstone of music.

More importantly, steady beat plays a huge importance in our speech patterns, movement, thoughts and verbal organisation. From a baby’s first hesitant steps, he slowly finds his pace and soon starts to walk steadily and confidently. Our preschoolers who have a strong sense of beat would be able to use the scissors more skillfully. Ever watch a basketball game? The steady dribble of the ball before it is tossed smack into the basket require an acute sense of beat and timing. A master chef needs to have a command of steady beat in his knife skills. Even writers rely on a sense of steady beat and rhythm in their prose to produce a good read.

Because it is such a fundamental element, parents and teachers often do not give sufficient attention to the development of this very important underlying skill – a strong sense of beat. The consequence of insufficient steady beat experiences in early years can result in poor physical coordination, halting speech (in some cases, stuttering), and even weakness in thought flow. Would you have imagined that something so apparently a strictly musical characteristic can have such bearing on so many areas of our functioning?!

Here are some simple and fun activities that you can do with your child at home to reinforce the concept sense of steady beat:

Movement – Turn on the music and pretend to be a marching band. March, stomp or jump to the music. For younger babies, put them on your lap and bounce to a steady beat or dance with them around the room to the steady beat of the music.

Instrument play – Use the instruments from your home materials or make your own. An old pot and spoon will make a very fun ( and loud!) drum. Practice keeping a steady beat along with the music.

Reading – Nursery rhymes are a great way to introduce steady beat. Clap or tap along as you recite your child’s favourite rhymes.

Originally on the Kindermusik Asia Blog by Chiat Goh. Chiat is the Founding Director and Educator Mentor of Kindermusik Asia.

Start the New Year right with Kindermusik in Wallingford CT!

Aren't you excited to have somewhere to go on these snowy wintery days? Kindermusik with Sandie, the LONGEST continually running Kindermusik program in New Haven/Middlesex Counties is also proud to be the most reasonably priced program for your money. Most of our classes including materials are less than $18.50 a week. You will not only enjoy dancing, instruments, singing and socialization time with other families, but you will also carry it through at home with CD's, story books, activities and instruments at home too!