Music for Tots Classes to begin January 26
The Spring 2010 session of the Silver Lake College Music for Tots program will be held again this semester at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 623 Ontario Ave. in Sheboygan, and will begin the week of Jan. 26, extending for 10 consecutive weeks, according to Sr. Lorna Zemke, director of the program. The program, scheduled and administered through the Silver Lake College Music Department, is for children from infancy through age 5.
Sally Haines of Sheboygan, a graduate of Silver Lake College, is scheduled to teach Tuesday morning classes and Donna Schwinn, a native of Sheboygan who has taught in the Music for Tots program for a number of years, will teach on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings.
Music for Tots classes are educationally significant experiences for children from infancy through age 5. Careful scheduling allows varying types of structured musical activities to be planned for each class, according to the developmental level of the children. Singing is the foundation of the curriculum, and simple children’s singing-games and folk songs are the appropriate tunes used in music making.
Each class is limited to eight children with an age span of approximately one year, except for the older 3s, 4s and 5s who participate together. Parents participate with their child in sessions for infants and toddlers. In the transition age of 3 years, the children become more independent, and among the 3-to-5- year-olds, the pre-schoolers participate in songs, rhythm games, use of simple rhythm and tonal instruments, and movement activities independently, with parents present but not actively involved.
Parents and teachers in the Silver Lake Music for Tots program readily affirm that participation in these classes improves not only the tonal, listening, rhythmic and coordination skills of the children, but also their verbal and socialization skills, as well as their ability to follow directions, focus attention, and share with their peers.
Parents from the greater Sheboygan area who are interested in enrolling their infant, toddler, or preschool child, should call the Silver Lake College Department of Music at (920) 686-6173 or email (abock@silver.sl.edu). Include parent’s name, phone number, child’s name and date of birth and preference for morning or evening class. If classes for the child’s age are already filled for the spring session, the child’s name will be placed on a waiting list for classes that begin in September 2010. A registration fee only, no materials fee, is charged.
