Music Program For 3-4 years old
Further to my earlier post about music education options, and the promise to write more about Yamaha Music education, today I would like to introduce one of my favorites.
Music Wonderland:
The program is designed with the youngest in mind. The program was developed for kids between the age of 3 to 4 years old. This is the age of discovery, the age of curiosity, the age of imagination and a desire to learn, the age when emotions are formed.
Kids at this age are like a sponge: They will absorb anything you give them. This is the ultimate age to plant the seeds of what you want them to become in the future, and music is one of the greatest tools to teach expressiveness, enhance social development and human interaction.
Based on scientific research, kids’ ability to develop musical ear is at its highest between the age of 3 to 6, thus their ability to develop perfect pitch is many times more likely than those who are older.
Have you ever wondered why younger kids are able to pick up and speak a foreign language significantly faster than adults? It is for that very reason: At this age, kids learn through listening and repeating. They are not interested in theory, they are not interested in letters and symbols, they absorb the world through senses and feelings, and this is what Music Wonderland is built on.
The fundamental focus of Music Wonderland is to immerse a child into an intriguing, full of wonders and new discoveries world of music.
Students will develop the sense of steady beat and rhythm, will sing and march along with their music friends they meet through colorful books, will learn to use the keyboard as a sound production tool, will listen and react to music with body movement or storytime, will learn to express their feelings through concepts of a sound: strong or week; fast or slow; smooth or bouncy.
Let’s have a look at what the typical lesson may look like
♬ Marching to a Steady Beat: To get the energy up and running, we start with marching:
Marching to a beat while meeting various musicians is fun. We can stretch, we can jump and shake off some wariness any shyness. Marching to the rhythm, tunes their little bodies to their inner metronome and synchronizes it to the beat of the music. They start to feel the beat 
♬ Welcome to The Class: Our energy is high, everyone is awake and alert, so it is time to sing “Hello” to all our friends. Our traditional Hello song, allows students to get to know each other, makes them feel comfortable and welcome in the class. While other activities may change from class to class, Hello and Goodbye songs, are always there. It creates stability through structure and routine.
♬ Singing and much more: Comes next, is a series of fun, high-energy songs that introduce our youngest students to a variety of music concepts such as big and small, bright and dark, smooth and jumpy, soft and loud. Students learn to create an association between the music they hear and the object/image they see or a feeling they experience.
♬ Finger Exercises and Keyboard Games: are interactive activities with a focus on strengthening the finger muscles, improving hands coordination, and learning about keyboard structure (black and white keys, high and low sounds, and much more)
♬Story Time: Our very first story is about Honky-the-car. Honky is a happy car that loves to take its family on a road trip, but we should be careful as we drive on the road. Some animals may jump in front of us, and we don`t want to hurt them, right? So… what should we do to warn them? Right! We need to honk as we see an animal. The music guides students through the storyline and, with the help of the teacher, kids learn when to honk by using the 3 black keys on the keyboard, but we can`t honk all the time. We must listen, and we should only honk 2 times. Over the course of 6 -8 weeks, students will progress from following the teacher’s instructions on when to honk, to having the music to guide them with the teacher remaining silent.
♬ Ear Training: The last addition to our musical adventure, is solfege singing. Singing favorite tunes in solfege is both, fun and mysterious, as kids get to learn a new musical language called Solfege.
♬ Time To Say Goodbye: Oh no, the 45 min passed by so fast!!!! It is time to sing Goodbye to our friends until next week!
We have put together a VIDEO of the actual class activities, so you can see and experience it for yourself. Get your little one and jump right into that rabbit hole to visit your very own Music Wonderland!
About 88Keys Music School
Located in York Region, on East Beaver Creek Drive near the border of Richmond Hill and Markham, our music classes for infants, toddlers, school-age children, and adults, offer world-class music lessons from talented instructors and research-based programs. Call us at 905 881 2893 to book a free trial music class or visit our Home Page for age-appropriate programs.