Microtone Music is proud to announce a new addition to our Kindermusik family -- we will shortly be starting class on Mondays at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Clifton, NJ.
We are offering nearly our full menu -- everything except Young Child and Sign & Sing, which we will launch in the Spring semester.
How it came to happen is an interesting story: I (Mr. Michael) was called by an old organist friend to cover for him at a wedding in Clifton. The Pastor at this church is also an old friend, who we hadn't seen in quite awhile. This would be Greek Wedding (yes, indeed, Big and Fat), which would mean some music at the beginning, some more at the end, and no music to play during the ceremony itself.
So, during the wedding, with no cues to wait for, my wife and I were able to just sit back and enjoy the ceremony. We were in the choir loft, literally among the beautiful icons of the Greek Faith. STUNNING works of art, and we could see them up close. It was a gentle, spiritual time and we held hands and just experienced it. We were at that point putting in 7 day weeks and very long days setting up our CT program from scratch. So it was quite a relief to just have some quiet time together.
Afterward, we stayed on to chat with our friend Fr. Peter. In passing we mentioned our new educational venture, and his eyes lit up. He told us he had been looking for some kind of music program for the very littlest members of the congregation. Might we consider doing something for them on Sunday mornings? We said of course! And our program grew by one more location then and there.
So on Sunday mornings we are doing a very short program we are calling "Little Lambs," a Kindermusik-inspired, Faith-oriented program for the youngest children in the church.
And on Mondays, we are offering our full Kindermusik program to the wider community of Clifton: Village (newborn to 17 mos), Our Time (18 mos to 3 years), Imagine That! (3 to 5 years), and Family Time (all ages together). You can see the schedule here; just click the name of each class to be taken to the page for that curriculum.
Welcome aboard, St. George GOC and all of Clifton!
Sign & Sing: New sign language program combines songs and playtime.
General, Learning and the Brain, Music Education
Here's the press release for our new Sign and Sing baby sign language class:
Beginning November 2, 2010, Microtone Music will offer a new music and sign language program called Sign & Sing. This research-proven program is based on methods shown to speed language development in hearing children, ease frustration, and enhance long-term learning abilities.
Michael Hienzsch, a Kindermusik Educator, and his wife Mary, a trained Waldorf-method teacher, are teaching the program created exclusively for Kindermusik by leading experts in sign language for hearing children: Signing Smart Inc. This new class combines songs and playful interaction to help children learn American Sign Language.
“Instinctively your baby reaches up when she wants to be held, and you instinctively pick her up and dance and sing to soothe her,” says Mr. Hienzsch. “Sign & Sing helps you see these moments happening every day in your life and gives you the language to improve that communication, and strengthen the bond between you and your child.”
The five-session class gives parents the tools to learn more than 50 American Sign Language signs for children ages 6 months to 3 years. Mr. Hienzsch will teach signs such as “help” “change” “bed” “where” and “thank you.”
The class experience also includes a set of clip-on flashcards of American Sign Language that features photos of both a parent and a child making the signs. Also included is a booklet of activities for parents and their children to learn and play with at home, and a DVD glossary that features adults using sign language.
“One of the best ways to draw a child into learning sign language is through what they love: songs and play,” says Carol Penney, Kindermusik’s Manager of Curriculum Development. “Who better to teach that than a Kindermusik Educator?”
For more information, visit Microtone Music at www.microtonemusic.net. Parents may request a free preview class by visiting Microtone Music’s website and clicking “free trial.”
Signing Smart Inc. is a nationally-recognized program for hearing infants and toddlers created by experts in language and child development—Dr. Michelle Anthony and Dr. Reyna Lindert.
Hi all! We have completely re-done our schedule of classes for the Fall semester! We now have several shorter units of the various curricula starting in November.
Our Time, Imagine That!, Sign & Sing, and Family Time all have ten-week sessions starting in early November. A regular 8-week unit of Village also begins in November. Most of the curricula are available at all our locations: Round Hill Comunity Church in the hills above Greenwich, North Stamford Congregational Chuch in the hills above Stamford, and St. George Greek Orthodox Church on a hill in Clifton, NJ (what's this thing we have with hills?). Please check out the rebooted schedule here. Then click on a class you're interested in to be taken to that curriculum's page.
Enrolling now! Tell your friends! Kindermusik is the BEST music program you can give your child developmentally, it's the MOST fun program of it's kind, and we have the NICEST locations and the MOST FASHIONABLY DRESSED teachers! Okay, Mr. Michael frequently dresses like he's still in college, and he's got that pony-tail...
Did we mention...? Enrolling now! Tell your friends!
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