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Ages Birth through 4 Fun music and movement for children birth through four with their parents or caregivers! Fundamentally Music is the only school in Houston certified to teach using Rob Sayer’s collection of music. His original materials and highly successful nationally based program have delighted parents and children alike. His recordings include a wide variety of musical styles, rhythms and instruments to stimulate young minds. Families receive a new CD collection of songs for each session they are registered. The school is under the direction of Lizzie Oretsky, who has performed extensively in major musicals throughout the United States and Europe. Lizzie holds a BSE in Education, and has been teaching musical theater and dance for over twenty years. Children participate as they choose at their own developmental level. We stimulate learning through play, and have tons of fun in the process. Preferred class sizes are a minimum of five and a maximum of twelve children. Studies have shown that a window of opportunity exists for the acquisition of musical skills, just as it does for language. Earlier is better! Classes encourage musical and creative development, plus foster language development, physical coordination, cooperative play, socialization, and listening skills. Fundamentally Music’s goal is to work with parents and caregivers to provide the very best in early childhood music education. Activities focus on adult/child interaction rather than child/child interaction, so that children of different ages can learn and enjoy class together. |
All Aboard the Brain Train! |
Our program is designed to develop the innate creative abilities of two and three year olds. Activities, which vary throughout the ten-week session, include art, creative movement, dramatic play, story time, science experiments, and critical thinking games. Fundamentally Music is thrilled to present innovative classes specially designed to stretch the mind and imagination of your toddler! Theme-based classes are tailored to include a variety of activities for kinesthetic, visual, and audiory learners.
Parents receive a handout each week with helpful hints of how to extend what was done in class. Handouts include brain research and development information. |
All young children need time to get used to a new room, teacher, songs and situation. It typically takes about four weeks to become familiar with the class environment. There is a wide range of responses children will display during the first four weeks. You will see that as the weeks continue the children will become more and more focused in class. It’s particularly important to listen to the tape/CD at home frequently. Children like what is familiar to them and need a lot of repetition. If they know the songs, they will have more fun in class and be learning more. Some children want to march and run; others want to spend the class no more than a foot away from the teacher; some will sit in laps; while others want to observe from a cozy corner in the room. At Fundamentally Music we recognize that there are many learning styles, and we encourage parents to let the children be where they are comfortable. A typical class may have all of these different types of children, but all children have one thing in common: they are all watching, listening, and learning from us. So have fun and make music!At Fundamentally Music, our goal it to work with parents and caregivers to provide the very best in early childhood music education. |
Fundamentally Music is a family oriented program. Just like at any family gathering, there will be children of varying ages in each class. Is this appropriate? We know it is!
Young children learn through play. We can influence what they learn by providing them with a fun and stimulating environment. Even though children may be of different ages, age does not indicate where they are in their musical development. Mixed age classes give them a chance to explore our environment at their own level of development. Because the children are not grouped by age, the class cannot become competitive. This helps create a more relaxed environment for our students and our parents. The fun we bring to our classes and the lack of pressure to perform enables our students to feel safe to stretch their musical boundaries.
It is also such a great place to bring siblings. Mixed age classes mean that each sibling can succeed and be praised for their own accomplishments. And praise them we do! After a few weeks in our mixed age classes, parents always comment on how enthralled the babies are with the “big kids” and how helpful the “big kids” are to the babies. The babies are always fascinated and motivated by what the older children are doing and the older ones love being the role models for the younger ones. What a sense of pride they feel in being a “big kid” for forty-five minutes a week.
Not quite comfortable with the idea yet? We do offer several baby classes each session for very young infants whose parents would like to keep them separated from the older children until they are bigger. These classes form informally with no designated time on the schedule. Just let us know that you are interested in a “baby class” and give us two possible days out of the week that you can attend and we can accommodate you. We also do the same for parents of children who are almost graduates of our program. Just make us aware that you are looking for a class of largely older children and we will steer you in the right direction.