The direct benefit of early childhood music education
Dear Friend,
I discovered First Steps in Music in 2005, and immediately began using it to teach young children. Its sequence of singing and movement has an excellent track record for helping children ages 4-8 absorb the basic elements of music.
We know that if we want our children to learn music, it works best when they are young.
How on earth do we make that happen when we are juggling online and in-person schooling, ballet, gymnastics, soccer, experimenting with different curricula, and on and on with our over-committed (and our children’s over-committed) lives?
You need something simple and short. You don’t want to get in a car and take a young child to another location. You don’t want to overdo it with screen time for a young child, perhaps, especially when kindergarten is online. But what if there were an online class that has all the best elements of an in-person class, following an effective repetitive sequence of learning?
There is. Last summer I started producing 1st Steps music lessons on video, and we are still at it. Here’s what a couple of my student families have to say about the lessons:
“I typically avoid online material with my kids, because it can be so overstimulating. This was as close to an in-person class we could get at home, and I love the classes. Thank you so much, Ruth!” ~Megan
“I love the variety you incorporate into the lessons, there’s never too much of one thing. The movement was great and really helped their energy levels and attention. My husband and I were impressed at how easily they were able to pay attention, and that our boys chose to participate without our encouragement.” ~Susanna
It is so easy to put off the things that seem like “extras” because of the press of other commitments in our lives. Music education may seem like an option in the early years, because the school systems regard it as such, but I assure you, it is not an extra. It is absolutely essential to provide your child with music education, to ensure that he will learn easily and eagerly in all school subjects, because his brain has been properly prepared by way of the neural experiences that music gives him. He will get a huge boost from the fact that music engages both hemispheres of the brain. Both language learning and math learning will be positively impacted.
And all of these things only have to do with intellectual development. There is also the benefit of rhythmic learning on body coordination, gross and fine motor development, discernment of patterns, and spatial intelligence.
Then there is the benefit of artistic perception and appreciation. Truly, when a child has become “tuneful, beatful, and artful” (some of the goals of the First Steps in Music curriculum), his perception of the world he lives in is full, well-rounded, and purposeful.
And we can’t leave out the benefit a child receives from early music experiences, if he chooses to pursue learning an instrument later, either for his personal enjoyment or as a career path.
If you provide your child with early childhood music experiences, you can rest assured that you are making the very best possible choice to ensure his future success.
Best Regards,
Ms. Ruth
Ruth Purcell
Certified Instructor
First Steps in Music