Early Childhood Music
Fall 2024 at West Town
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The next session of classes begins on
September 5 Tuition for each 9-week session: $189
plus a $3.25 registration fee Early Childhood Music Class Options
Twinkle Tots
(6-18 months) Thursdays 9:00-9:45am with Mr. Mikey Saturdays 8:30 - 9:15 am with Ms. Zoe Beat Explorers
(18 months-3 years) Thursdays 10:00-10:45am with Mr. Mikey Saturdays 9:30 - 10:15 am with Ms. Zoe Rhythm Explorers
(3-5 years) Thursdays 11:00 - 11:45 PM With Mr. Mikey Saturdays 10:30 - 11: 15 am With Ms. Zoe !! NEW CLASS !!
Music Explorers (5-7 year-olds) Thursdays 4:00-4:45pm with Ms. Zoe Saturdays 11:30-12:15 with Ms. Zoe 
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Start a life-long adventure with music by making beautiful music in one of our engaging Early Childhood Classes at our West Town location on Chicago Ave! We offer a sequential curriculum of musical experiences for little ones starting at 6 months old. Children participate with their grown-ups. Levels are organized by age and no prior experience is necessary.
Our goals are to:
NEW THIS FALL:
Daytime classes on Thursdays New class for 5-7 year olds 
Learn more about our classes...When is the next session?
The summer session of Early Childhood classes is currently running until August 17. The Fall Session will begin on Thursday, September 5. We will be offering Thursday and Saturday classes in the Fall. Registration is now open. Where do classes take place?
Classes meet in person at our West Town location at 1148 W. Chicago Ave. CAn I enroll at any time?
Enrollment is now open! Click a "Register Now" Button to get started what do children do and learn?
Each Early Childhood music class guides students in playing small percussion instruments, active listening games, singing, and musical movement activities. Repertoire of songs consists of culturally diverse and engaging folk songs, nursery rhymes, fingerplays, and familiar tunes, many of which explore seasonal themes. Classes focus on developing a love and enjoyment of music, as well as early beat, rhythm, and melodic skills, as appropriate at various ages. The curriculum is divided into age groups, and there are no skill-based prerequisites for each level. What curriculum is used?
ChiME’s innovative, sequential approach to early childhood music education is rooted in the Orff Schulwerk philosophy, which focuses on the experience of music as the basis of acquiring skills and knowledge. All classes in the sequence focus on internalizing the basic building blocks of music through movement and dance, instrument play, and singing, which makes our program the perfect preparation for future private instrument lessons. Learning through movement allows for the growth and development of gross and fine motor skills, along with fostering cognitive and social skills through the supportive class environment. Most of the music-making is live and acoustic, not pre-recorded, which allows creativity, artistry, and self-expression to blossom. Orff's philosophy places a strong emphasis on musical improvisation because it allows the child to engage in a creative process that involves exploration through instrumental play. In our curriculum we include instrumental improvisation with our percussion instruments such as shakers, bells, blocks and xylophones. All classes in our program are developed around three key components: Routine: Class routines, whether big or small, foster trust and provide comfort for the young musician. From week to week, children know what to expect and are able to focus on developing musical and social-emotional skills in a safe, encouraging environment. Repetition: As the core of learning in our classes, songs and movements are repeated in class, and reappear throughout the continuum of classes. Through repetition, children become engaged, achieve skills, and develop a musical vocabulary that will follow them throughout their lives. We encourage parents to sing or play recordings of the songs from class throughout the week at home. Repertoire: Lively and engaging folk songs teach musical skills while engaging the child and parent with the rich and evolving history of music that connects us to culture and community. Are make-up classes available?
If you can't make it to class, you can join us on Zoom at your regular class time. If that's not possible, our classes are recorded via Zoom, and will be available upon request to participants who missed their class. What materials are needed?
All instruments are provided to families for use in class. Each family is welcome to purchase the ChiME Time Bucket with percussion instruments for use at home, containing 2 rhythm sticks, 2 egg shakers, 1 jingle bell, and 1 movement scarf. ChiME Time Buckets are $20 and available for purchase online, when you register, or any time at the front desk. what is the average class size?
Classes are capped at ten students in order to create the optimal level of engagement for everyone involved, both children and their parents/caregivers. Most classes average between four to six students. 
Meet our Teaching Artist... |
The Value of Early Childhood Classes at ChiME
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A parent recently shared a wonderful story of how songs learned in ChiME classes helped his son cope with a stressful situation!
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"When we started, I honestly looked at music class as something fun to do with our son: he plays with toys, hears some songs and it’s just a bit of an activity. But it’s much more than that.
[Recently] he underwent a small procedure to get ear tubes put in to help prevent and mitigate the effects of ear infections. He would go under anesthesia, and the doctors and nurses asked if there were any songs to calm him down. “Itsy Bitsy Spider” was an easy one, but the best one was “Let’s Sing Hello” as a way to introduce him to all the nurses and doctors that visited and it helped him so much in getting comfortable with the strangers visiting. He’s been a happy little guy since coming home. I can’t thank you enough for what you have provided for us as parents to help our son have songs to hear with whatever life event he comes across." Ty C., Parent of a student in an Early Childhood class |