Music with Reneé

I have 30+ years experience in both early childhood education and the performing arts.  I have a strong foundation in play based curriculum and I believe music is an amazing vessel for fostering whole child development. Children learn best when they're having fun.  Fun can get out of hand quickly if not handled correctly, my classroom experience allows me to safely let young children be free and expressive while maintaining classroom safety. I’ve lead music in the classroom workshops for preschool educators. I am soon to release my 4th children’s music album and I perform live music shows around the SF Bay Area and Peninsula.

 

In a play based preschool program children are not taught to until  they express an interest in the next stage of development. But when they pour the sand in the sand box they are laying foundations for math and science. When there are labels and written media posted they aren’t taught this word means blocks but seeing the letters in that order lays the foundation for letter/sound recognition later when their brains are ready for that information. They might be able to recite information it doesn’t mean they understand it. Physiologically they aren’t supposed to understand it yet. The same goes for music. You can get them to play a quarter note, half note and whole note on rhythm sticks because their memories are incredible at this age. It doesn’t mean they understand the concept. Therefore if we are in fact laying foundations for methods later used in life then we can do this in a much easier fun and natural way for the child. Sitting still and clapping to the beat doesn’t need to be a lesson. Clapping to the beat can be taught through example while dancing to a really fun song. They’re still learning how to keep a beat, doing it builds the foundation and that is how children at this age learn. They learn through every sense so we should use as many as possible when we instruct music classes.