Special Music Class Targets Young Children
By: William Seay
Updated: March 21, 2013
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Stomping their feet, and shaking to the beat, even the littlest kids can get into a good song.
"Music is a way that you can bridge barriers of difference and create unity. It's a language on its own," said Debbie Kunz from St. Joseph's Parents as Leaders.
Kunz is speaking on behalf of Tunes of Fun, a special music class developed by stay-at-home mom Jill Swann in 2002.
Filling in for Jill and leading this class Paula Jessen.
Jessen is here with her two boys, Parker, 3, and Landon, 10 months.
"I think it's good to interact with your kids. You can do these things at home, obviously. But I'm a stay at home mom. They don't get the interaction with the other children," she said.
And allowing her children to be with other small children and allowing parents to be around other parents is one of the big reasons Tunes of Fun has so much to offer.
"Kids love to be around other kids. What they're doing socially is they're developing empathy. They're learning to make eye contact with other people. They're learning that human relationships are important," Kunz said.
They even use musical instruments.
At their disposal is an array of drums and shakers and other noisemakers.
It's all about having fun, but there are developmental rewards to being around music at such a young age.
"The brain grows to about 80% of its adult size by the age of three," Kunz explains. "So when we expose a child's brain to music from a very young age, you're building connections in the child's brain that make a stronger brain."
The big lesson is, you're never too young to enjoy a little music.
"Music is a way that you can bridge barriers of difference and create unity. It's a language on its own," said Debbie Kunz from St. Joseph's Parents as Leaders.
Kunz is speaking on behalf of Tunes of Fun, a special music class developed by stay-at-home mom Jill Swann in 2002.
Filling in for Jill and leading this class Paula Jessen.
Jessen is here with her two boys, Parker, 3, and Landon, 10 months.
"I think it's good to interact with your kids. You can do these things at home, obviously. But I'm a stay at home mom. They don't get the interaction with the other children," she said.
And allowing her children to be with other small children and allowing parents to be around other parents is one of the big reasons Tunes of Fun has so much to offer.
"Kids love to be around other kids. What they're doing socially is they're developing empathy. They're learning to make eye contact with other people. They're learning that human relationships are important," Kunz said.
They even use musical instruments.
At their disposal is an array of drums and shakers and other noisemakers.
It's all about having fun, but there are developmental rewards to being around music at such a young age.
"The brain grows to about 80% of its adult size by the age of three," Kunz explains. "So when we expose a child's brain to music from a very young age, you're building connections in the child's brain that make a stronger brain."
The big lesson is, you're never too young to enjoy a little music.
