Music Together, Parent and Child Music Classes - Branding Photography Kitchener-Waterloo
Music Together of Kitchener-Waterloo
A highlight of each week for my son is Music Together, a music class for babies, kids, and the adults who love them. When centre director and teacher Jodie asked me to capture some images for her that would tell the story of what it’s like to be in a Music Together class, I was thrilled to help!
Explore Music with Your Child
Music Together classes are really rich experiences, where kids explore many aspects of music through singing, actions, dancing, playing rhythm instruments, and connecting with their adults and with the other kids in the class. The teachers are engaging, encouraging, and enthusiastic!
Be Actively Involved
It’s definitely not a sit-back-and-watch type of class, which for me, is an important feature. It allows me to share my enjoyment of music with my kids, and know that they’re learning while we’re spending fun time together. There’s the perfect amount of variety in each class and each semester, and they provide a CD, downloadable versions of the songs, and a song book, so you can listen to the songs at home or in the car.
Broadening Musical Experience
Each semester of Music Together features a different collection of songs, and they’re stylistically and culturally diverse, which through seven semesters over two kids in our family has meant we’ve all grown in our musical experience! Jodie says that in the same way that we expose our children to a wide range of foods to broaden their palate, we expose them to a lot of different kinds of music to broaden their musical “palate." It’s just good for them! And lots of fun for everyone!
Creating Community
One of Music Together’s most important goals is to create community. Music is such a great way to bring people together, and nothing makes you let down your guard and smile at a stranger faster than dancing together with your kids! At the beginning of every class, there’s a special hello song that mentions each child by name, and the class ends with a special goodbye song that also acknowledges each child by name. I think it’s a fantastic way to let kids know they belong, and they have a place in the community.
Experiment and Learn
One of my favourite things about Music Together is how much the teachers encourage learning through experimenting. Whether it’s finding a creative new way to make a sound with a percussion instrument, exploring movement to music, or asking for kids’ input to fill in the blank in a song lyric, everyone is encouraged to try new things, be themselves, and enjoy learning.
Have Fun Together
Another of my favourite things about Music Together is how much both of my children have enjoyed the program. It’s such a joy to see your kids light up with excitement. Music really appeals to children, and it equally appeals to the adults who love them! Everyone enjoys music, and Music Together classes are a great way for families to learn and grow musically together.