The arts

The Children’s School’s musical education program exposes children to a range of musical styles while also teaching musical skills and history. Beginning in prekindergarten, all students attend regular music classes taught by the school’s music teacher, violinist Lauren McClean. Students build on their natural love of music through singing, dancing, and moving to music.

Preschool

• Preschool teachers encourage dancing and movement by playing music and singing simple, repetitive songs.
• The school’s music teacher visits the classroom frequently to play musical instruments. Children are taught to observe the difference between high and low pitches, loud and soft sounds, and fast and slow music.

Prekindergarten and Kindergarten

• Students attend music class once a week.
• Children begin to sing more complex songs, to study the solfege syllables (i.e. do, reh, mi) and to learn about musical instruments and their families.
• Students also begin to study musical concepts through games and activities.

First Grade

• Students attend music class once a week.
• Students begin to learn about the music staff, the notes on a treble clef staff, and music note names and values.
• Children learn how to apply these concepts to simple rhythmic compositions.

Second through Fifth Grades

• Students attend music class once a week.
• Students learn how to read and write music and apply important musical concepts to their own compositions.
• Students study musical time periods and major composers.

Great Artists

• As part of the school-wide annual Great Artists program, students in prekindergarten through sixth grade study one composer in depth. Students read about the composer’s life, listen to his or her musical compositions and discuss how the composer’s music differs from other composers.

Performances

• The music department oversees several performances each year, including the preschool Spring Sing, and Spring Sings for prekindergarten through sixth grade students.