Hands On! A Musical Experience

I’m a former teacher and a nanny in the Upper West Side and I’ll be the first to recommend Hands On to anyone. We have attended for over six months and the program is just top notch. I work with a 2 year old and he absolutely loves the class… so much so that when he was asked, «Do you like your music class?» by a family friend, he responded, «I LOVE music class.»
All of the children get to use at least 4 or more instruments per class. The curriculum is well thought out, and it is integrated with science and other concepts that appeal to the young children (space, animals, etc.). Anna, the receptionist, is very warm and well organized. If ever you have to miss a class (a child gets sick, going out of town, or the weather is just too nice to stay indoors!), rescheduling is never an issue. Not once. The family I work for has never had any communication or administrative errors or frustrations either.
The music class is about 9 kids large, plus caregivers, and is lead by a teacher and accompanied by a great pianist. We have Serge and Eva, and they are our favorite out of the others we’ve tried. They work well together, and have a very wide range of musical skills. It is truly amazing. All of the teachers work very well with the children, too. They know how to speak to a child warmly and educationally. These people really teach! The class is never boring, the children are always engaged, and you get your time and money’s worth! It’s a joy to see the boy I take care of talking about various instruments and concepts he’s been introduced to.
We have also taken art class as well and enjoyed it too! The group settings are small and Caroline does a great job providing new crafts and skills to the children each week. My only suggestion is that the transitions need to be a bit tighter– there is a lot of down time between each activity, which can cause some undesired «bored» behaviors to arise in children. We really did enjoy this class though… top notch.
Bottom line, I highly recommend Hands On. All of the children in the classes are so happy; it’s a great program.