The Music Class

This is a wonderful experience for both children and parents! The songs and activities truly promote skills that will help the children develop their musical ability to the fullest. The teachers are kind and welcoming. My kids and I looked forward to the day of Music Class and even my husband would not miss it!

With 14 locations in and around Atlanta, there is going to be a Music Class near you. I take my niece once a week, every week to the Music Class in Toco Hills — and I have for almost two years. I can’t speak for all locations, but I’d assume that they were going to be very much the same.
However, for Toco Hills I can say this — Moira Nelligan is amazing. She is the teacher we have stuck with for the past years and I wouldn’t trade her for the world.
If you arrive early for class you and your child (or niece in my case) will be privileged to hear Moira preform before hand– singing and playing an instrument: the fiddle, Irish drum, recorder, or accordion. She is very much in touch with her Irish roots and frequently plays native songs/​jigs.
Class opens with the «Happy Hello» song, and closes with the «See You Next Time» song — both of which will include your child’s name (or niece’s name, in my case). Songs alternate between active/​involved songs with dancing and movement, and quieter songs where you focus on the melody.
Children learn about rhythm by playing with egg-​shakers and clapping along to songs. They learn about tones through voice-​mimic –games. The learn about percussion by playing with real instruments: bells, shakers, those hollow-​wooden block things, drums, the triangle, maracas, rain sticks… and a ton of other things I can’t even recall off the top of my head. Sometimes they do a «scarf dance», where squares of a taffeta material are thrown about the room and the kids dance to the music using the scarves. I’m not sure what this teaches — but the kids love it, the adults love it, and it’s fun. so perhaps the lesson is that music is fun? I don’t know. I don’t care.
If we didn’t have a blast we wouldn’t continue to go, continue to make friends, and continue to learn fun new things. For example: our teacher explained this morning, as she was playing her fiddle, what the different between a fiddle and a violin is. Ha! Don’t you wish you knew? Yes, you do.
Also — my two-​and-​a-​half-​year-​old niece, Lucy, says you should go check it out. Why would you disobey an angel like this?