Why Learning Music is Good for Children

FOR THE VERY YOUNG CHILD

The Jungle Music and Music is Fun (MIF) programmes exposes your child to a rich sensory-based experience where they can participate and enjoy a range of activities.

Jungle Music will teach you how to use music as a tool to aid your parenting. Music can be an effective way to settle a crying baby, to help children with transition and to overcome resistance to new and unfamiliar experiences. Jungle Music's songs and quirky actions equip parents with a useful "bag of tricks" for when boredom sets in – in a shopping queue, in the car or whenever young minds need to be kept amused.

Forte's early childhood music programmes will benefit your child through:

• enhancing brain development. Jungle Music and MIF can improve your child's ability to think, learn, reason and create.
• promoting active participation by children, which is essential for heightened brain development
• a strong focus on fun, sensory-based activities enhances your child's learning experience and increases the impact and overall benefits afforded by music.
• building your child's confidence and self esteem.
• developing positive social skills such as sharing, respect and empathy.
• improving your child's memory, problem solving techniques, understanding and recollection.
• developing your child's fine and gross motor skills through dancing, clapping and other choreographed physical movements.
• language development. Jungle Music and MIF will help your child learn new words and develop their vocabulary.

Jungle Music provides a wonderful opportunity for one-on-one bonding between you and your child.

BENEFITS TO CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in specific ways. Linking familiar songs to new information can also help imprint information on young minds.

There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). This kind of intelligence, by which one can visualize various elements that should go together, is critical to the sort of thinking necessary for everything from solving advanced mathematics problems to being able to pack a book-bag with everything that will be needed for the day.

Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. A little anxiety is a good thing, and something that will occur often in life. Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential.

Forte's early piano courses will benefit your child through:

• enhancing brain development. Keyboard courses can improve your child's ability to think, learn, reason and create.
• promoting active participation by children, which is essential for heightened brain development
• a strong focus on fun, sensory-based activities enhances your child's learning experience and increases the impact and overall benefits afforded by music.
• building your child's confidence and self esteem.
• developing positive social skills such as sharing, respect and empathy.
• improving your child's memory, problem solving techniques, understanding and recollection.
• developing your child's fine and gross motor skills and coordination through playing different lines of music with both hands together.
• language development.