Shaker eggs are easy to hold, fun to play with, and make a beautiful sound. Children learn to connect the motions they make with the sound that results.

Children also learn from watching the grownups they love making music too!

Emma explores the shaker eggs while her mother and aunt keep the rhythm with their own eggs. She shakes them vigorously, stops and listens, then shakes some more. Since the grownups are helping to keep the rhythm going, Emma absorbs the rhythm from watching, listening, and trying it herself.

Jack is experimenting: Do the different resonator bells make different sounds or the same sound? What happens if you hit the side instead of the top? If you hold the stick a different way, will it make a different sound?

Everything Jack discovers will go into his musical memory, to help him decide how he wants to make music the next time. Musical competence is built on these tiny little steps!

Every class features a play along, where children and grownups can explore a variety of instruments while jamming along with the cd.   This allows children to process the music ideas they've experienced earlier in the class - and it's also a lot of fun!

Our rules for the play along are simple:

• Everyone gets to play.
• There's no wrong way to do it!
• If it goes in a mouth, just put it aside so we can wash it later.
• Have fun!