meet gabriel
Adventures in Music Preschool Student
What can even the youngest preschooler learn through Adventures in Music? Ask Gabriel’s mom, Karen, as her 18 month-old is just starting his second session at CSMA. Music is fun!
Adventures in Music is a family-oriented program where preschoolers and adults can enjoy age appropriate activities together in an environment that promotes musical learning, social skills, and confidence-building among even the very youngest children.
Gabriel follows the footsteps of his older brother, an outgoing personality and ongoing CSMA student who’s decided at age 6 that he wants to learn violin. Gabriel, in contrast, is a bit more shy and “was really thrown” at his first class. However, with the help of CSMA’s experienced preschool faculty, Gabriel overcame his normal toddler trepidation. “Initially, he had to just watch, and then it took 2 or 3 times where we stood by the door, then by the wall, and then it just clicked.”
Today, per Karen, Gabriel is “enjoying the experience of class, learning how to manipulate the instruments, participating with the other children for early socialization and, over time has learned to follow direction and follow along. He really enjoys <his teacher>, and talks about her all week long. He sings the songs like ‘Round and around’ all week. He loves the music; he loves every instrument. It’s been wonderful, and my favorite part for him is the whole experience.”
Before CSMA, Karen explored other options but “when we got here, we just loved the place.” Adventures in Music incorporates top educational standards for early childhood development, and Gabriel is an example of how well this curriculum works. “He went from not being able to go in to the door to having an opinion about his favorite instrument. He’s really learning how to participate.”
So, what does “arts4all” at CSMA mean to Karen’s family? “All ages, all skill levels, all income levels are able to come… It’s for people who are talented artists and also for those who are just interested and enjoy art. The celebration of it!”
And for Gabriel, “I knew it was a good thing.”