MANILA, Philippines - It is often said that music allows a child to develop his cognitive skills and that the critical years of his development are the first five years of his life. Yet, these two principles are seldom applied to our children.
That’s why singer and educator Michelle has brought here Musikgarten, the leading brand of early childhood music and movement education in the US.
“One of the prevalent things happening in our country is when parents would say that their child is too young for school. But it is only very natural for children at a young age to be already involved in music,” Michelle said.
“It is also during this time when children usually just play and move around so that their parents take their age for granted, not being fully aware that these years are in reality the most important ones,” she added.
Musikgarten Manila takes advantage of the inherent strengths of children to imbibe what they see and hear around them, and even allows for interaction between parents and children during the actual classes to facilitate the learning process.
Michelle said the effectiveness of these methods is evident since we were young, when we learned the alphabet easier by singing the alphabet song or to count from one to 10 with a little help from Sesame Street.
Musikgarten, being a US brand, uses traditional American folk songs and classical music like Beethoven’s and Mozart’s, but Michelle would incorporate Filipino songs in the curriculum to fine tune the Musikgarten Manila education to the taste of Filipino children.
Michelle, a cum laude at the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music, also wants her team of teachers to be just as passionate about teaching as she is.
“It’s hard to teach when you don’t have experience, when you don’t have recurring performances. They should be passionate about teaching. They should want to make a difference in the lives of their students,” Michelle said.
At the end of the day, Michelle teaches her students something more than just music and singing. She teaches them about life. Because music brings life to children, making it easier for them to learn, making them happier, and giving them more confidence for what’s in store for them in the future.
Musikgarten Manila is at the Paragon Plaza Bldg., 162 EDSA corner Reliance Street, Mandaluyong City. Call 470-6277 or 980-1506 or 0918-9061506; e-mail musikgartenmanila@gmail.com; or visit www.musikgartenmanila.com.