Itsy Bitsy Zone - Bringing Music, Art and Movement into Your Child's Life

itsy bitsy zone
58 Macy Street
Amesbury, MA 01913

Mailing address
PO Box 91
Amesbury, MA 01913
(978) 388-3773 sing@itsybitsymusic.com

Scroll down or click a link below for more information
Music
Art
Group Keyboard
Sign Language
New Moms Support Group
Birthday & Theme Parties

itsy bitsy music

Itsy Bitsy Music offers an exciting hands-on, interactive music and movement program created for infants, toddlers & preschoolers with parents & caregivers.
Itsy Bitsy Music focuses on a child's natural enthusiasm for music.
Itsy Bitsy Music classes are age integrated, birth to 5 years old, and designed with the whole family in mind. Siblings can enjoy a class together!
Itsy Bitsy Music encourages learning through play! Children absorb basic concepts in music such as tempo, beat, rhythm and pitch through the curriculum while singing, dancing and playing rhythmic instruments.
Itsy Bitsy Music maintains an informal instruction style that allows children to participate as they choose at their own developmental level. This format provides the fun and relaxed atmosphere in which children learn best.
Itsy Bitsy Music offers a child the opportunity to create and play in a safe music rich environment. Our approach to early childhood music is to explore and experience the music and how it moves us. A child's self-expression is fostered, embraced and celebrated!

Itsy Bitsy Music uses course materials from The Music Class

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itsy bitsy art

Each week our age-appropriate, open-ended art activities encourage your child to experience the process of creating through art! By exploring a variety of art materials we allow children the opportunity to develop their fine motor skills, independent thinking, problem solving skills, individual focus and self-confidence all while have fun and getting messy.

The materials are relatively simple but used in a multitude of imaginative ways. Children are guided yet encouraged and supported to work independently. We nurture and celebrate each child's own artistic ideas. We will create beautiful masterpieces to treasure for a lifetime! Parent or caregiver participation required. Wear your grubbies!

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
-Pablo Picasso

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itsy bitsy keys - group keyboard

If your child can sing in tune and keep a steady beat, he or she is ready for instrumental instruction. Our keyboard class provides the opportunity to learn to play the keyboard with singing, manipulatives, movement and activities. We use the acclaimed "Sound Habits" curriculum, from The Music Class® in which aural skills are taught along with technical skills and students learn to play by ear before music notation is introduced.

Parent participation is a big part of what our classes are about. Parents help the teacher in class by coaching their children. By participating in class, parents are fully aware of the practice expectations and are well prepared to help their child at home. An extra benefit to having child and parent in class together is that child and parent learn together and enjoy the learning process together. This is unlike so many other activities where the parent knows most of the material and the child is starting from scratch. Instead, frequently the child learns faster than the parent, which is an educational experience for both! Children must have a keyboard at home.

Children and their parents learn together in a Suzuki style class of up to eight families. There are 30 lessons in this curriculum. Our classes meet once a week for 45 minutes. We divide them into three 10-week sessions: fall, winter and spring. The last class of each ten-week session is a recital. Upon completion of the curriculum we recommend our students continue with either a group lesson or private piano teacher.

Highlights include:

• Weekly group lessons that are taught in a fun and playful manner.
• Itsy Bitsy Music style song and movement activities at a more sophisticated level.
• Learn to play many familiar songs on the keyboard.
• Informal recitals featuring student solos, parent-child duets and child-child duets.
• Beginning harmony, transposition and improvisation.
• A take home practice CD. Students are expected to practice at home 3 times per week for 10 minutes each.
• Promote self-esteem and self-discipline.
• Develop many musical skills that are easily transferred to other instruments.

To help determine if your child is musically ready for keyboard class, please take our keyboard assessment test. Click here to get to the keyboard assessment test.

Once there, download the instructions at the bottom of the page. After you read the instructions, click on the audio file (QuickTime) Assessment Test in the Play list section to take the test.

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itsy bitsy signs - sign language

Unlike our other programs, this is a one-class program that is conducted once every week.

Itsy Bitsy Signs uses American Sign Language, the 3rd most used language in the United States , as a tool to empower babies to express their needs. Infants lack the fine motor skills necessary to produce spoken language, but they do not lack the conceptual ability to understand and use language. With the aid of sign language, children as young as 8 months of age can tell you what they want, need and feel, before they are able to verbalize.

Based on the research of Dr. Joseph Garcia's book, Sign With Your Baby, and the award winning program Sign2Me®, Itsy Bitsy Signs offers a straightforward and easy step-by-step method to incorporating signs into your daily routines. Each class is based on a weekly theme. It is only necessary to take this 10-week program once and you are on your way to communicating with your baby!

Included in the tuition, you will receive your own copy of Dr. Garcia's book, Sign With Your Baby, with 145 clearly illustrated signs.

Benefits of Baby Sign Language

Signing allows your infant to clearly communicate specific thoughts.
Signing reduces frustration for your baby and for you.
Signing won't delay verbal language development; in fact, it may accelerate it! Research shows that babies who sign usually begin to speak sooner and develop larger vocabularies than non-signing babies.
Signing reinforces verbal language by added visual and kinesthetic emphasis to auditory input.
Signing children tend to be more interested in books.
Signing builds on babies' natural tendency to use gestures.
Signing can help parents and pediatricians identify injuries, pain, and other ailments.
Signing children can direct parents' attention toward potential dangers or concerns.
Sign language can serve as a language bridge between English and non-English speakers.
Signing may actually improve a child's IQ!

Indications that your baby is ready to begin signing
Watch for these behaviors

If your baby becomes more curious about the things around him/her
If your baby drops a toy or object and looks to see where it went
If your baby picks up an object and looks to you as if asking for more information
If your baby points at an object
If your baby is already signing on his/her own (i.e. waving bye-bye)
If your baby can imitate gestures or actions

We are a certified member of the Sign 2 Me® Presenter's Network.

itsy bitsy moms - new moms support group

A social and supportive group exploring weekly facilitated topics relating to motherhood in a small supportive and friendly setting. All new moms are invited to offer each other their experiences, insights and wisdom. Break the isolation that so often occurs and connect with other new moms to get support and learn from one another experiences. Weekly facilitated topics.

Come relax with your baby in our nurturing environment and know that you are not alone.This group meets every other Monday or Tuesday for 90 minutes starting September 12 th and is open to any mom and baby, ages newborn to crawling.

Cost for this program: $25 (includes 5 classes meeting every other week)

Birthday & Theme Parties

Creative, interactive, smile-generating birthday party activities at your place or ours. Please call or email for more information

(978) 270-3071
info@itsybitsymusic.com

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