Preschoolers learn through music, movement

VERNON — Principal Rosemary Gebhardt once again opened the school’s doors last Wednesday at Walnut Ridge Primary School for the family and friends of the school’s preschool children.

Combining a mix of music, dance, and song, about 30 3- and 4-year-olds found themselves mesmerized by the school’s music teacher Michael Moschella as he performed on various instruments and held their attention through a series of highly animated movements and gestures.

The faculty is using a “Tools of the Mind” program that encourages learning by way of a curriculum that teaches language, letter recognition, and sound awareness by using real-world scenarios such as taking orders during the restaurant theme, or writing a prescription during the doctor and hospital theme.

Moschella’s efforts as the children’s musical mentor goes a step beyond through advanced learning techniques. Teaching in Vernon schools since 1990, he explained he has always been enthusiastic about different ways to reach children through music,

"It wasn’t until I began attending workshops with Dr. John Feierabend that I understood real enthusiasm,” he said.

Feierabend is considered one of the leading authorities on music and movement. According to Moschella, Feierabend’s “First Steps” curriculum is a musical workout based on the research of how children learn music.

Moschella said his students at Walnut Ridge become “beautiful, artful, and tuneful” as they develop their singing and movement skills with the goal of becoming musically independent as they share what they’ve learned with family and friends.

“There’s a lot of listening, echoing, solo singing, and movement, movement, movement,” he said.

He also explained that “First Grade Family Dance Nights” are becoming popular at the school. By the end of first grade, his students will have learned almost a dozen progressively more complicated folk dances in which they learn to move alone, with the group, and with partners. A demonstration of the program will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 19 at the Board of Education meeting.

“Dance nights are a chance for students to share what they know with the community, and the social lessons of dancing help them to see how their actions affect others," Moschella said. "They also have a lot of fun as they get better and better at responding to music in more complex patterns."

The musical mix to which the children are introduced includes Beethoven, Mozart, Louis Armstrong and others, but the foundation of it all is folk song. The children also learn the calls of many of "My goal is always to remain interested, aware and enthusiastic," Moschell said.