One of the best parts of being a parent is watching your kids find activities they love.  If you have toddlers or a child with special needs, it can be harder to find activities they love that still benefit them.  Music classes have obvious developmental benefits but are often forgotten about. If you haven’t tried music classes for your kids, here’s what you want to look for and what you should expect.

The Benefits of Music Classes for Kids

The first thing you need to know is that kids can benefit from music at every age and at every mental, physical, and emotional developmental level. In fact, music classes for kids with special needs have helped families in amazing ways.

1. Exploration

Since kids don’t typically have much (if any), access to musical instruments, one simple opportunity to test them out can really open their eyes. This is why the first time your child comes to our music class, they are given the freedom to play with all of our instruments—piano, guitar, percussion, and even composition. (P.S. The first week is free, with no obligation! Yes, seriously!)

2. Academic Development

It’s no secret that music and math are closely intertwined. But even kids who don’t like math usually enjoy learning about beat, rhythm, scales, and patterns.

3. Communication

Music speaks to everyone in different ways. It can help kids communicate difficult feelings or just develop their ability to communicate with an authority figure.

And for kids with special needs, music can be even more powerful than we expect. The best moment of our music class was with one of our nonverbal kids with autism.

At the end of his lesson, he said, “Mom come play piano with me.”  At four years old, this was the first thing he ever said to his mom.

As you can imagine, just telling that story makes everyone in the room cry.  Never underestimate the power of music.

4. Development of Fine Motor Skills

“Fine motor skills are the ability to make movements using the small muscles in our hands and wrists.” (understood.org) Toddlers develop this skill by playing with toys, and it’s common for all kids to need some extra help with developing their fine motor skills. Playing guitar, piano, and drums often motivate kids to continue working on these skills.

What To Look For In Music Classes for Kids

Before enrolling your child in music lessons, make sure their teacher has experience with different instruments and with teaching.

As much as we all love John Mayer because he’s an amazing guitarist, he probably wouldn’t be a great music teacher.

Choosing A Music Class for Kids with Special Needs or Toddlers

Finding a great teacher is especially important when you’re looking for music classes for young kids and for kids of all ages with special needs.

Here are some things to look for:

• Experience with kids with special needs
• Experience with toddlers
• Willingness to change their methods
• Patience
• Consistency: While this is not always possible, it’s best for young kids and kids with special needs to have the same teacher for every music class.

What To Expect At Our Music Classes for All Kids

At We Rock the Spectrum Oklahoma City, we offer private music classes for kids with special needs, toddlers, and all kids.

You won’t ever have to worry about having a different teacher. Our music classes are led by Zach Seresinhe, the owner of Zed’s Practitioners (check out his Facebook page here). He has been playing piano for 19 years, guitar for 13, percussion for 9 years, and went to college for orchestral composition.

Each music class is specifically planned to develop your child’s skills while giving them freedom to play each instrument. For instance, students who are still working on the letters A through G use color-coded music.

Music classes for kids can open a whole new world of opportunity. What will it do for your child?

Your first music class is free! Call today to get on the schedule.
Call Zach at 501-655-9169 or our gym at 405-657-1108.
info@werockthespectrumoklahomacity.com