Stage 2: I can do it myself - Independence Day is here! This is a wonderful age for making music, as children are eager to participate in independent activities while learning to observe and follow the example of the teacher. The children now have a choice of being with their grownup or sitting as a group with their teacher. Echo singing and call and response are encouraged to develop language, listening, and pitch matching skills. Children learn the rhythmic differences between walk, run, tippy-toe, gallop, and march. Using our many varied instruments, children learn how to make "soft" and "loud" sounds, and when to play "fast" or "slow". Circle dances, creative movement, puppets, felt board activities, and songbooks provide a creative dimension to their music-making experience. By the end of the year, children will be playing the full range of our vast instrument collection - drums, shakers, metals, woods, tambourines, and resonator bells. All are designed to allow the children to accompany themselves while they sing and to fully express themselves rhythmically. They will start to play together as a group and learn to accompany themselves on various instruments. At the end of the year, to everyone's delight, they will be encouraged to entertain us with a solo!