musikgarten of oak park

Please remove shoes at the front entrance area. This is not only to keep our music area clean, but it is also to help us feel the beat through our feet and experience the music more fully in this way. However, for the sake of hygiene, we ask that all children and grown-ups make an effort to wear socks during class. At times we may roll our rhythm sticks with our feet or the children may step on sandblocks to mimic skating, etc., and we wish to keep our instruments clean and help thwart the spread of germs!

No food or drink allowed while participating in the music class. No peanuts allowed in the studio.

Grown ups, please set an example of compassion, focused listening, and enthusiastic participation. Please wait until the end of class to enjoy conversation with others.

Please honor your child’s need for autonomy. Allow your child’s spirit to lead the way. You need restrain or lovingly redirect your child only if he/she is heading for trouble.

During this early childhood phase of musical development the emphasis is on play and not performance. We never want to put pressure on the children to perform music a certain way. Your example of full participation and attentive listening is powerful. Count on that.

Understand that all children learn at different rates and in different ways. Some will simply observe and will not directly participate in the classroom activities. Some will do everything perfectly at home, but not in class. You will find that your seemingly uninvolved child is absorbing everything in his/her quiet way. How often parents tell me that their children love to try out the musical activities at home. Yes, they have incredible powers of attention. As a parent you know that every child is unique, so check your comparisons at the door and let the music work it's magic!

Cell phone, camera, or recording devices during class time.
In order to be respectful of other families in the class, please try to refrain from using a cell phone, camera, or any recording device during class time. Should you desire to take a couple of quick photos of your child during the course of the session, please do so sparingly and discreetly. Please avoid including other children's faces in these limited photos, especially if you hope to share them on social media. Due to the communal nature of the class activities, it is important that grown ups wholeheartedly participate along with the child. Class is deeply meaningful when we put aside all distractions and give our undivided attention to our children and the musical play.

Recording for Teacher Training Purposes
Musikgarten reserves the right to record classes for teacher training purposes. As this is done only several times a session, we will try to give you advance notice. Arrangements can be made to attend a different class if your need for privacy prevents video recording. At the start of the session, please be sure to let our administrator know your privacy needs.

Class Assignments and Make-ups
Everyone must be officially registered in the class of their choice. You will keep this class assignment for the entire session. If a permanent change in class time is required, you must seek approval from the administrator. With regular and consistent attendance our families enjoy heartwarming familiarity and comfortableness with one another. However, we do understand that life happens, and at times a circumstance, sickness, or travel disrupt your schedule. Two make-ups are allowed per session. Approval must be granted to attend all make-up classes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be aware that makeups are only allowed within the same session as the missed classes and only in a select few classes according to class sizes. Please contact Beky Koontz at musikgartenoakpark@gmail.com to learn the current options and to arrange a make-up.

Compassion for All Children
Grown ups will treat all children with kindness and tenderness. No child shall be excluded, disrespected, or made to feel unworthy. Any violation of this standard of compassion will result in immediate dismissal from the studio. A refund of unused tuition will be issued.

Sibling Participation
Babies under 1 attend for free when accompanying an older sibling to a Family Music or Cycle of Season’s class. All siblings between 1 and 5 who participate in the class must be registered. Families with more than one child between ages 1 and 5 generally join the Family Music class. We sometimes make exceptions and allow younger children to register for a Cycle of Seasons class with the older sibling. But this requires unusual focus on the part of the toddler. Most toddlers are not developmentally ready for the more sophisticated activities that take place in the Cycle class.

Holidays or school closing or institute days are acceptable reasons that may require you to bring your older child. Usually this happens only once or twice a session. If you feel the older child will enjoy the experience, he/she is certainly welcome to participate in the class. Older siblings (5 years and under) who attend a Family Music or Cycle of Seasons class and participate with younger siblings must be registered. The older children love the Family Music class, too. They love to lead the way and act as exceptional role models in the class; it is a big boost to their confidence as they get a kick out being the senior class member. Our teachers call upon them to take a leadership role with specific activities.

There is a $50 Registration Fee which is part of the total cost of each class. This fee is not refundable. A student who withdraws before the start of the session is entitled to a refund of the remaining tuition only. A student who withdraws before the fourth week of class is entitled to a 50% refund of tuition only. There are no refunds after the 4th class.

If it is determined that the student is not able to succeed in the class, or is a disruption to other students, the remainder of your unused tuition will be refunded.

There will be no credits or reduction in fees for missed classes.

Free Previews
Though we sometimes offer free previews before the start of the session, you are not guaranteed a spot in a Musikgarten class of your choice. Indeed, many classes fill up before the start of the session. We know that many families wish to be reassured that the class is the right fit for their child. (Especially since our Fall and Winter sessions last for 14 weeks.) Please be reassured: if you are not completely satisfied after your first class, you will receive a refund of your tuition, minus the non-refundable registration fee. To receive your refund, you must notify the teacher immediately after the first class. Keep in mind that some children are anxious if this is their first group class experience. We are happy to work with you as you ease into the wonderful world of music making at Musikgarten.

Parking & Snow Parking
Parking is available on Lombard Avenue and area side streets near the studio. Please be aware of and observe all parking restrictions, especially those between 8-10 am.

When it is still snowing and streets are being plowed, there is NO PARKING on HARRISON Street. Parking on side streets IS allowed based on the date: You can park on the EVEN numbered side of the street on EVEN numbered days, and on the ODD numbered side on ODD numbered days.

Parking on Harrison St. IS allowed when it is no longer snowing and the street is plowed. If you need to verify a snow ban, please call 358-SNOW.

Severe Weather Conditions
Please note that Musikgarten will update the website in the event of a studio closing due to severe weather. As a private studio, we usually keep our studio open. Please check the home page of our website to confirm if classes are cancelled.

Musikgarten Recordings Make Classes More Successful!
At the start of each session we announce to our parents and caregivers: Grown-ups, do you know that here at Musikgarten we think of you as our primary students? Your enthusiastic and focused participation in class is the all and the all. To be sure, your bright shining example lights a fire in your child’s heart and is the grand impetus for their joyful musical discoveries and play.

We encourage everyone to share Musikgarten’s excellent music all week and all session long. Day in and day out you will find ways to bring music to life in your home. To that end, we encourage you to learn the music by heart and to find a hundred and one ways to integrate the songs, dances, poetry, stories and musical activities into your daily life with your children. The home materials, especially the recordings, will be a key component in facilitating the musical and dramatic play you accomplish with your child throughout the week.

What are the varied and wonderful attributes of the Musikgarten recordings? Below is a fine Musikgarten article that highlights the reasons to use your recordings at home.

Familiarity breeds success: Children love to hear a song over and over and over again. They will request the music on every car trip. When they enter the classroom they embrace the activity because they KNOW the songs from listening to the recording at home.

Children singing on recordings: All Musikgarten recordings have children singing several of the songs, sometimes in a children’s choir and other times as a solo. This is magical for children because they love hearing other children sing. They can easily sing along because the vocal range is optimal for their voices.

Expands the classroom experience: So often I have parents share how their children are “practicing” their songs. This could be a baby or toddler singing the songs on a syllable like la or bam in their crib or in their car seat. Or an older child singing a complete song while dancing.

Develops vocabulary: Songs, especially the folk material that Musikgarten uses, are rich in words. When children sing with the recording or later by themselves, they are developing their growing vocabulary.

Parent’s important role: Parents are the model the child will follow. I notice more parents sing in class when they have listened to the recording with their children or on their own. How many times have I heard parents say they continue to listen and hum along to the music long after they drop off their children to school or other activities? Parents love the music!

I always encourage families to listen to many different types of music, and I embrace the tremendous variety of musical choices in our society that we can access 24 hours a day. However, I want to emphasize the strengths of the Musikgarten recordings that are created specifically for young children:

Instrumentation is diverse: This is so important! So many children’s CDs limit their instrumentation to drums, guitar, piano and voice. But take a look at a typical Musikgarten CD. The listener will experience a children’s choir; instruments from the woodwind family like the clarinet, oboe, and bassoon; large orchestras, brass instruments; folk instruments like bamboo flute and jaw’s harp; plus the traditional guitar, drums and piano. Oh, and did I mention an ensemble of Renaissance instruments? When it is time for a child to choose the instrument they wish to study, teacher and parent can be sure they have heard a wide selection of musical instruments before they make that lifelong choice.

Tempo: The tempo of the music is just right for children. I have found when I listen to CDs that are labeled for children they are just too fast. In my classes I am constantly slowing down the speed of the songs we sing to match the speed of the children singing. At the same time, I want the tempos on the recordings to be lively and catchy and the CDs have the speed that is ideal for the children.

The singers are often children: This needs to be repeated! This means a child has a model of singing that is just like their voice. They hear a sound that they can easily understand and recreate.

Music includes activity: Remember in class we don’t just sing a song, we sing and MOVE to the song, whether it is tapping the beat on our knees, rocking to and fro, marching through the room, folk dancing or playing along with sticks. This brings another dimension to the song, something a recording by itself cannot do.

May you find a myriad of opportunities to play your recordings and to make them a part of their daily life.

Musical Play at Home and in the Car
Make music an integral part of your daily life. Lullabies at bedtime make an ideal family ritual that creates lasting joy and precious child/parent bonding times. Make up songs as you work and play. Use songs to transition from one activity to another, one setting to another. If possible, play or learn to play an instrument, take voice lessons, join a drumming circle. As you express yourself musically, you set a fire in the heart of your child.

Make music a time of playfulness, discovery and family togetherness. Warning: some children do shush the singing parent. Indeed, my youngest daughter Sophia often gave my arm a strong bop and shook her head, “No way!” This was the daughter who came into the world just before I began teaching Musikgarten. Of course I found ways to be musical around her. I find that most children have a season or two of pokiness. I notice this in my teaching, too. So if your child shushes you in class, try not to take it personally. The art of surrender and going with the flow comes in handy with creative endeavors. And with parenting in general.