Spring Music Together® classes offered for young children

GOSHEN, Ind. – The Goshen College Music Center announces that spring Music Together® classes for young children from birth to age five will begin soon. These weekly family music and movement classes will be offered in five Elkhart County locations, beginning the week of March 21.

Music Together® is a research-based method for developing basic music competence in children. It accomplishes this through singing and movement to songs and chants, drawing on a wide variety of cultures and styles. In Music Together®, children attend a weekly 45-minute class with a parent, grandparent or other caregiver, and receive a songbook and professional CD for home listening. Classes are taught by trained professionals.

Music Together® classes will be held at the following locations in Elkhart County beginning March 21:

• Goshen College Music Center
• Greencroft Retirement Center, Evergreen Place (Goshen)
• LifeCenter/First United Methodist Church (Goshen)
• Chamberlain Elementary School (Goshen)
• First Presbyterian Church (Elkhart)

Regular tuition is $140 per family for the 10-week session. Need-based financial aid is available to any family whose income qualifies them for free or reduced lunch in the Federal School Lunch program. For families qualifying for reduced school lunch, the tuition is $70 per family; for those qualifying for free school lunch, the tuition is $35 per family; for income at the poverty line or below, a family's total cost for the 10 classes is $10.

The developmental benefits to exposing young children to music at an early age are well-documented. Studies have shown that the years between birth and age six are crucial to the development of musical aptitude, and that all children are born with the ability to create and understand the language of music. Additionally, studies suggest that early music and movement training for children stimulates and supports all learning.

For more information or to register your child for a Music Together® class, visit www.gcmusiccenter.org for online registration, or call the Music Center main office at (574) 535-7361. Visa/MasterCard/Discover accepted. Class size is limited. For information and/or instructions in Spanish, call (574) 535-6150.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.