Music Lessons for Babies, Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers

Pre-School Music Lessons

Introduce Your Preschooler To Music

Young minds thrive on structured stimulation, and music has been consistently shown to engage them more thoroughly than any other activity. Babies as young as 3 months old can participate in these hyper-specialized classes, designed to encourage social development, improved memory, gross and fine motor control, movement, strength, and overall cognition. Give your young ones the head start they’ll thank you for later – join Merriam’s Pre-School program today and set them on a life-long course of learning and exploration.

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Preschool Music & Movement

RHYTHM • MOVEMENT • INSTRUMENT EXPLORATION • SOCIALIZATION • PITCH & MELODY

BEST QUALITY PRESCHOOL MUSIC

PRESCHOOL MUSIC CLASSES FOR 0-4 YEAR OLDS

Merriam School of Music offers one of Canada’s most comprehensive, well-researched, and fully outfitted preschool music programs, including 3 distinct age groups, a brand-new teaching lab, and an experienced and certified program leader. Young children, including babies and toddlers, can greatly benefit from early exposure to musical concepts – far earlier than traditional music lessons begin. These early learners, together with a parent and certified instructor, will explore weekly activities that promote cognitive development, social development, gross and fine motor control, emotional development, and communication/language development. We deliver on those areas through highly structured group classes where specialized instruments, games, and tools are used, and the foundation for musical learning later in life is firmly laid.

Infants

First Sprouts (0-18 MONTHS)

Infants

Merriam’s Little Launchpads program is focused towards our youngest learners, leveraging music’s powerful ability to encourage cognitive, physical, social, and language development. This weekly program is perfect for parents and infants who want to introduce music early in life, or have already witnessed some affinity for music and rhythm.

Program Features

45-minute classes – Approx 30 min teacher-led activities (songs, fingerplays, infant massage, dance and movement, instrument exploration, listening activities) plus 15 mins of free exploration, sensory and social playtime for babies and caregivers.

The curriculum was developed by combining Merriam’s Keyfest music curriculum with Ontario’s framework for early learning.
The focus is on developing a love of music while also using music as a tool to nurture the development of the whole child.
Young children learn best through active engagement, observations, experimentation and social interactions with others.

Together with their caregivers, infants experience joyful music making as they explore the following musical concepts in each class:

Rhythm
- hearing and creating a beat with our bodies, voices, and rhythm instruments
Pitch and Melody
- beginning to vocalize sounds and musical phrases
- hearing adults and instruments make melodies
- Listening to a variety of music from around the world
Sound Exploration
- Hearing and identifying sounds and where they come from
- Creating and exploring a variety of sounds using everyday objects
Instrument Exploration and Ensemble Playing
- Playing baby-safe instruments such as maracas, egg shakers, bells, and drums
- Hearing live instrument demonstrations
- Playing along to high-quality recorded music, including classical, folk, world, and modern music
Dance and Body Awareness
- Expressive movement with scarves, ribbons, balls, parachutes and more
- Simple line and circle dances with caregivers
- Infant massage to develop body awareness, strength and flexibility
Social Music Time
- Group activities are designed to allow infants to interact with each other

Program Benefits

Areas of infant development nurtured in each class, based on Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) framework:

Cognitive Development
- Attention Regulation
- Cause and Effect Exploration
- Body and Spatial Awareness
- Memory Capacity
Social Development
- Interacting and Bonding with Caregivers
- Observing and Interacting with Peers
- Examining Objects with Others as A Means to Form Relationships
- Imitating
- Turn Taking
- Using Gestures, Vocalizations and Emerging Expressive Language
Gross and Fine Motor Development
- Grasping, Holding, and Releasing,
- Strength Building
- Visual, Auditory and Tactile Perception and Exploration
- Coordinating Senses with Motor Skills
Emotional Development
- Expressing Emotions, Such as Joy, Excitement, Affection
- Self-Regulation
- Learning Agency and Independence
Communication and Language Development
- Sharing Attention
- Using Gestures to Communicate
- Receptive Language Skills
- Distinguishing Between Familiar and Unfamiliar Sounds
- Recognizing Named Objects
- Vocalizing and Babbling
- Speaking or Singing with Words or Gestures

Toddlers

LIL’ JAMMERS (18-36 MONTHS)

Toddlers

Toddlers love music, and they’re capable of understanding, absorbing, and doing far more with music and movement than many people realize. These young learners will experience their first ever public performance, and try many different instruments and visual art activities to help develop fine and gross motor control. They’ll interact socially every week with new friends and develop their problem-solving skills and extend their attention spans. It’s structured fun for the parent and child alike!

Program Features

45-minute classes – Approx 30 min teacher-led activities, plus 15 mins of free exploration of music stations featuring:

Instrument Exploration
Listening Stations
Hands-On Music Theory Activities
Music+ Art Activities
Social Playtime for Toddlers and Their Caregivers

Each term ends with an on-stage performance for family and friends
The curriculum was developed by combining Merriam’s Keyfest music curriculum with Ontario’s framework for early learning.
The focus is on developing foundational music knowledge and overall love for music while using music as a tool to nurture the development of the whole child.
Young children learn best through active engagement, observations, experimentation and social interactions with others.

Together with their caregivers, toddlers are guided through joyful and expressive music making as they explore the following musical concepts:

Rhythm
- Saying simple rhymes and fingerplays to establish a steady beat
- Creating a beat using body percussion (clapping, stomping, dancing)
- Keeping the beat using rhythm instruments
- Finding and playing the rhythms of words and phrases
Pitch and Melody
- vocalizing sounds and short musical phrases
- Introducing basic solfege singing (do-re-mi)
- Singing simple melodies
Listening (Ear Training)
- Hearing and identifying everyday sounds
- Hearing and identifying qualities of music (loud/soft, high/low, etc)
- Echoing back short musical phrases
- Listening to a variety of high-quality recorded music from around the world
Instrument Exploration
- Using toddler-safe instruments to explore sounds and create music, such as drums, rhythm sticks, tambourines, triangles, shakers, guiros, boom whackers, and xylophones
- Hearing live instrument demonstrations and getting the chance to try playing instruments from around the world
- Experiencing the joy of ensemble music making
Dance and Expressive Movement
- Simple line and circle dances
- Expressive movement with scarves, ribbons, parachutes, balls, balloons, and more
- Acting out dramatic stories to instrumental music
Social Music Games
- Games and activities are designed to allow toddlers to interact with each other and build friendships.

Program Benefits

Areas of toddler development nurtured in each class, based on Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) framework:

Cognitive Development
- Problem-solving (using trial and error, setting goals)
- Cause and effect exploration
- Using symbolic thought to act out pretend play and stories
- Following routine
- Building memory capacity
Social Development
- Observing and imitating peers
- Beginning to play with peers
- Engaging in short group activities
Gross and Fine Motor Development
- Developing gross motor skills like balance, jumping, walking, and running
- Developing fine motor skills like grasping, holding instruments, and using sticks to play
- Using sensory discrimination (identifying sounds, etc.)
- Coordinating senses with motor skills (hearing a quiet sound and playing a quiet sound)
Emotional Development
- Expressing feelings in language and imaginative play
- Behaviour regulations (starting and stopping, matching energy levels to the situation, waiting)
- Attention regulation
- Understanding own abilities and autonomy
- Making choices
Communication and Language Development
- Receptive language skills – listening to stories and songs
- Responding to short instructions
- Expressive language skills – asking questions, using simple sentences, engaging in pretend play

Preschooler

Kinder Scouts (3-4 years)

Preschooler & Kindergarten

Try out new instruments, play fun engaging games, create your own music, and get ready for a life of future music-making! This group of young learners will make music as a group, begin to learn the core concepts of musical theory, write their first melodies, and enjoy all the cognitive, social, and behavioural benefits that go along with it.

Program Features

45-minute classes – Approx 30 min teacher-led activities, plus 15 mins of free exploration of music stations featuring:

Instrument Exploration
Listening Stations
Music + Literature Stations
Hands-On Music Theory Activities
Composition Stations
Music+ Art Activities
Music Games
Ensemble music-making for preschoolers and their caregivers
Each term ends with an on-stage performance for family and friends
The curriculum was developed by combining Merriam’s Keyfest music curriculum with Ontario’s framework for early learning.
The focus is on developing foundational music skills and a love for music while also using music as a tool to nurture the development of the whole child.
Young children learn best through active engagement, observations, experimentation and social interactions with others.

Children and their caregivers are guided through joyful and expressive music making as they explore the following music concepts and skills:

Rhythm and Tempo
- Using spoken rhymes to establish a steady beat and simple rhythms
- Creating beats using body percussion (clapping, stomping, dancing) and rhythm instruments
- Hearing, analyzing and playing simple rhythms
- Using basic rhythm notation
- Hearing, understanding and applying a variety of tempos
Pitch, Melody and Harmony
- Using voices to match pitches
- Singing short musical phrases (solo and ensemble)
- Singing simple solfege patterns (sol-la-sol-mi-do, etc.)
- Singing simple folk songs
- Learning the basics of music notation on the staff
- Playing simple harmonies as a group
Ear Training
- Hearing and identifying everyday sounds
- Hearing and identifying qualities of music (dynamics, pitch, tempo, timbre, etc)
- Echoing back musical phrases using voices and instruments
- Listening to a variety of high-quality recorded music from around the world
Instrument Exploration
- Using high-quality instruments to explore sounds and create music, including drums, rhythm sticks, tambourines, triangles, shakers, guiros, boom whackers, xylophones, resonator bells and more
- Hearing live instrument demonstrations and getting the chance to play a variety of instruments from around the world
- Improvising and composing with instruments
- Experiencing the joy of ensemble music making
Dance and Expressive Movement
- A Simple Line, Circle and Choreographed Dances
- Expressive movement with scarves, ribbons, parachutes, balls, and more
- Acting out dramatic stories to instrumental music
Music Theory Games
- Activities designed to teach music theory concepts while promoting fun and friendships

Program Benefits

Areas of development nurtured in each class, based on Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) framework:

Cognitive Development
- Problem-solving (identifying problems, collecting information and predicting outcomes)
- Regulating behaviours
- Connecting art mediums to stories, feelings and experiences
- Using art mediums to express ideas, feelings and experiences
- Taking roles in dramatic play scenarios
- Using the senses to gather information
- Identifying patterns and connections
- Classifying and sorting objects and sounds into groups
Social Development
- Exchanging ideas and materials with others
- Sharing thoughts, experiences and feelings
- Interacting positively and respectfully
- Learning music from a variety of cultures
- Listening, thinking and responding appropriately
Gross and Fine Motor Development
- Increasing coordination and control of movement
- Using expressive movement
- Matching movements to rhyme, moods and patterns of music
- Working together in shared dance and movement activities
- Using instruments to produce/reproduce patterns
Emotional Development
- Building self-esteem by seeing self as competent and capable
- Feeling like a valued member of a group
- Focusing attention
- Matching energy levels to the situation and learning tools for self-calming
- Learning delayed gratification and persistence
- Persevering through new and challenging tasks
Communication and Language Development
- Sharing songs and stories
- Expressing ideas and describing experiences
- Understanding and following oral direction
- Creating and retelling oral stories
- Identifying sound in the environment and in music
- Gaining phonological awareness through sound recognition and singing games

First Sprouts (0-18 MONTHS)

Infants

Program Features

The curriculum was developed by combining Merriam’s Keyfest music curriculum with Ontario’s framework for early learning.
The focus is on developing a love of music while also using music as a tool to nurture the development of the whole child.
Young children learn best through active engagement, observations, experimentation and social interactions with others.

Together with their caregivers, infants experience joyful music making as they explore the following musical concepts in each class:

Rhythm
- hearing and creating a beat with our bodies, voices, and rhythm instruments
Pitch and Melody
- beginning to vocalize sounds and musical phrases
- hearing adults and instruments make melodies
- Listening to a variety of music from around the world
Sound Exploration
- Hearing and identifying sounds and where they come from
- Creating and exploring a variety of sounds using everyday objects
Instrument Exploration and Ensemble Playing
- Playing baby-safe instruments such as maracas, egg shakers, bells, and drums
- Hearing live instrument demonstrations
- Playing along to high-quality recorded music, including classical, folk, world, and modern music
Dance and Body Awareness
- Expressive movement with scarves, ribbons, balls, parachutes and more
- Simple line and circle dances with caregivers
- Infant massage to develop body awareness, strength and flexibility
Social Music Time
- Group activities are designed to allow infants to interact with each other

Program Benefits

Areas of infant development nurtured in each class, based on Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) framework:

Cognitive Development
- Attention Regulation
- Cause and Effect Exploration
- Body and Spatial Awareness
- Memory Capacity
Social Development
- Interacting and Bonding with Caregivers
- Observing and Interacting with Peers
- Examining Objects with Others as A Means to Form Relationships
- Imitating
- Turn Taking
- Using Gestures, Vocalizations and Emerging Expressive Language
Gross and Fine Motor Development
- Grasping, Holding, and Releasing,
- Strength Building
- Visual, Auditory and Tactile Perception and Exploration
- Coordinating Senses with Motor Skills
Emotional Development
- Expressing Emotions, Such as Joy, Excitement, Affection
- Self-Regulation
- Learning Agency and Independence
Communication and Language Development
- Sharing Attention
- Using Gestures to Communicate
- Receptive Language Skills
- Distinguishing Between Familiar and Unfamiliar Sounds
- Recognizing Named Objects
- Vocalizing and Babbling
- Speaking or Singing with Words or Gestures

LIL’ JAMMERS (18-36 MONTHS)

Toddlers

Program Features

45-minute classes – Approx 30 min teacher-led activities, plus 15 mins of free exploration of music stations featuring:

Instrument Exploration
Listening Stations
Hands-On Music Theory Activities
Music+ Art Activities
Social Playtime for Toddlers and Their Caregivers

Each term ends with an on-stage performance for family and friends
The curriculum was developed by combining Merriam’s Keyfest music curriculum with Ontario’s framework for early learning.
The focus is on developing foundational music knowledge and overall love for music while using music as a tool to nurture the development of the whole child.
Young children learn best through active engagement, observations, experimentation and social interactions with others.

Together with their caregivers, toddlers are guided through joyful and expressive music making as they explore the following musical concepts:

Rhythm
- Saying simple rhymes and fingerplays to establish a steady beat
- Creating a beat using body percussion (clapping, stomping, dancing)
- Keeping the beat using rhythm instruments
- Finding and playing the rhythms of words and phrases
Pitch and Melody
- vocalizing sounds and short musical phrases
- Introducing basic solfege singing (do-re-mi)
- Singing simple melodies
Listening (Ear Training)
- Hearing and identifying everyday sounds
- Hearing and identifying qualities of music (loud/soft, high/low, etc)
- Echoing back short musical phrases
- Listening to a variety of high-quality recorded music from around the world
Instrument Exploration
- Using toddler-safe instruments to explore sounds and create music, such as drums, rhythm sticks, tambourines, triangles, shakers, guiros, boom whackers, and xylophones
- Hearing live instrument demonstrations and getting the chance to try playing instruments from around the world
- Experiencing the joy of ensemble music making
Dance and Expressive Movement
- Simple line and circle dances
- Expressive movement with scarves, ribbons, parachutes, balls, balloons, and more
- Acting out dramatic stories to instrumental music
Social Music Games
- Games and activities are designed to allow toddlers to interact with each other and build friendships.

Program Benefits

Areas of toddler development nurtured in each class, based on Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) framework:

Cognitive Development
- Problem-solving (using trial and error, setting goals)
- Cause and effect exploration
- Using symbolic thought to act out pretend play and stories
- Following routine
- Building memory capacity
Social Development
- Observing and imitating peers
- Beginning to play with peers
- Engaging in short group activities
Gross and Fine Motor Development
- Developing gross motor skills like balance, jumping, walking, and running
- Developing fine motor skills like grasping, holding instruments, and using sticks to play
- Using sensory discrimination (identifying sounds, etc.)
- Coordinating senses with motor skills (hearing a quiet sound and playing a quiet sound)
Emotional Development
- Expressing feelings in language and imaginative play
- Behaviour regulations (starting and stopping, matching energy levels to the situation, waiting)
- Attention regulation
- Understanding own abilities and autonomy
- Making choices
Communication and Language Development
- Receptive language skills – listening to stories and songs
- Responding to short instructions
- Expressive language skills – asking questions, using simple sentences, engaging in pretend play

Kinder Scouts (3-4 years)

Preschooler & Kindergarten

Program Features

45-minute classes – Approx 30 min teacher-led activities, plus 15 mins of free exploration of music stations featuring:

Instrument Exploration
Listening Stations
Music + Literature Stations
Hands-On Music Theory Activities
Composition Stations
Music+ Art Activities
Music Games
Ensemble music-making for preschoolers and their caregivers
Each term ends with an on-stage performance for family and friends
The curriculum was developed by combining Merriam’s Keyfest music curriculum with Ontario’s framework for early learning.
The focus is on developing foundational music skills and a love for music while also using music as a tool to nurture the development of the whole child.
Young children learn best through active engagement, observations, experimentation and social interactions with others.

Children and their caregivers are guided through joyful and expressive music making as they explore the following music concepts and skills:

Rhythm and Tempo
- Using spoken rhymes to establish a steady beat and simple rhythms
- Creating beats using body percussion (clapping, stomping, dancing) and rhythm instruments
- Hearing, analyzing and playing simple rhythms
- Using basic rhythm notation
- Hearing, understanding and applying a variety of tempos
Pitch, Melody and Harmony
- Using voices to match pitches
- Singing short musical phrases (solo and ensemble)
- Singing simple solfege patterns (sol-la-sol-mi-do, etc.)
- Singing simple folk songs
- Learning the basics of music notation on the staff
- Playing simple harmonies as a group
Ear Training
- Hearing and identifying everyday sounds
- Hearing and identifying qualities of music (dynamics, pitch, tempo, timbre, etc)
- Echoing back musical phrases using voices and instruments
- Listening to a variety of high-quality recorded music from around the world
Instrument Exploration
- Using high-quality instruments to explore sounds and create music, including drums, rhythm sticks, tambourines, triangles, shakers, guiros, boom whackers, xylophones, resonator bells and more
- Hearing live instrument demonstrations and getting the chance to play a variety of instruments from around the world
- Improvising and composing with instruments
- Experiencing the joy of ensemble music making
Dance and Expressive Movement
- A Simple Line, Circle and Choreographed Dances
- Expressive movement with scarves, ribbons, parachutes, balls, and more
- Acting out dramatic stories to instrumental music
Music Theory Games
- Activities designed to teach music theory concepts while promoting fun and friendships

Program Benefits

Areas of development nurtured in each class, based on Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) framework:

Cognitive Development
- Problem-solving (identifying problems, collecting information and predicting outcomes)
- Regulating behaviours
- Connecting art mediums to stories, feelings and experiences
- Using art mediums to express ideas, feelings and experiences
- Taking roles in dramatic play scenarios
- Using the senses to gather information
- Identifying patterns and connections
- Classifying and sorting objects and sounds into groups
Social Development
- Exchanging ideas and materials with others
- Sharing thoughts, experiences and feelings
- Interacting positively and respectfully
- Learning music from a variety of cultures
- Listening, thinking and responding appropriately
Gross and Fine Motor Development
- Increasing coordination and control of movement
- Using expressive movement
- Matching movements to rhyme, moods and patterns of music
- Working together in shared dance and movement activities
- Using instruments to produce/reproduce patterns
Emotional Development
- Building self-esteem by seeing self as competent and capable
- Feeling like a valued member of a group
- Focusing attention
- Matching energy levels to the situation and learning tools for self-calming
- Learning delayed gratification and persistence
- Persevering through new and challenging tasks
Communication and Language Development
- Sharing songs and stories
- Expressing ideas and describing experiences
- Understanding and following oral direction
- Creating and retelling oral stories
- Identifying sound in the environment and in music
- Gaining phonological awareness through sound recognition and singing games

Good Fit Guarantee

Love Your Kid's PRESCHOOL MUSIC CLASSES, or It’s Free

Your first lesson with a new tutor is protected by Merriam’s Good Fit Guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with your lesson, you don’t pay. No questions asked.

Expert Instructors

Our preschool instructors are passionate, nurturing music educators. All members of our preschool department have early childhood education training, and the curriculum fully aligns with the provincial ELECT framework.

Convenient Scheduling

Preschool classes are offered throughout the week, and at convenient times for moms and dads. As parents ourselves, we get the importance of well-timed class offerings!

Specialized Facilities

You and your child will enjoy our brand new Studio C / Preschool Centre, fully equipped with the right musical and percussion instruments, physical activities, and visual aides - tied together with our fully conceived and proprietary preschool music lesson plans.

First Performance

Children who perform early in life, in fun and engaging settings, develop confidence, self-discipline, and long-term goal setting faster than those who don't. Enjoy seeing your child on stage for the very first time with us!

Performers & Educators

We introduce different musical instruments and bring expert performers and educators in to add even more excitement and depth to the experience. How better to fall in love with a new instrument than with those who have made it a career?

Materials Included

Many preschool programs require parents to purchase expensive books and worksheets - our preschool programs includes the cost of all materials and worksheets; no surprises, and tons of value.

No Long-Term Contract

We’re confident you’ll be with us for years. But for any reason, if you need to end your journey with us, 30 days' written notice is all we require to stop lessons, penalty-free.

5-Star Google Rating

The most reviews, the highest rating. Merriam serves over 3000 weekly students, and our customer satisfaction rating is over 97%.

"Our mission and purpose is to help foster and inspire creative, connected, and well-rounded lives with the power of music."

- Alan Merriam, President of Merriam Music

The Merriam Curriculum

A Complete Music Education

Students at Merriam don’t just learn differently. Their entire experience is broader and more engaging. They learn creativity and free expression while building confidence, self-esteem, and friendships. It all begins in the classroom, but where it takes them, goes far beyond.

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