Early Childhood Music

Free 40-minute weekly music classes for children ages 3-5! 

We believe that ALL children deserve access to the transformative power of music education from the very beginning!

We Partner with Preschools!

Throughout the school year, ESC offers 100% free music classes in partnership with several Preschools directly in the vicinity of our Music Center: These Preschool partners have mission alignment with ESC, offer tuition assistance, or serve our target demographic of low-income and BIPOC students. These classes meet once per week to serve more than 120 children ages 3-5. 

We Engage Families!

ESC’s ECE program engages families with a weekly take-home learning sheet that contains opportunities for families to dig deeper into what their student learned in class.  Families are also invited to participate alongside their student in a Fall family music class, and cheer their student on from the audience at the final Spring Concert. Students that are entering kindergarten the following year are encouraged to take the skills that they’ve learned in our ECE program to our after-school program, where they will graduate to real instruments. They can then continue honing their musical and personal skills all the way through high school in our 100% free afterschool program.

A Sample family home sheet that is given to our ECE participants

What makes our Early Childhood Education program unique:

  • Experienced professional music educators

  • Joyful, developmentally appropriate activities

  • Focus on socio-emotional learning

  • Centering BIPOC musicians

  • Exploratory and sequential curriculum

  • Developing instrument readiness skills

  • Creative movement

  • Early literacy connections

  • Family involvement opportunities

Sample Lesson Plan

Every activity in every lesson plan is intentionally chosen as a powerful tool to develop Social Emotional Skills, Fine and Gross Motor Skills, Musical Skills, and School Readiness Skills.

  •  Welcome song

  •  Steady beat chants with woodblock

  •  Circle song and game

  •  Glockenspiels

  •  Solfege singing

  •  Free scarf dance

  •  Fine motor skill song

  •  Violin Readiness Games

  •  Drums and rhythm games

  •  Musical storytime and movement

Preschool Partner Teacher

“This has been a great experience partnering with El Sistema teaching our ECE students not only about music, but self control/self regulation, cooperation, teamwork and multicultural musicians of our American history.”

ECE Parent

“[My child] loves coming home to tell me what she learned in music class. She will teach me the songs they learn and the instruments she is learning about.”

 Interested in learning more?  Email ECE Coordinator Jamie Wolf, jwolf@elsistemacolorado.org