Baby Artsplay Program Goals and Objectives

Baby Artsplay classes are:

•  Designed to support the very young child's social, emotional, intellectual, and motor development through quality arts interactions with adults
•  Interdisciplinary performing arts: music with drama and movement
•  Multisensory—emphasizing songs and activities
•  Integrated with simple American Sign Language
•  Book-centered—fostering language/literacy development
•  Taught by senior-level Wolf Trap Teaching Artists

Baby Artsplay class objectives:

For Children:

•  Promote vocalization and motor skills
•  Increase awareness of and responsiveness to movement and sound
•  Encourage vocabulary growth
•  Develop socialization skills
•  Gain recognition of new aspects in the environment
•  Stimulate innate sense of discovery

For Parents:

•  Develop the skill of steady beat in their children through aural, oral, and motor activities
•  Learn, model, and select quality and developmentally appropriate songs to sing and movement activities to perform with their children
•  Approach sharing and reading books with their children in multiple expressive ways that encourage the desire to learn
•  Develop confidence in using their singing and speaking voice
•  Learn to sing in a healthy way that is pleasing and comforting to young children and good for the children to listen to and begin to model
•  Develop a love of singing with their children

Baby Artsplay classes will have young children and parents/caregivers experiencing the arts together as they:

•  Learn and sing children's songs
•  Play rhythm and melodic instruments that are developmentally appropriate for young children
•  Engage in chants and songs/games that develop fine and gross movement skills
•  Bring stories to life through vocal character development and "Coffee Can Theater" techniques of using props with storytelling and other tactile experiences
•  Learn to recognize early learning skills in arts activities and experiences with children
•  Participate in small group activities
•  Engage in Q&A about the benefits of the arts and early childhood learning with the Wolf Trap Teaching Artist/Instructor
•  Interact socially after class at the Parent/Caregiver Coffee Club with complimentary beverages provided