Thanks to L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis for sponsoring two of Create Now’s early education music programs that use steady beat. Research proves that teaching a young child how to keep a steady beat impacts neural and cognitive mechanisms, which accelerates reading and language fluency. Here are more details:
(1) Ready to Learn was provided to 154 Pre-K children (mostly English 
Language Learners) at ELAC. Taught by singer/musician Elena Degli’Innocenti, these kids loved singing, dancing and learning as they played fun games that assist students to connect with symbols and patterns, and math concepts like geometric shapes and numbers are also embedded in the lessons. Parents are engaged in the program and given music and other resources to continue the classes at home.
Jacquline Zavala, Vice Director at ELAC remarked, “Children gained academic skills and were helped with self-regulation, impulse control and great improvement, especially those experiencing challenging behaviors.”
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2) Musically Speaking was taught to all 2nd grade and 3rd grade students (300 total) at Rowan Avenue Elementary School in East LA. Taught by Master Teaching Artist Beth Sussman, these kids learn academic concepts including reading/speaking with expression, main idea, author’s purpose, prosody, division and fractions to name a few. They learn classical music, international songs and musical instruments.
3rd grade teacher Liliana Cabrales stated, “I use the songs in my lessons and the kids love to sing it with me. Many of the parents tell me how much their children talk about this class at home, and all of the 2nd and 3rd grade teachers at our school feel the same way – we want more!”
The students in both of these programs are having so much fun as they use their newfound musical skills and vocabulary during Create Now’s hands-on music workshops that they don’t even realize they’re learning!
We’re very grateful to Supervisor Hilda Solis for allowing Create Now to bring our early education music programs to low-income children in the First District.
