Music, Spanish and Sign Language
Hunter Chadeayne is the Music, Spanish and Sign Language instructor at LifeSpan Child Care. Hunter graduated from Lebanon Valley College in 2009, studying Music Education and Vocal Performance. When not teaching at 1 of our 3 locations, Hunter is working as the director of music at the Belvidere United Methodist Church. Hunter has been involved in many theatrical productions all over the tri-state area appearing in musical theatre, operetta, cabarets and in recital. Some of his credits include Cats, Jekyll and Hyde, Jesus Christ Superstar and RENT.
Hunter is a very energetic and fun member of our staff and truly looks forward to enriching the lives of our children every day!
Music
It is our belief that music can work in tandem with any curriculum that is set in place for our children. It is with that mindset that we introduce your children to a quality of learning and exploration through music.
In our music program we do EVERYTHING! Through playing with bean bags, dancing with scarves and acting out stories through music, we are exploring and developing fine motor skills and dexterity. These fine motor activities are great for children of all ages. They allow children to express themselves through music while developing skills they will use every day.
Singing and vocalizing are also a huge part of our music curriculum. Through singing, your child will not only learn songs, but also get to express themselves. By learning new songs and dances, we tap into a very important part of child development. Memorization is a great tool for expanding the mind of a young child.
Our music program cross references and reinforces our curriculum, which is implemented in each child’s classroom. Each music class has certain thematic material which will go along with precisely what your child is learning.
We take great pride in enriching the lives of your children every day through our wonderful music program.
Sign Language
Your child will have the great opportunity to use sign language as a tool of expression and communication. Not only is it used thoughout the day, but also at special times like music and Spanish. In using Simple American Sign Language (ASL) with your children, it will help reinforce topics and ideas that your child is learning, while also broadening their expression and horizon.
Learning simple sign language is important because it enables people to encourage communication in babies and young children, connect families with their deaf members and enables communication with the deaf community. According to the National Association of the Deaf, ASL is a complete language that’s expressed through hand movement, body positioning and facial expressions.
In your child’s daily experience with us, they will learn thematic sign language to coincide with their curriculum and also learn signs to express what they want and may or may not know how to say. The hope in using and teaching ASL is that your children will have a broader understanding of the world in which they live and are prepared to communicate and express themselves in so many different ways.
Spanish
Learning a foreign language is a very important part of childhood development. It allows a child to learn about different cultures, reinforces vocalization and ultimately gives them a chance to speak a different language.
Using the Trampoline Curriculum: A Spanish Program for Young Minds, we will be exposing children to the language and cultures of others. This can prove to be extremely beneficial and can result in enhanced academic achievement in reading, math and social studies.
Each learning program comes with:
- Ten theme-based teaching guides with years’ worth of games, songs and activities
- A Spanish Vocabulary Bonus Pack that includes additional theme based vocabulary lists
- The Trampoline Spanish Vocabulary, Songs and Rhymes CD
- A Magic Bag for easy vocabulary review
Using our Trampoline Spanish Curriculum, the children will be exploring 10 different units or “pasos.” These units will help build their Spanish knowledge and comprehension. The “pasos” used are:
Paso I: Saludos y Despedidas – Greetings and Farewells Paso II: Numeros – Numbers Paso III: Colores – Colors Paso IV: En La Escuela – In the School Paso V: Mi Familia – My Family Paso VI: La Comida – Food Paso VII: Mi Cuerpo – My Body Paso VIII: La Ropa – Clothing Paso IX: El Tiempo – Weather Paso X: Animales – Animals
Each one of these units will take us approximately a month to complete, and will allow us to provide a properly paced lesson for each appropriate age group.
Parents here is a Link to Trampoline Curriculum: http://www.trampolinelearning.com/explorer-spanish-preschool-curriculum-program.html
