"Nancy is a gifted teacher and musician. My daughters were lucky enough to meet her in preschool, and each week they came home raving about Miss Nancy's class. Whether Nancy is telling stories through music and instruments or teaching the children joyous songs, she taps into the creativity and rhythm that is inside of us all. She has a profound influence on my children; they feel at home in the world of music because of her teachings."
Parent
Preschool Music Programs
Teacher, therapist, performer: my career with children spans 3 decades. The preschool classes I teach are full of spontaneity and joyful self-expression-- based on a sound knowledge of how young children learn.
Each music session is comprised of singing, listening, moving, playing and creating. Guitar, rhythm instruments and hand drums all play a role --- but so do unaccompanied singing, call-and-response chanting, hearing and repeating rhythmic patterns (ostinati) and stories and folktales set to music.
Visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners all feel included in this approach.
Jewish Settings
Jewish family concerts, singalongs, Tot Shabbat, Chanukah parties and Hebrew School music sessions, ongoing or special events. I bring a repertoire of Hebrew and Yiddish songs, Israeli folk songs and songs by contemporary American Jewish composers, as well as a background of teaching Jewish music in schools and camps dating back to 1976. Since 1999, I have led Jewish music sessions with five-through-eight-year-olds at Bet Torah Religious School in Mount Kisco, New York.
Bet Torah Religious School, Mount Kisco, New York:
Music Specialist since 1999.
Jewish Community Center of Stamford:
Nursery school Music Specialist since 2006.
Bet Am Shalom Synagogue:
White Plains, N.Y. Music specialist since 2006.
Staff Development
How many times have you heard teachers say "I'd like to do more music in my classroom, but I'm not musical myself?"
In my staff development workshops, teachers are invited and encouraged to cross that barrier.
In an atmosphere where risk taking is supported, they begin to experience the musical creativity we are all born with.
Choose from
"On beyond Raffi: Songs and Games from the American Folk Tradition"
"Cantamos: Spanish Songs for the Bilingual Classroom"
"Let's Start at the Very Beginning: Music for Toddlers and Twos"
"Harnessing the Power of Music Across the Curriculum"
I will also work with principals and early childhood coordinators to design a workshop or inservice that meets your needs.
I have taught music and movement as an adjunct instructor in the early childhood department at Naugatuck Valley Community College (spring 2004, 2007).
"This class has really made a difference for Benjamin. He's much more focused now, and he can't wait to come to music class."
Parent of a three-year-old
with autism
Childen with Special Needs
Music and movement are a powerful therapeutic tool for children whose other avenues of communication and socialization have been compromised by disabilities. Many of these children are unimpaired, and completely uninhibited, when it comes to shared music making.