FALL RIVER: Joyful Sounds in Fall River is one of three Kindermusik studios in North America selected to be part of a new pilot project aimed at Spanish; mandarin; and bilingual music.
The studio in Fall River, owned and operated by Louise MacDonald and her team of instructors, was selected for Bilingual Birdies, which is based out of New York City.
“It’s taking music and a second language and mirroring it together,” said MacDonald inside the studio in Fall River on April 4. “It looks like a Kindermusik class from the inside. We sing, play instruments, dance, but we’re using the language component to help children learn to speak a second language.”
Joyful Sounds was chosen to do the french curriculum. A studio in Florida and New Orleans were each selected to do Spanish.
MacDonald said it’s pretty cool to be selected.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” she said.
The project will be done twice a week for eight weeks and is aimed at pre-school (3-5-years-old) and a mixed ages family class. The pre-school session runs at 1 p.m. every Tuesday, while the family session takes place Friday’s at 11 a.m.. It starts April 9.
“People are really exciting about it,” said MacDonald. “We’ve been asked if we will be doing it on the weekends or in the evenings for the future. Everything depends on how it goes, how we as instructors feel it fits with our vibe.”
MacDonald said the vocabulary is based around a theme with the first one being fruits.
“There’s 12 theme units, so we could do it for an entire year if we wanted too,” she said. “The more you do a new language the better it comes off your tongue.”
For more information, contact MacDonald at Joyful Sounds.
