Class focus is musical kids

Havre parents will have the opportunity for their children to listen and learn from the musical teaching course Kindermusik.

Lauri Chvilicek of Hingham is a newly licensed Kindermusik educator. She will give a demonstration of the classes at the toy store Raising Kayne in the Holiday Village Shopping Center in Havre on Sunday, starting at 1 p.m.

"The definition of Kindermusik is fun," Chvilicek said. "There's no competition or performances."

Kindermusik started in Germany in the late 1960s and was translated into English and brought to America in the 1970s.

The program is centered on the individuality of each child and the child's development stages, she said.

Chvilicek became involved in it for her 3-year-old son, Cade.

"I wanted to offer him a class like this because one wasn't available," she said.

Chvilicek has been involved with music for most of her life. She began playing the piano when she was 4. She gives piano lessons to 32 students across the Hi-Line.

Kindermusik is different from the piano lessons she gives.

"Kindermusik students are not performance-oriented," Chvilicek said. "The goal is musical children rather than child musicians."

The program also promotes involvement at home for families and parents, Chvilicek added.

"We're just hoping to develop some family bonding and a love of music," Chvilicek said.

A 1996 study by the University of California at Irvine showed that preschoolers who took music lessons scored 80 percent higher on object-assembly tests than preschoolers who didn't take music lessons. Other studies show preschool children given musical training display significant improvement in spatial and abstract reasoning abilities necessary for understanding complex mathematical and scientific concepts, Chvilicek said.

Chvilicek will be offering a class in Havre and Chester for children 1 to 3 years of age and another class in both communities for children ages 3 and 4.

The fall semester will be held on Mondays from Oct. 21 to Feb. 10 and the spring semester will run from Feb. 20 to May 29. Each class will be an hour.

For more information, contact Chvilicek at (406) 355-4908 or check out kindermusik.com.