Early Childhood Program

Classes for Children

3 months - 5 years

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Young Twos Program

23 months - 2.3 years

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Preschool Program

2.5 - 3.5 years

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Create Your Own Class

*Music & art for pods*

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About the Program

The Early Childhood Program—instituted in the early 1960s—offers an extensive selection of courses for introducing small groups of young children and their families to the joys of music and art. By engaging in developmentally appropriate group music experiences (listening, singing, moving, playing percussion instruments, responding to, and creating music), students build the foundation for a comprehensive music education and acquire the tools to express themselves artistically. Key to the Diller-Quaile approach is the collaboration among teachers and students, which creates a unique child-centered musical environment within each class session.

Diller-Quaile’s curriculum, emanating from our years of experience, and incorporating the pedagogies of Angela Diller, Elizabeth Quaile, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Zoltán Kodály, Carl Orff, Shinichi Suzuki, Maria Montessori, and Edwin Gordon, is taught through a repertoire of international folk songs as well as classical, modern, popular, and original music. Early Childhood classes feature pianists who improvise accompaniments in a variety of styles in response to the children’s singing and movement, thereby fostering a musically creative environment.

Diller-Quaile’s highly trained and dedicated faculty is further supported by the School’s Early Childhood Development Consultant, Dr. Elaine Heffner. Dr. Heffner works closely with the Early Childhood faculty and is available for periodic class observations and parent consultations throughout the school year.

All Early Childhood offerings are led by experienced educators and highly trained musicians. Classes also include a pianist who accompanies each class in a variety of styles, in response to the children’s singing and expressive movement.

Schedule

The Early Childhood Program offers group classes for children from three months to five years of age. Individual instrument instruction for children four years of age and up, and musicianship classes for children in kindergarten and up, are offered through the Instrumental and Vocal Department.

Early Childhood classes are conducted in the following formats:

ADULT/CHILD: Children attend with an accompanying adult.

CHILD ONLY: Children attend unaccompanied.

The Early Childhood Department follows a trimester calendar and enrollment schedule. Each trimester is 10 (ten) weeks in length. Students may enroll in one, two, or three trimesters for a full 30-week academic year commencing in September. Additionally, the School offers a 30 week, full-academic year program for the Young Twos Program and Preschool Program (child only offerings). See course descriptions for trimester dates, full-year dates, and tuitions. If you are registering for a term that has already started, the tuition amount will be prorated at checkout depending on the number of classes remaining in the trimester. If you have questions, please email mcurry@diller-quaile.org or call (212) 369-1484.

Please visit the Policies and Information page for all Diller-Quaile and Early Childhood Department policies.