"Suzuki" Early Childhood Education

I find it interesting that the SSA (Suzuki Violin etc.) has
adopted Montessori philosophy and practice as the core
of their new Suzuki ECE program. There is a bit
of Reggio and other methods thrown in as well as other
early childhood music methods, like Orff and Dalcroze.
For more info see the SAA site here:
http://suzukiassociation.org/ece
http://www.suzukischool.com/Atlanta-Preschool/
http://www.thamesvalleysuzuki.com/pages/tt_brochure_page.html#description
Another excellent post on the connection between Montessori and Suzuki
can be found here:
http://bloommontessori.blogspot.com/2011/05/bloom-violinists-play-at-operation.html
Suzuki ECE
Trainers:



Dorothy Jones is a specialist in Suzuki Early Childhood Education. At the request of Dr. Suzuki, she founded a Suzuki School in London, ON, that included Suzuki baby/toddler, preschool and elementary classes. In 1993, the ISA approved her program in Early Childhood Education and designated her school as a world teacher training center. Past president of the SAA and past board member of the ISA, she was a founding member of the board of the Suzuki Association of Ontario and was president of that organization. She has been a Suzuki parent, Piano and ECE Teacher Trainer and keynote speaker at conferences and workshops around the world for more than 38 years. For the past 10 years, she has traveled extensively to train teachers in Suzuki ECE: prenatal and baby years.

Sharon Jones is a Teacher Trainer in Suzuki Early Childhood Education and an experienced Suzuki Violin Teacher. With Dorothy Jones, she developed the curriculum used world wide in Suzuki Early Childhood Classes. Sharon has been a clinician at conferences and workshops in Canada, USA, Ireland and Japan. She has taught at numerous Institutes in the United States and Canada. A singer, Sharon was the artist for the recording, Lullabies, Action Songs and Rhymes, the core material for the Suzuki Baby Program. Sharon will lead the baby and toddler classes and demonstrate the various technical and artistic approaches to babies and their parents.

Sensational Suzuki Twinklers

So do any of you do Suzuki violin (or other instrument)
along with Montessori? They seem a good match.
Here are some Twinkler sources for beginning violinists:
http://www.brittviolinstudio.com/
(go to Student Resources/PreTwinkle Activities)
http://practicemakesiteasy.blogspot.com/2010/12/twinkle-flashcards.html

Suzuki Violin

I  have had a request for information regarding Suzuki Violin
and its connection to Montessori so here goes:

From the NAMTA Journal*:

Suzuki and Montessori


Some comments on the commonalities between the Suzuki approach to learning music and the Montessori approach to education.


My sons have both been in Montessori since they were three (they are now 8 and nearly 11, respectively). My elder son started learning the violin from a Suzuki teacher when he was around five, and now learns the piano (again, from a Suzuki teacher). My younger son has been learning the violin for the last two years. Over the years I have been somewhat intrigued by the number of parents who, like me, are both Montessori and Suzuki parents.


It is perhaps indicative that we talk about Montessori parents, and Suzuki parents. It is our children who are in these systems, why do we include the parents? I imagine it’s because both philosophies require the parent to be involved, to understand what’s involved in the approach, and do their part.


Why do these approaches go hand-in-hand? Well, they share a number of similarities.


Both Suzuki and Montessori respect the child, and feel that learning must be approached from where the child is, not where we think they should be.


Both believe in leading by example — not by telling (haranguing) the child to do what the adult thinks best, but by providing an example of the behavior the adult wants the child to copy.


Both provide the child with an orderliness that permits the child to learn. In the Montessori classroom this is expressed in the orderliness of the materials — everything has a place, every task has a sequence. In Suzuki, this is expressed through the set order of music pieces expressly designed to take the student step by step through the techniques necessary to learn the relevant skills.


Both philosophies stress the importance of providing the right environment to nurture the child’s developing character and self-image. Both feel that individuals learn at their own pace, not according to some standard drawn up by educators. In both methods, age does not determine what work the child is doing — they do what is appropriate for their skill level, not their age.


Both Montessori and Suzuki appreciate that repetition is the key to mastery.




Both philosophies believe that education is about bringing out potential, rather than “instructing”. The adult is a director rather than a dictator.
 
References


*Thompson, Linda K.: Montessori and Suzuki. The NAMTA Journal, v 15 (2).