Symphony in Your School, Junior
Symphony In Your School, Jr. is a free in-school residency that inspires and empowers early childhood educators to engage their students in meaningful musical experiences within the framework of their current curriculum. It equips teachers with lesson plans, activities, and tools to help them use music to ready their students for academic success in kindergarten and beyond.
Applications for the 2024-2025 school year have closed. If you’d like to be notified of future opportunities, please complete the Interest Form below.
SIYS, Jr. partner teachers:
- Receive instruments and other classroom materials.
- Participate in the SLSO’s Early Childhood Professional Development Workshops.
- Teach alongside SLSO staff and musicians in their classrooms during three in-school visits.
- Bring their students to Tiny Tunes.
- Receive long-term support from the SLSO as they continue to use music to reach their curricular goals.
Curriculum
The Symphony In Your School, Jr. curriculum aligns with the Missouri Early Learning Standards, emphasizing literacy, physical development, and social-emotional learning.
- Literacy – The program supports early literacy skills by integrating music with children’s literature, engaging children in creating and performing simple songs, introducing new vocabulary, and using musical games to foster phonological awareness.
- Physical development – Through dancing, body percussion, and playing instruments, students develop both gross and fine motor skills. Physically responding to music improves children’s body and spatial awareness in fun and engaging ways.
- Social-emotional learning – The program fosters curiosity, confidence, and creativity as children work with their peers, teachers, and the musicians and staff of the SLSO. Musical activities encourage children to make choices and express their preferences, emotions, and ideas while also learning to respect and accept the ideas and feelings of others.
Additionally, the program promotes early math skills by encouraging students to recognize and create patterns in music. As they learn to play classroom instruments, students also encounter the science of sound. This hands-on approach – focused on creating, performing, responding to, and connecting with music – introduces students to the foundational music skills that they will encounter in elementary music class.
SLSO education programs are presented by:
