Spirituality

Far left:
Eliana Silverman, 18 months,
of Franklin learns to play the
cymbals.

Left:
Leading the band is teacher
Jill Formanek.

Center:
Two-year-old Matthew
August of Bloomfield Hills
perfects his jingle bell
technique with the help of his
mother, Susan.

Bottom:
Sherry Gittleman enjoys the
class with daughter Avery and
Jillian Tukel, both 2. All are
from West Bloomfield.

firtainining
With Jill

Toddlers learn
the language of music
at Applebaum Center class.

DIANA LIEBERMAN

Copy Editor/Education Writer

mong the 12 children in Jill Formanek's music class, quite a few
have yet to master the English language . . That's to be expected —
the average age in the class is about 2 years old.
Despite their youth, the toddlers who come every Wednesday to
Congregation Shaarey Zedek's Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Center for
Jewish Living can appreciate melody and rhythm. Along with a parent or
caregiver, they are enrolled in the Music Together curriculum, a systematic
approach to music education developed at the Center for Music and Young
Children in Princeton, N.J.
Every 45-minute class includes songs, chants, movement activities and instru-
mental jam sessions. Formanek, who took special training in the Music Together
curriculum, helps adults understand how to participate and enjoy the activities
along with their children.
"Jill's class is filled with an energy you can actually feel when you come into the
room," said Susan Gartenberg, interim director of the West Bloomfield-based
Applebaum Center.
"The energy comes from her contagious enthusiasm and joy in her teaching." 0

12/13

2002

54

