MUSIC PROGRAM
Our music program for toddlers offers music and movement classes for our Toddler I and Toddler II children.

Participating in music with mind, body and voice is an essential part of a child's day. For a Toddler, singing and moving with music helps develop motor skills, speech production, vocabulary, social and emotional skills, and many of the components of early literacy preparation. Music time is a joyful celebration of what our Toddlers know as well as what they are eager to learn.

*Carole Peterson, nationally acclaimed early childhood educator and musician, provides weekly Macaroni Soup music classes, which emphasize kinesthetic exploration, singing, and dancing with developmentally appropriate themes.

CREATIVE MOVEMENT DANCE CLASSES
Our dance and movement program provides an opportunity for our preschool and kindergarten children to experience both fine and gross motor activities though songs, rhythm and dance movement. It also provides indoor fitness activities when weather conditions limit our outside time. Children follow multi step directions and mimic movement patterns that teach coordination and kinesthetic memory. Dancing utilizes the entire body and is an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness. Young children are naturally active, but dance offers an avenue to expand movement possibilities and skills.

*Lisa Gomez is GBN's dance teacher. She is the director of The Dance Project dance studio in Hoffman Estates. She has studied tap, jazz, hip-hop, ballet and musical theater since the age of seven and has been teaching dance to children, teens and adults throughout the suburbs of Chicago for 24 years, which has allowed her to share her passion for dance with thousands of children.

SPANISH PROGRAM
Our Spanish program enriches our preschool and kindergarten children by experiencing the Spanish culture and language in a fun and relaxed setting.

According to experts, introducing children to foreign languages should begin as early as possible. For a child, the advantages and benefits of learning multiple languages at an early age are extremely valuable and continue long into adulthood. Some of the benefits include enhanced communication skills and appreciation for diversity. Children that learn a second language at an early age achieve a more native grasp of both grammar and pronunciation in the second language.

INTERGENERATIONAL VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
Our Intergenerational Program fosters relationships between generations giving the gift of acceptance and understanding. Our children receive the benefit of extra care and attention as well as the knowledge and talents of each of our volunteers. The volunteer is enriched by the relationships and connections formed with the children, parents and staff. Each hug, smile, picture and word that a child gives a volunteer is a special gift. Our active volunteers are never counted in ratio. They simply enrich our Center by giving their time, dedication and love to our children each and every week. We invite volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to become volunteers in our program.