A LIFE EXPERIENCE for CHILDREN, PARENTS & TEACHERS
Description of classes
For each song, there are corresponding play, creative, and educational activities. All activities are age-appropriate. Mime, visual aids, humorous props and audio support are systematically used.
Murielʼs Songs will help your child build language skills in French. Her original compositions are about everyday themes of childhood interest, such as animals, colors, numbers, parts of the body, clothing, toys, food, seasons, and more… Unusual, simple and memorable, they introduce young children and their caregivers to French sounds, words and pronunciation.
Murielʼs Musical Games will help your child build music skills, explore mobility and acquire new motor skills in French. With an array of styles, Murielʼs songs help children explore the power of rhythm, melody, tonality and beat while nurturing physical and intellectual skills.
Murielʼs Props will help your child make friends and develop social skills in French. Hand made puppets, feathers, touch & feel toys, musical instruments... Her colorful props have been specifically chosen to help children play and connect with each other.
Bébé chante Murielʼs Songs, Ages 6 - 12 mo
Enter the magic world of Muriel's French singing and enjoy a moment of quiet intimacy with your child. Muriel’s lullabies and fingerplays provide babies with a gentle introduction to French language, rhythm and poetry. Enrich your little one’s life by learning how to communicate and play through music; bond, relax and meet other new parents.
Muriel's Songs & Puppets, Ages 6 mo - 2.5 yrs
Students attend this class with a parent or caregiver.
An imaginative sing-song class, designed to nurture the musical development of young children in a playful and engaging way. Muriel, with her enchanting singing voice, expressive gestures, puppets, balloons, bubbles, parachute and rattles, will connect with children's natural love of movement and music. Sing along, dream along and share A musical journey with your child.
Muriel's Songs & Play, Ages 2.5 - 4 yrs
Students attend this class with a parent or caregiver, however they are encouraged to work independently. A drop-off class is available when all children of the same group are ready to be on their own.
In this class, children will sing and play in a way that lays the foundation for academic learning. Muriel will use a balanced collection of songs, vocal play, rhythm play, puppet play, fingerplay, movement and pre-reading activities to help children develop creativity and improve language skills in French. She will lead the class in dance, mime, using puppets, playing musical instruments and reading illustrations. Experience a preschool music class with your child in a language immersion setting. Research has shown that grasping a second language while still perfecting the first is far easier than learning a new language later in life!Muriel's Songs & Movement, Ages 3 - 5 yrs
Students attend this class by themselves.
Muriel’s Songs & Movement will enhance your child’s development and love of music. Imaginative expression will be explored through songs, dance, creative movement and instruments. The constant flow of singing and playing will never be interrupted, allowing children to immerse themselves naturally into French. A cultural experience combining music, movement and fun.< Back to topMuriel's Songs & Musical Games, Ages 4 - 6 yrs
Students attend this class by themselves.
Muriel’s Songs & Musical Games will increase your child’s curiosity about French language, help him/her develop musical, social and cognitive skills, and establish a foundation for musical thought and singing. When playing games, children will learn more songs and vocabulary. Emphasis will be on developing melodic singing, pitch, rhythm, tempo, breathing and diction. Sing and act out Muriel’s songs, and experience music through joyful musical games.
Muriel's Tools
The voice: the direct way to express the playful and the emotional aspects of a song. Through our voice, we can express and communicate an infinite range of feelings. Through our intonation, we can bring the children to any level of energy, and naturally lead the flow of the activities without any verbal authority.
The body: the physical, the emotional, the mental levels of the body are interconnected. We live a song in and through our bodies. Through our body, we can express and communicate the feeling of a song, suggest the meaning of the text, reach the children and catch their attention.
Humorous props: feathers, hand made puppets, bubbles, balloons, parachutes... and colorful illustrations to help children associate French words with the action of each song, its meaning and style.
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Testimonies
The kids just love the CD. They want to hear it all the time, they sing along with it and it's infectious. I think it's great for grownups too. So we don't play it as if to support the teaching, we rather play it because we like it!
- Maitland
Father of Adda, Io and Ray
It is exactly because of opportunities like this that we live in Brooklyn... I have been taking my 23-month-old daughter to a music and movement class in French in Boerum Hill. After two classes, I was blown away by the quality!
The teacher, Muriel, with her enchanting singing voice, expressive gestures, puppets, balloons, bubbles, parachute and rattles, connects with children's natural love of movement and music. The songs are her original works, unusual, simple and memorable; layer after layer gently teaching counting, colors, vocabulary, etc... in French. I feel that I ought to describe this class in very poetic terms... it is awe-inspiring and perfectly orchestrated, not a moment is wasted, perfectly geared to captivate toddlers and preschoolers... not to mention all the adults in the room, who all have child-like smiles on their faces. After class, it feels like we've participated in a Cirque du Soleil performance!
For French-speaking toddlers, it would be an equally wonderful and enriching music and movement pre-school class.
- Yana
Mother of Madeleine
My 3 children are now seven, four and one. My seven years old daughter, was in Muriel’s class when she was three years old and my second one was just born. We spent only about 8 months in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, NYC, but the children know the songs from Muriel’s tape by heart and still enjoy listening to them. She has a very beautiful and soothing voice and sing so clearly that it is easy for them to learn. For a very long time, my second child had to listen to Muriel’s tape every night before he went bed he found her voice so soothing. For him it was like an elixir. Now, he seems to have a flair for the language and very good pronunciation.
- Kate
Mother of Anna and Oliver
To dream and to dream in song. This is what Muriel brings to our children.
- Colleen
Mother of Léa and Michael
We listen to the CD many mornings during breakfast and it sets the tone for the day! When we sit down at the table, the kids plead for the “Escargots” song. It makes us think of a spring wind bringing fresh scents and birdsong through the windows. Muriel's voice seems to be floating on clouds. What a relaxing way to start the day!
- Eliza
Mother of Milo
I just want to tell a short story. I bought Muriel’s first cd a couple years ago so my children could hear other languages. I was playing it and none of us speak French. My six year old started dancing and acting out a song. I asked her what it was about and she explained. I looked at the English translation and couldn't believe it was what Muriel was singing about.
- Shari
CDBaby customer
I want to go to miss Muriel's class everyday!
- Dax
4 year old
I have been acquainted with Muriel Vergnaud for several years. She has taught French Classes at our center since January 1997 for children ages two through five. Her class is taught through songs, music, movement and art. It has been a pleasure to watch how the class has grown in popularity over the years. Muriel puts a lot of preparation into each class and her dedication is evident in the happy faces that arrive for her class each week. Muriel is popular with both children and parents. Her class starts and ends with a parade of children singing a song about little train; the children march around and sing this song with gusto. Their voices can be heard throughout our center! Muriel’s enthusiasm and love of teaching French is so profound that parents who signed their children up for French when Muriel started here several years ago, are returning to enroll younger siblings of the students who worked with Muriel at our center in the past. Muriel’s approach to teaching French is loving and comprehensive. She has done an excellent job helping young minds absorb the French language. I recommend her work and I am pleased that she has shared her talent with the families at my center. If you have further questions, I will be happy to discuss Muriel’s work with you.
- Linda Blyer
Director of Families First Center in Brooklyn
My three and a half year old daughter had been studying French with Muriel for over a year. Muriel is a marvelous teacher. I've never before encountered a pre-school class that is as thoroughly figured out and consistently taught as her French class. It's a focused period for the children and the structure allows time for group songs and to each taketurns (talking about colors, numbers, and special topics) with Muriel's guidance. There's no english spoken (truly the way language should be taught at all levels) but nothing about this is disconcerting for the kids. Muriel's teaching is through song and movement. Her compositions are catchy and she includes many classic French children's songs too. The repetitive format means that children can join her class and quickly feel at ease with what's going on. When Muriel brings out the different props (hand puppets, a parachute, or even feathers) before each song, the students know their cue and are ready to participate. Well beyond being a fun activity, Muriel's teaching has promoted an enormous interest in language and the relationships of words. My daughter has retained an enormous amount and I often hear her at play singing one of Muriel's songs.
- Perla
Mother of Io, Ray and Adda
When listening to Muriel's songs, kids and parents start singing the lyrics and the melodies right away, as if those were belonging to them. Muriel's songs fit exactly to kids' music comprehension and understanding. The lyrics are connected with their dreams and imagination. Simple but pertinent. The melodies seem to be accessible even if they are sophisticate.
- Nafissa and François
Parents of Luc and Marc
My daughter, Chloe-Kate, has been participating in Muriel Vergnaud's French class at Families First since before she was two years old. She's now just turned four and continues to love and enjoy the class. It's a nurturing yet structured environment where the kids sing songs (Muriel's delightful original compositions), draw pictures, play with puppets. Most important, it is fun. Honestly, my original intention when signing up for the class was to have a place to go to during the winter when the kids can't play outside, and to expose my daughter to different sounds in hopes that it would make learning languages easier as she grows older. I never imagined all the wonderful benefits Muriel's teaching technique would provide such as easing the transition to nursery school. I've also found that by learning French vocabulary and to count in French my daughter's corresponding skills in English have been strengthened and she's excited about the different ways people communicate with each other. She says now she wants to learn Spanish and German too!
- Barbara
Mother of Chloe-Kate
Muriel Vergnaud has been teaching my children French since September 1996. From the beginning, the boys have been willing and cooperative students, because Muriel has always made their lessons fun. She is intuitively able to not only assess each child's level and needs but to tailor the lessons to their interests. As they grow and their interests change, she changes her approach to keep them interested. For example, when my oldest son was obsessed with hockey, she played with him, keeping him talking as they played. Each week, they made up new rules, which they wrote down and read. Although they always have a good time, they also work hard with Muriel and have made measurable progress. Recently, I began taking my two-years-old to Muriel's classes for very young children, and have been thrilled with both the class and my child's progress. He has learned to sing many French songs, can count to twenty, repeats words and phrases, and follows simple instructions. He loves the class, and asks to listen to cassettes of French songs at home. Muriel's approach with these tiny children is gentle, soothing, and inviting.
- Lisa Kleinman
Mother of Jacob, Roger and Elie
Muriel has been teaching our two daughters, Timoney and Markia, for the last two years. We are very pleased with her teaching method as it keeps our children wanting to learn more. Muriel’s approach to teaching is playful without forgetting the fundamentals. We only have one thing to say, keep up the good work!
- Jean et Linda
Parents of Markia and Timoney
Muriel Vergnaud has been teaching French to my children for two years now and I am quite familiar with and fond of her methods. She is able to captivate their interest, even at the end of a long school day, with her creative teaching techniques. She uses music, games and exercise as well as instructional reading and writing which all culminate in an exciting and effective learning atmosphere.
- Eliza Rossman
Mother of Jane and Harry
Des chansons de bulles de savon, de marionnettes, d’hippopotames… mon fils a adoré l’univers poétique et ludique de Muriel. Muriel allie la musique, la danse et le jeu, et les enfants en redemandent!
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- Greta
Mother of Noah
Reviews
Avec Muriel, les enfants plongent dans un monde de rêve qui s'inspire des mille et une découvertes de la vie quotidienne: le soleil, les fleurs, les fruits, les flocons de neige, les animaux... tout est prétexte à chanter, à faire de la poésie...
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-Journal La Classe, France
Ces chansons, nées pour les petits New Yorkais, commencent aujourd’hui à s’expatrier et à être utilisées comme méthode pédagogique. Les paroles content et racontent les animaux, le quotidien et les sourires de l’enfance. Des mots simples, sonores pour partir joyeusement à la découverte de la langue française.
- Brive Magazine, France
Muriel possède toujours une âme d’enfant et une voix d’enfant.
- Radio PAC, France
