When Tyler Connolly was just 6 months old, he and his mother began to spend 45 minutes each week listening to different types of music, rocking back and forth and exploring musical objects. While this scenario might not seem fantastic, what makes it unique is that the Connollys, of Belleville, Ill., don't do this at home -- nor do they do it alone. Instead of using their own compact disc collection, pounding on the family piano and dancing in the living room, Tyler and his mother are among a growing number of parent-child couples taking music appreciation one step further.

According to promotional literature, "Kindermusik is an early childhood music and movement program based on the beliefs that every child is musical. Every parent is the child's most important teacher. The home is the most important learning environment. And based on research, music nurtures a child's cognitive, emotional, social, language and physical development."

Taught by trained men and women, many of whom possess degrees in music and/or education, the Kindermusik program involves newborn babies through 7-year-olds arranged in age and developmentally appropriate classes. Kindermusik boasts that between those ages, parents will see "a developmental evolution in language skills, emerging literacy, listening, problem solving, social skills, self-esteem and musicality."

Babies between the ages of birth and 18 months enjoy and participate in the program titled Kindermusik Village, which, according to the company, "... introduces multiple levels of activities appropriate for the different stages of development in this age range. Environments with diverse developmental stages in the first 18 months create an optimal learning setting for both children and parents. [Parents will] see how multiple levels of age appropriate activities stimulate babies to observe, imitate and learn."

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