For American Amy Nanavati, the mother of 1-year-old Elizabeth, moving to Tokyo from New York earlier this year felt overwhelming. And then she discovered Kindermusik.
"It's neat to see how Elizabeth has developed since we started Kindermusik," said Nanavati. "Before she just laughed and danced, but now she understands it. I think when you arrive [in Japan] everything is so new. For me, having a program I could involve my daughter in made me feel I could bring back structure into my life a little bit. I felt I had accomplished something."
Kindermusik is an early childhood music-and-movement program that was created by a team of childhood educators in Greensboro, N.C. The emphasis is on introducing children to a wide spectrum of music, using classical and folk instruments from different cultures and different periods of history.