KINDERMUSIK

I had some friends inquire about Kindermusik, so I thought I would share a little about it. It has been wonderful for Laura Grace. I am sure that the success of it with your individual child is contigent on that child's interest and even more so on the individual teacher with whom you work. Her teacher happens to be wonderful--very outgoing and friendly.
You purchase your materials at the beginning of the semester, which include cds (of the music you hear in class), books (also that you read in class), and an instrument (typically UNannoying ones:). All of these materials coordinate with that particular semester's theme, and that is obviously based on his/her age group. Each class begins with the teacher singing a "hello" song, individualizing it for each child, and always ends with the "goodbye" song, which LG sings ALL the time at home. The kids dance and sing, listen to poetry and ryhmes, have storytime with the teacher, and work on different things such as high/low, loud/quiet, long/short sounds, etc...
Obviously, this is going to be different for each age group. Laura Grace started in the 18month-3 year class when she was 14 months, and she did very well. She may not have learned very much in the beginning, but she caught up to the other kids very quickly as far as participating and learning. A couple of things to remember is that it is very involving of the parent or caregiver (some days I feel like I've just finished an aerobics class!), and it also requires outside reinforcement (at home). Singing the songs at home and listening to the music has put Laura Grace at a great advantage over those kids who clearly haven't had that.
It is fun for me too, since I don't get a LOT of adult interaction during the day, and because LG lives in a different city than I do and than where I attend church, I don't know many people in her area, so this has opened doors for meeting other children her age.
Hope that is helpful at least a little. I think it is a great learning tool.