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String Sprouts
Free Music Education for Children Ages 3-9
The String Sprouts is a free music education program for children aged 3-9 in under-resourced neighborhoods. It is a 32-week curricula developed by Ruth Meints (Executive Director, Omaha Conservatory of Music) with original repertoire by Dryden Thomas Meints.
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The String Sprouts Program provides:
- Free instruments
- Free weekly group lessons
- Free weekly parent/caregiver education sessions
- Opportunities to perform
What do String Sprouts Learn?
- Hold the violin and bow correctly
- Play beginning-level repertoire
- Play games that develop leadership and attention
- Engage in dexterity exercises
- Apply basic music theory concepts
The String Sprouts Musical Journey
Five years of music instruction before school programs typically become available in fourth grade.
- Begins at age 3-5 with violin, viola, or cello
- Adding string bass soon!
String Sprouts also requires mandatory caregiver involvement.
Empowering the Vulnerable
String Sprouts closes ability gaps and begins to break the poverty cycle for under-resourced children.
Sprouts showed significant improvement in:
- Vocabulary
- Initiative & self-control
Kindergarten-bound Sprouts showed:
- Trends to higher scores related to the number
of years they were in the program. - Strengths in the areas of flexibility and attention.
Family outcomes showed:
- Significant increase in closeness in the parent/child relationship
- Significant decrease in conflict