The Tamaqua Community Art Center hosted a Music Together class Monday for families and children to learn to make music together. The program, in the middle of its third year, aims to teach children a love of music and to help families connect with kids.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the 45-minute class welcomed toddlers and grandparents who sang, drummed and danced together a cappella and with music.Marina Kuchar says she started the class because she saw a "great need" for it in the community."Recently our society is drifting toward technologies," Kuchar says. "We step away from active music making, which is very crucial for children's learning and development. We don't make anymore music, but it not only helps children's learning but also balances our emotional needs as well."Kuchar says making music helps children's social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs.She says her role in helping teach the music class is to help teach parents and grandparents how to interact with their children and grandchildren musically."Everybody knows how, but their repertoire is very limited. This program provides an array of different songs from different cultures with different rhythms and tonality patterns, like Oriental, Indian or African beats."Kuchar says the program also is meant to help bring children closer to their loved ones by singing and dancing with one another. She says it helped her connect with her own daughter when she felt something lacking. Kuchar even brings her 7-year-old daughter to the classes to help run them."As a mom, I was looking forward to that connection with my child, but I felt very disconnected. There were everyday routines I was supposed to love that made me sad."Music Together also provides participants with CDs and coloring books. Children take these home to stay engaged with the program and continue listening to the music to keep gaining from the program outside of the class itself."Forty-five minutes a week is just not enough for them to learn, so we provide materials that go home," Kuchar says. "They can reintroduce and play the music, which provides continuing development, connection and learning."Kuchar says the most important thing children can get from the program is a love of music and a way to connect with their loved ones.For more information on upcoming classes for the rest of the year, visit

www.treeoflifemt.com.