SALT LAKE CITY — Getting about a dozen toddlers to focus is not as difficult as you would expect when music is involved.

And the list of skills these little ones learned during a recent class at Kindermusik in Sugarhouse went far beyond reading notes on a piece of paper.

Audie Quinn, 3, has been coming to classes with his mom for the last nine months.

“He loves music, every type of music. If it has a song, he’s there,” Kati Quinn said. “They learn about animals, they learn about sounds and we’ve learned numbers and shapes. It’s so great just to see him attach to it through music and then be able to apply that in other aspects.”

Quinn is glad she introduced Audie to music early in life and encouraged other parents to do the same.

“You’ll be amazed at what your child wants to see and do. I was amazed at how much he flourished just in a couple classes,” Quinn said.

Kindermusik director Carol Stringham has a background in elementary education. She started these music lessons in her home 25 years ago because she saw how crucial music was to a child’s early development.

“There are all sorts of benefits that come from not just listening to music, but experiencing it,” she said. “It is the one activity that lights up the whole brain!”

She said play through music helps the body and the mind work together to develop these skills right from birth.

“Skills for school readiness like counting, reading, cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and of course musical,” she said.

You don’t need to attend a music class to share those benefits with your child.

Stringham suggests turning on a song while doing everyday tasks and get your children to actively participate.

And don’t just listen to the music – get moving.

“Dance around in the kitchen, pull out the pots and pans, turn them into instruments. Listen to various timbres, which are sounds that are in your own environment. Point things out to your little one. And sing, sing, sing to them,” she said.

For more activity ideas and resources on how to help your child play through music, visit 5B45kids.com.