Feature
Songs for Seeds
Songs for Seeds introduces early childhood music education kids in Queens
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I MARCH 2020 33
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Songs for Seeds, an early childhood music program
with a mission to bring “a little rockin’ a lot of learnin’”
to families and their young ones, just opened up its
first Queens location in Long Island City.
Songs for Seeds is a music education franchise
by Apple Seeds, a children’s amusement center that
first opened in Manhattan’s Upper West Side and has
various locations nationwide.
Molly Pfeifer, an early childhood educator who
taught pre-K for seven years, said she was looking
to get out of the classroom and start her own busi-ness,
but didn’t know where to start. After meeting
Apple Seeds and Songs for Seeds’ co-founders,
Allison and Craig Schlanger and Alison Qualter and
Bobby Berna, she found their franchise appealing.
Apple Seeds co-founder Allison Schlanger said
Pfeifer was “weighing the options” of either opening
up in Williamsburg and Long Island City, but “ultimately
decided to launch in the neighborhood she knows
best,” which was Williamsburg in 2018.
“Soon after her opening, we got interest in Long
Island City from another potential owner and Molly
jumped on the opportunity to secure it for herself,”
Schlanger said.
Pfeifer said she wanted to bring the class to the
LIC neighborhood after seeing that there’s a greater
need for more educational resources as more young
families move in.
“The opportunity came up to open in Long Island
City, and it was too perfect to pass up,” she said.
The music class is located in the Renew Queens
building at 47-20 11th St., and celebrated its grand
opening in January.
Pfeifer described the program as “essentially, a
mommy-and-me” class that is meant to engage children
through musical activities and lay the foundation of
early childhood education. The children’s ages range
from newborn to 6 years old.
Classes are usually once a week and are about 45
minutes long. They’re led by a three-piece band and
have various activities, including “Music of the World,”
where they teach students authentic sounds and
languages from different cultures. Pfeifer emphasized
that students also learn letters, numbers and shapes.
“They’re learning so much just through songs,” she said.
“It’s really cool to see week after week what they’re getting.”
Classes run on a monthly model, and starts when-ever
a parents signs up so there’s no 16-week
commitment.
The first class is always free to try, and $115 per
month afterward. They currently have a discount, of-fering
the first month for $90.
Apple Seeds co-founder Bobby Berna said
LIC’s recent boom in “residential spaces, shops
and restaurants” and its short commute to Man-hattan
make it the perfect place for a Songs
for Seeds.
“Molly has known this all along,” Berna said. “We
can’t think of anyone better than Molly, and her incred-ible
band of teachers, to introduce songs for seeds
to this area.”
For more information, visit songsforseeds.com.
Courtesy of Songs for Seeds
/www.qns.com
/www.qns.com
/songsforseeds.com
