The children's reading area at the Wareham Free Library became a bit louder than normal on Thursday morning, when 25 children, ages one to six, picked up percussion instruments, danced to music, sang songs, and jumped around for 45 minutes of very loud learning.

The children were taking part in Music With Mar with Miss Bethany, a free music education class held each Thursday at the Library's main branch from 10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Led by instructor Miss Bethany, the children were introduced to songs that teach the alphabet, how to count, body part names, and how to speak different languages. The class is also interactive, allowing the kids to use drum sticks, Maracas, stuffed animal puppets, and picture books.

“We have five core songs that we do every week," said class instructor Bethany Gay, also known as Miss Bethany. "Each [song] comes with instruction, then, depending on who comes, I have age-appropriate songs. Today it was a little bit younger than older.”

Gay is a Wareham resident, a long-time educator, and chairwoman of the Board of Trustees for Wareham Public Library. She has been running the class for several years with the library, and is a certified instructor through the Florida-based company Music With Mar. The company's philosophy is to bring quality, brain-based, music education to families, and teachers.

Gay decided to get involved with Music With Mar when her daughter was younger, and she'd have to quite some distance to involve her in a music class.

“I wanted to bring that to Wareham,” Gay said.

The program is funded through an early education grant given to Wareham Public Schools, and coordinated through the Office of Beyond School Time.

Paulette Lake brought her 3-year old granddaughter, Avery, to take part in the class.

“She loves the music, and it was a rainy day, so it was something to do," Lake said. "We try to hit the different libraries for different programs.”

Avery's favorite song is the spider song, which Gay sings, while using a stuff animal spider to teach the names of body parts: “There's a spider on the floor, there's a spider on my knee, there's a spider on my thigh, a spider on my belly, a spider on my face.”

Wareham residents Kevin and Amanda DeCosta brought their daughter Keira, who is almost 2 years old. “She thinks Miss Bethany is really fun, and she really likes music, and she's getting more interested in books,” the DeCostas said.

Miss Bethany also had the kids sing along with a picture book of “Little Bunny Foo Foo,” who hops through the forest, picks up the field mice, and bops them on the head. However, the song contains some updated lessons for Little Bunny Foo Foo, with regards to playing carefully, safe touching, and being respectful to the field mice.

Cheryl Bagangan, who brought her 1-year old granddaughter Lily, said she felt the educational component of the songs were very important.

“The counting, the letters, all of that is so important. It's how they start to develop language," Bagangan said. "[Lilly will] get what she needs out of it as a one-year-old. We're going to come every week, I hope.”

In addition to the educational songs, Miss Bethany included a seasonal song about a pumpkin, as well as a song called "Jump" centered around cardiovascular motion.

“We're home during the day, so fun to get out of the house,” said Wareham resident Adelia James, who brought her son Eliot back for a second year with Miss Bethany, “He's learned a lot of skills. He's learned how to clap from here. He started moving and dancing. He didn't do that until he started coming here.”

Music with Mar with Miss Bethany is every Thursday in the children's reading section at The Wareham Free Library's main branch at 59 Marion Road.

For more information about the weekly class, visit Music with Mar with Miss Bethany on Facebook, or the events section of the Wareham Free Library website.