Just so you know, it is not my fault that these challenges are being presented to you all out-of-order. Please blame Heather.
One of the pitfalls of being a working mother is missing out on all of those morning “mommy and me” classes. However, being a teacher, I do get summers off to enjoy a few weeks of a class with my boy. This is why I was so grateful that Not Just Art, offered a “drop-in” week during my Spring Break and we could complete Rookie Mom’s Challenge #41: to attend a free music class. My husband is a musician, and we’ve been handing Weston mini-instruments since day one, which is why I was beyond thrilled to be taking him to a music class where we could sing, dance, and meet people. For me, the excitement wasn’t as much about the class, as it was about watching my son respond to and interact with both the music, and children his own age.
We attended a morning class with my friend and daughter; the class was mostly girls, one of which toddled up to Weston, and in true boy style, Weston totally ignored her. The little girl got fed up, said, “ugh!” to him and walked away. Her nanny was horrified, I thought it was hysterical. Nevertheless, he did love standing up and watching all of the other children; his eyes got wide as each new student came into the room. Miss Kristen was our teacher, and she was wonderful. The class began with a rousing rendition of “The Hello Song,” which Weston absolutely adored. Ever since then, we’ve been practicing every day and he really does remember it!
Baby, You Have Ears, Too!
Miss Kristen took the music very seriously, which I appreciated. Even though they are babies, they still have ears! The volume of the music was appropriate, and she wouldn’t start singing until she knew she was in the right key. I loved that she had “adult sized” instruments out and let the kids play with them. The atmosphere was so friendly and welcoming. After singing for some time, she dumped a ton of instruments the ground for the kids to play with. Weston went wild and chewed on a good number of tambourines and maracas. We also played freeze dance, and I was floored when my son actually “froze” when the music stopped!
It Isn’t About the Music At All:
What I loved more than anything about the class was it’s philosophy: that the class is simply a time to connect with your child. They made it clear that phones were to be put away, and even taking photos was discouraged (I was the only one taking photos!). In this busy world, we often are holding both the baby and our iPhone; we tell the baby to “wait one second, I have to check my email,” or even hand the baby our phone as a toy. And then, to assuage our guilt, we spend more time taking photos of our child, lest we forget the moment. But, I enjoyed the strict guidelines to put everything else on hold and simply connect.; Miss Kristen made it clear from the start that no matter what happened in the class, it was about our personal connection and time with our child. Weston and I had a blast and I am counting down the seconds until we get to sing Hello to everyone this summer.
[Photo Credit: Olivia Howell, all rights reserved]
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