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Recap: Our Playdate with Prelude Music

Our musical play date with Prelude Music of The Woodlands was so much fun! Last week, we hung out with a handful of our readers and their babies/tots/preschoolers, and I’m still smiling about the nice time we had.  If you don’t have an all-out music & movement party at your house at least once a week, you gotta check out the classes here! They’re rhythmic and fun and freeing – every bit of what I want each of my days to feel like! 
 
For our Musical Playdate, we started off in Prelude’s Montessori-inspired playroom. It’s laid back, unpretentious, and just the right size for little bodies to develop the skill of playing solo or with friends. The children played with books, blocks, musical instruments, dolls, puzzles, and other playthings while the moms chatted together and made new acquaintances.

After we transitioned to the music room, we took off our shoes and sat in a circle on the carpeted floor. Before long, we were making beats with our hands, feet, and mouths plus learning fun new songs. I LOVED that the kids were free to do WHATEVER. While most were content with following along with the grown-ups’ leads, some preferred to explore the room and play in different ways, and it was totally fine. I don’t have one but TWO kids who tend to go against the grain, and I’d feel totally welcome and comfortable in a class here, knowing that on any given day they may be marching to the beat of their own drum, literally. 

 

What else? We played with colorful scarves (my favorite thing), made music with egg shakers (everybody got 2), and had several opportunities to move around the room in small and big ways. It was so special to see our readers get up and do the funky chicken with their kids! Before we settled down and sang the goodbye song (singing goodbye to everyone individually by name, much as we did with the hello song at the beginning), our host pulled out a large box of instruments – drums, maracas, tambourines, etc. -  and we were able to play to our hearts’ content!

 
 
 
 
If you’re anything like me, I didn’t know how to really sing, be silly, and jam out with my first child until I discovered a place similar to Prelude many years ago. Prelude’s curriculum, Music Together,  is a far cry from turning on your radio and bopping your head to the music, LOL. The little ones don’t know it, but these classes help tune them into find musical machines who’ll know how to find the rhythm and keep the beat!  During our playdate, we sang along to a variety of styles of music, and hardly any of it was the basic, nursery-rhyme songs with predictable melodies. The instructor explained to us that exposing our kids to these fun, very engaging songs are helping our kids develop an appreciation for fine music.

We’re so grateful to Prelude for the opportunity to make music with them and our children! We had  a waitlist for the Family Classes (ages birth to 5 years), so if you didn’t get a chance to experience Prelude this time, please know that you’re welcome to a complimentary trial class at any time. Just visit the website to sign up! Also, Prelude accepts class registrations throughout the semester, so you can sign up for classes at any time and they’ll prorate the tuition. Also, Prelude’s 9-week Winter 2020 session starts January 4,  and registration opens this Tuesday. Use coupon code: woodlandsmommy to get $20 off of your tuition!