It’s been over a month since we last had a structured class so to say I was nervous about taking B to a new class was an understatement. The opportunity arose to trial a new class for free, Rhythm Time to be exact.
Rhythm Time is a multi-sensory music class for babies & toddlers. I was quite happy to trial the class as B has never done anything like this before & because, of course, he loves making lots of noise! What can be better than a class where your child can make as much noise as possible without anyone judging you?!
Before I booked myself & B in I managed to get to know Carly the owner of this Rhythm Time franchise. I always firstly judge a class by the approachability of the teacher, Carly was funny but professional & she completely got my sense of humour.
Carly fully explained the class to me before I signed up & was super sweet when I explained about my current struggles with B, we have the terrible two’s multiplied by about 100 I’d say. She put my mind at rest & as a result I was more chilled out about the experience.
We arrived at our class early & I was pleased to find lots of FREE parking available, B decided to have a mini meltdown on the way out of the car due to the fact I told him he couldn’t take his surprise egg into class!
However, he soon got over it & we walked over to the hall & got greeted by Carly & one of the ladies from head office. This was hugely helpful as I didn’t have a clue where it was being held!
B was given this beautiful sticker on arrival, which as you can see he was so proud of!
Our class started with an adorable hello song, B was a bit confused at this point & just sat there staring while we sang hello to all the other kiddies in the room. However he warmed up a teeny bit when he heard his own name, almost like he was proud & excited that everyone knew his name!
Next up was MARACA TIME! B loves to make noises & has loved Maracas since he was a new born. Each child was asked to choose a Maraca & then asked to sit down. This activity is to help little ones learn different pitches, high,low oh and of course in the middle.. of your jumper tehehehe! B was still a bit confused at this moment in time but he still did remarkably well for a child who hasn’t recently been doing as he’s told.
B zoned out a little when Arabella the doll was introduced, I’m unsure if that was because he was confused or because he just wanted to rattle away with his maraca.
Arabella helps the little ones with body awareness by asking them to cover their feet, tummies etc!
Here is B with Arabella, I may have stolen her for 5 minutes after the class ended so I could get some pictures of them together hehe!
The next part of the class involved the maracas again & B seemed to really like this part, even if his face in the video below looks a bit zoned out. He was learning about beats of four this week & seemed to pick it up quite well.
One of my favourite parts of the class is that the children are actively encouraged to put away the items they have been using, this is something B struggles with at home. WELL if you want me to be honest he completely ignores it at home!
Whether its the fact all the other kids got involved or because of the little song, B was quite excited to pop away his Maraca & was very proud of himself once he’d ‘popped it in the basket’.
I did find certain aspects of the class quite quick, now I don’t know if this was me judging it as an adult but I found a lot of the activities fast paced. I’m pretty sure its to keep the attention of the kids though, I may be used to a more slow paced relaxing life haha!
Another favourite activity of B’s was the ‘let’s clap our hands together’ activity where he got to clap his hands & stamp his feet, two things he LOVES to do! He usually claps & stamps to get his own way but I think this activity will teach him a more positive outlook on clapping & stamping.
We were all asked to take two sticks from the box to use in the next activity, trying to explain to B to get 4 was very difficult. He got two, then I told him to get two more so he put his original two back & picked up a fresh two haha!
In the end I got my own but we made it! Us adults got to take part in this bit too… YAY we get to participate in making a racket, sorry a beautiful melody!
We were to tap our sticks together to the tune of ‘walking walking’, this is to help with the sense of pulse.
On the whole B got it but did sometimes either mishear or chose to ignore the instructions!
After the activity B was brilliant at putting away the sticks, I was very proud.
We particularly liked the next activity where we were given a cool instrument to play!
B got to play along to the music with his symbols, unfortunately I think these were a little daunting for him & I ended up using them instead. When the music finishes the children are encourages to pass their instrument to the left, to help with sharing! B is exceptionally good with sharing as of late so this wasn’t an issue with him! The sharing meant B got to play with a drum, MUCH more his cup of tea… EVEN if he was completely missing the beat of the music.
B loved putting away his instrument after the music had ended, he did however wait till everyone else had put theirs away before he would put his in the box!
We shook some bells to Mozart next, B loves bells so got along quite well with this part of the class.
When B was in my belly I used to listen to chill out music & classical also, he seems to get on quite well with these types of music as a result.
I love this video of him, he looks like he’s enjoying himself so much!
My personal favourite part of the class was the sensory blanket! It’s a carefree part of the class where you get to sing songs & have a bit of a play! The children are encouraged to run under the blanket, hide & sing along.
I thought it was very sweet & the blanket looked AMAZING!
B was a bit hesitant to run underneath at first but was soon flying in & out, he did however avoid hiding underneath it.
Sadly after this it was time to go BUT not before the bye bye song which is sung to the tune of Frére Jacque, B loved this part & I found it really cute. Its a lovely way to say bye bye to everyone in the room & to make them feel super special!
We really enjoyed our experience at our Rhythm Time toddler class, we shall hopefully be joining up as long as it fits in with all our other activities!
The class is only half an hour & really keeps little ones attention.
Both Little B & Me are happy to HIGHLY recommend Rhythm Time to you all <3
If you are interested in a class, why not check out if there is one in your area by heading to Rhythm Time. They have all the information you need there & I hope you try a class out & enjoy it as much as we did.
Love
Little B & Me!
Hi Kayleigh,
Thanks so much for writing about Rhythm Time on your blog! I’m committed to encouraging toddlers to have fun while learning about music, so I am really pleased that Bryson enjoyed his class. It was a pleasure to see him bopping along with his instruments!
You are right, we try to keep the class fast paced, because it is easy for children aged 1 – 3 to become distracted. So it’s a bit of a whirlwind half hour and they all get involved, as do the parents, as you saw!!
Thanks again and see you soon,
Carly
http://www.rhythmtime.net
http://www.facebook.com/rhythmtimemidherts
Just posted about music myself. Such an immersive activity that gets the brain, eyes and ears firing. Looked like you both had so much fun 🙂
He is so adorable. How amazing to have a Music Class for babies! The arts are so good for their development. Sounds like a great time.
OMG! This is such a cute post! I would like to participated with my child/ren in something like this in the future as well ◠‿◠
♡ * Le blog de la Licorne * ♡
Awwh what a great play group!! Music and children just go
Together perfectly don’t they!? I must admit I’m quite terrified of going to play groups at all as some of the parents can be quite unwelcoming and rude but this group sounds lovely!!
They say that music is great for creativity, especially for young ones. Sounds like you’re doing the right thing.
This sounds like it was a fun class for the both of you. Getting kids involved in things like this really preps them for life ahead. Just interacting with others is essential. Love the tile of your Blog too. Awesome.
I’m a big fan of sensory classes – I think they are so important for a childs development. This one looks like lots of fun x
I have heard of this and would love to be a Rhythm and time teacher/leader. It would be so cool. It looks like such fun!
Hi Angela,
It’s lovely that you are interested. You can find out more about running classes here: http://rhythmtimefranchise.co.uk/
In future, I hope to employ teachers too, so if you are in the area, drop me a line CarlyE@rtfg.co.uk Thanks!
Looks like you guys had a great time. Rhythm Time lessons are fab!
That’s so great! My niece would love music and noise too, not sure about myself though haha. Great idea for kids to get creative and let loose with making lots of rhythmic racket… 😉
Alina from The Fairytale Pretty Picture
I think this is just fantastic, what a great idea for a class x
Seems like a great class. I love the creativity. EVen though any things passed. It will also help children develop and see what they like!
I’ve never heard of Rhythm Time, seems like a great music activity for kids! I am sure a son of my friend will love it!
This is a great class for kids to learn and appreciate music in an early stage.
This is such a cute post!
I have recently taken my little ones to something a bit similar.
Music is so good for children, and it’s nice that you got to know the leader a bit more before you arrived. Makes it more comfortable!
I think music is a really good activity for kids’ development and he looks very happy in the videos! Keep posting about this kind of activities 🙂 x
Great post! Looks like this was a really fun class 🙂
Do they offer a taster class? I think would need one of those to trial it before signing my youngest up as he’s not really one for sitting and paying attention. Thanks for the videos they really halp show what goes on.
Yes this was one of their free taster sessions!
Hi Bryson! Why are you so cute!!! Keep on learning and love school!
wow , this is so amazing and your kid ; well he is so cute and lovely … i like the fact you started this blog to talk about your journey through pregnancy to motherhood .. so inspiring to see that .. btw i love your blog very much.
I love all of these little videos and the class sounds wonderful. I really need to get Lily doing more and I know she’d love this sort of thing X
What a fabulous idea! Looks like he is really loving it.
This looks like so much fun! We have similar classes locally and yet my children refuse to join in and it’s always me sat there shaking my maraca!!
What a great and well organised event for the little ones. Your kid looks so happy there 🙂
It sounds like a lovely structured class for little ones. I think music is a great way to help them learn and play
What a cutie you have there. The class sounds like it would be fun for little ones.
What a fun event for little ones. He is a real cutie. xx
What a brilliant class. My son and I never did Rhythm time but I have lots of friends that love it and swear by it. He’d have loved stamping his feet and playing the drum too! Thanks for joining the #weekendblogshare
This is so inspiring! I love the post:)
He’s so adorable… Lovely class and nice review.. Like it!
Music really helps your brain in unimaginable ways. Music for toddlers can be a really great thing. Glad that you guys had fun! X