Given the current boom in the UAE market for preschooler music sessions, these days many children are attending their first music class before they can walk.
But it was a different story a year ago, when Lisa Irwin, a British mum of three, was seeking out a music group for her youngest son Noah (2 years old at the time) and couldn’t find any near where she lived in Abu Dhabi.
So she turned to Facebook to see if she could drum up enough interest to set up her own music sessions. Irwin named it Music Monkeys after Noah, her own little “monkey”. Now, a year on, Music Monkeys offers 16 sessions per week, taught at three venues by three different instructors, including Irwin.
It is one of several businesses offering interactive music classes for youngsters and their carers that have entered the market in recent years.
What makes Irwin’s group unique is that it’s not a franchise. She isn’t following a set formula with materials sent from overseas. Instead, she’s drawing on her own creative instincts and what she’s learnt from working as a nursery schoolteacher.
The Mini Monkeys session for 1- to 2-year-olds is held in a cosy room at Irwin’s villa in Mangrove Village. Irwin manages to hold the children’s attention throughout the half-hour session with a sensory feast of bubbles, puppetry, tambourines and light wands, accompanied by variations of popular nursery rhymes sung by Irwin and the mums.
Irwin is also holding meetings next week with local nurseries about conducting weekly music sessions for them. At her own son’s nursery, she recalls being frustrated by the lack of musical instruments put out for the children, something she hopes to change at other nurseries. “Kids at this age love music: give them an instrument and they’re happy,” says Irwin. “It’s really rewarding watching the smiles on their faces.”
• A 10-week term at Music Monkeys starts at Dh350. Email musicmonkeysad@gmail.com or visit www.musicmonkeysad.com
More Music Courses for Kids in UAE:
• Hartbeeps has been going strong for 10 years in the UK and is now bringing its musical brand to the UAE, launching at four locations in Dubai and at the World Trade Center in Abu Dhabi this month. This term has a teddy bear theme with picnics, parties, puppetry and free play. It costs Dh650 for a 10-week course. Visit www.hartbeepsdubai.com for details.
• Boogie Babies has expanded this year and now offers music and movement classes at 10 different locations around Dubai. Its aim is to boost children’s language skills, coordination and creativity while having fun with their caregivers. Dh650 for a 10-week course. Email info@boogiebabies.org or call 050 884 1966.
• Kindermusik has a long-established reputation in the UAE for its music and movement classes for babies, toddlers and families. These classes aim to help children develop a lifelong love of music. Participants also get to take home materials such as CDs and musical instruments. An eight-week course starts at Dh500; classes are held at Bodytree Studio and Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. Call Silvia on 050 825 4596. In Dubai, classes are held in Umm Suqeim 3. Visit facebook.com/KindermusikDubai for more information.
via The National.
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