Socially distancing? My toddler?!
Do you wonder how you can help our toddlers to keep their distance? Will your child will cope with not mingling as they did before? In Covid-secure sessions we won’t be using the parachute and licking each other’s faces will no longer be acceptable*. I know that some will find this challenging, but the environment…
I can see you!
Unless you’re exempt, everyone over 11 will have to wear a face covering at Rhymetime. I haven’t met anyone who relishes the wearing of a mask, but we all know that by covering our mouths and noses we protect others around us. My mum pointed to me the real up-side to face coverings: they will…
Pay now, sing later!
In the seventeen years that I have been running Rhymetime, I have had a very informal payment system. You turn up on the day and put your money in the pot (though I’ve moved to contactless in recent years). Simple. No commitment necessary. Book your place This has had to change, and I am asking…
A new adventure, with a familiar soundtrack
Or….. from limitations to strengths in the age of social distancing. Next week, I will be back in Bedminster Methodist Church Hall, singing with you again, in-person. After six months of online sessions, this will feel momentous. Of course, I will not just be flinging open the doors of the hall and letting everyone flood…
The sound of Christmas
I’m not religious. I don’t believe in God, despite a churchgoing childhood. Though I lack a Christian faith now, I do have a passion for the hymns and carols that I heard each week. Sunday School ended in time for us to file quietly into pews at the front of the church for the last…
Cuckoo….
This is an old song with beautiful harmonies that a small group of us sang on Monday morning. Each week we meet at 9.30am before the Toddler Rhymetime and while the little ones play, we learn songs from around the world. This clip is just me, and somewhat truncated, but you’ll get the idea! If…
It’s May Day
In years gone by, when my children were small and regularly woke before dawn, I would get up very early on May Day. Taking a flask of hot chocolate and a bag of marmite sandwiches, I’d bundle their little sleepy bodies into the car and take them to Brandon Hill. We would walk up the…
Three little chicks
When you’re a mum of three teens, you can’t be picky about where to record these clips! This is a sweet rhyme for the spring time.
Brooklyn or Southville?
There’s a well-off bohemian neighbourhood of Brooklyn called Park Slope, which fizzles with child-friendly cafes, children’s cultural activities and musicians. I imagine it’s not so different to Southville. The album I am recommending this month is Park Slope Parents. The Album. Vol 1. It was a 2007 fundraiser for parkslopeparents.com and if I hadn’t been sent this by a friend…
Nostalgia, Canadian style
For January’s music recommendation I bring you: Sharon, Lois and Bram, Great Big Hits This Canadian trio were popular on children’s TV over in Canada in the 80s. Listen to this if you like campfire songs, silly actions and the odd French Canadian ditty. They won’t be to everyone’s taste but I think there’s a retro pleasure in…
