If you’re looking for a music class for babies and toddlers in North West Kent, then the Musical Bumps class in Castle Hill is the class for you!
Musical Bumps is a fun and friendly music class for babies and toddlers. The classes support the Early Years Foundation Stage, enhancing early speech and language development through music, fun and games.
There are Musical bumps classes all over the U.K. – from Liverpool to Brighton, hopefully there should be a class near you! I attended the Castle Hill group which is held at the Castle Hill Community Centre, Ebbsfleet Valley, DA10 1AD.
Allow an hour for the class – this gives plenty of time to get settled in, enjoy the class and a little bit of socialising in between too!
Prices may vary depending on location, however I booked a one off trial class for £7.50. You can also book a term, in which case the price is dependent on the number of sessions in the term.
So, how did my 2 and a half year old, Arthur, and I get on at our Musical Bumps class? Here’s a walk through of our experience and my honest review!
I arrived at the Castle Hill Community Centre a little early – it was my first time getting both my toddler and newborn out to a class on my own, so I was a little apprehensive and hoping everything would go smoothly. I was able to park directly outside the community centre which had ample parking – there’s also a co-op and pharmacy if you have errands to run – and waited outside the community centre entrance. The previous class was ending when I arrived, which Arthur thought was brilliant as when he peered in and saw babies crawling around he also decided to be a baby and proceeded to crawl around the entrance… at this point I already knew he was going to be full of that silly toddler energy we all know and love.
When it was time for the class to begin, I was greeted by Helen, the leader of the Musical Bumps class, with a very warm welcome. Upon entering, I made my way over to the front table and hand sanitised both mine and Arthur’s hands and collected two little dog finger puppets. I parked a sleeping Ada in her Uppababy pram at the side of the hall, and sat down with Arthur on a blue dot, which were spaced around the hall in a circle.
There were two other mums and children in our class – the small class meant we had a great level of interaction with Helen. The class is a mix of both songs played on a speaker and Helen singing acapella – she had a beautiful voice! There are simple actions to some of the songs, some dancing and some instruments. The children are encouraged to join in with the songs and actions, but if they want to do their own thing, or if they can’t hold their attention just quite yet, it’s totally okay! It’s a relaxed, carefree environment for babies and toddlers.
Helen was so accommodating, you can tell she genuinely loves hosting the class and was so kind to Arthur when he stole the attention demanding to repeat a song or running around when he should have been sitting still. I was a little embarrassed at times as he was SO over excited that he would get all up in Helen’s personal space and he struggled with the calmer songs, but Helen didn’t make this uncomfortable and you can tell she understood that toddlers will be toddlers!
The most important part: did my toddler have fun and would I recommend Musical Bumps in Castle Hill? YES! Arthur could not stop talking about his afternoon and has chatted away about ‘music class’ ever since we visited. My main reasons for visiting the class were to do something different and entertaining for Arthur and also allow him to socialise with other children, and I definitely feel as though those were accomplished.
If you like the sound of this baby and toddler class in Castle Hill, then why not give it a go?! There are mixed age classes (12 months to 4 years) Mondays at 9:30am and 10:30am and a baby class (0-12 months) at 11:30am!
PS – If you visit off the back of my recommendation, please tag me in your photos on Instagram and use the hashtag #JodetopiaInKent
Are you looking for other baby and toddler classes in Kent? Check out all of my baby and toddler group reviews or why not try Bub Club in Rochester?
