Rhythm Child

Earlier this week Baby M and I went to Rhythm Child at the Santa Monica Library's Fairview branch. The Rhythm Child network has a variety of products and programs, but at the library, founder Norm Jones led the kids in a drum workshop. Baby M loves drumming and had a blast at the workshop. Norm had a ton of energy, but perhaps even more importantly, he had a ton of instruments. Every kid could get the exact type of drum he or she wanted so there were no fights or tears. Somewhere along the way Baby M lost his bongo drum and we just grabbed another one out of one of the large bins. No problem.

Norm led the kids in playing loud and soft, fast and slow, taught them some simple rhythms and told them a story about Pirates. The kids had plenty of time to drum, dance, sing and just be themselves. I've seen a fair number of child entertainers by this point and one thing that made Norm stand out was how well he responded to some of the more unexpected actions of the kids. When one child explained that he didn't have a drum but he did have a "pee pee potty" Norm was impressed. When another child came up to the front to show Norm his pirate shirt, Norm just lifted him up and said, "Look everybody, he has pirates on his shirt." In both cases he incorporated their comments into the performance and made everyone feel comfortable and part of the group. It's easy for entertainers in these situations to play to the parents or older kids with jokes or eye rolls that leave the younger kid feel confused or embarrassed. I've been to other events where a disruptive child asked to sit down or he is indulged while a disapproving glance is directed towards the parent. In this case nothing felt disruptive or inapproriate. It didn't matter if you had a shy kid, a loud kid or a kid who just wanted to bang on a drum, everyone felt accepted and everyone had fun. It was one of the most joyful afternoons we've ever spent at the library.

Rhythm Child has events throughout Los Angeles, and many of them are free. Check out their calendar to find out where they'll be next.

Mean Baby at the Library

Since it has been so hot lately Baby M and I have been spending some time at the local libraries. We haven't been to a story time yet, but every library has at least one scheduled during the week. Baby M is not quite ready to sit and listen to a story, but he loves crawling around and pulling books off the shelves. These days Baby M needs a lot of space to explore and our little 1940's era house just isn't cutting it.

So far my favorite library is the LAPL Playa Vista branch. The library has a large children's wing with plenty of board books and also wooden puzzles, large foam blocks and funny little velvet cars. We went on a Monday morning and there was only one other child in the room which meant Baby M could crawl around without any danger of being run over by an older kid. The Mar Vista branch is also nice. The children's room is much smaller, but it has lots of board books in large tin buckets and a built in bench that is the perfect height for Baby M to cruise on.

Today we went to the Main Branch of the Santa Monica library. I spent a lot of time in this library pre-Baby M because it has a much larger selection of titles than my local branch and it's really just a lovely space to be in. There is a garden patio, a cafe and lots of natural light. But today was the first time that I'd ventured into the children's area. There are no toys and the board books are not really baby accessible; they sit on a low shelf along a main walkway and I'm concerned that Baby M would get stepped on while he picked out his books. On the plus side, there is a huge open activity area where Baby M was able to crawl to his heart's content. Without any doorways, heating grates, tables or chairs to dodge he was really able to build up some speed. He was like Baby Flash, or whichever superhero has the power of super-speed. While Baby M happily wandered around a little boy, maybe 3 years old, came into the room and was very excited to point out the baby. He got down on his hands and knees to mimic Baby M's crawling. This got Baby M very excited and he made a bee-line for the little boy, hands and knees pounding, head wobbling, screeching like a banshee. The little boy stood up, said "Mean Baby" and stomped out of the room. Completely unconcerned my "Mean Baby" ambled off to try to pick up some shadows by the window.