Question 1

At what age can my child participate in playgroups?

Accepted Answer

At what age can you do musical awakening? Sound awakening starts from a very young age, even from life in utero...
 
At Petit Paris Playgroup, we welcome children from 4 - 5 months up to 4 - 5 years old.
 
The bilingual musical awakening workshops are adapted to awaken the senses, curiosity, linguistic and motor skills and build self-confidence in both the youngest and the oldest.
 
The youngest, those who have not yet stood up, are in the arms or on the knees of their mother (or other adult), and take part in the activities at their own pace:
 
manipulate musical instruments, observe and gradually reproduce the gestures of songs, feel the rhythm and dance, play, participate in vocal and musical games...
 
The little ones play a great role of observation while their brain assimilates a multitude of concepts like a sponge (sounds, words, melodies, gestures, exercises...), which will come back from workshop to workshop.
 
The adult acts as a mirror between the artist and the child. It's a moment of intense musical connection.
 
The more the child grows and becomes autonomous, the more his participation becomes active. He gains confidence, his memory and his fine motor skills are strengthened, allowing him to anticipate certain activities and recurring songs with enthusiasm.
 
The child becomes more and more fulfilled and fully interacts with the artist and the other children as he becomes more and more familiar with the playgroup.

Question 2

What is the methodology of musical awakening workshops?

Accepted Answer

Playgroups to thrive through play and the pleasure of being together. 
 
Far from technique and classical musical education, our pedagogy was created with talented and caring artists, singers, musicians, early childhood professionals (ex-Gymboree), and also with moms who tell us about their experiences with playgroups for 4 years. 
 
The bilingual Franco-English musical awakening workshops last 50 minutes.
 
Their goal: to allow children to express themselves through singing, dancing, in French and English and above all to flourish.
Our workers are bilingual, even trilingual (French, English, Spanish) and some native English speakers. It is above all artists, with varied and complementary profiles and skills that make the richness of the workshops. 
 
They transmit their passion through music as well as key musical concepts through a series of recurring activities in English and French.
 
The workshops, although a multitude of themes are addressed throughout the year, are in fact very structured in order to give a fixed framework and benchmarks to the participants:
 
 • Vocal and body warm-ups in the adult's arms or standing in front of the artist to learn key musical concepts and become aware of your body,
 • Action songs, songs with gestures to develop observation, memory, language and synchronization between the hand, the eye and the word (singing).
 • Rhythm games with manipulation of musical instruments: perfect fine motor skills and stimulate the same areas of the brain as during scientific activities.
 • Dance: expressing your emotions and sharing a strong moment with your mother (or other adult) and the other children
 • Hello and goodbye songs
The songs covered are 30% children's songs and 70% contemporary (adults) because it is also about transmitting a taste for "good sounds" from the cradle (The Beatles, Estelle, ACDC, Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Harry Bellafonte...).
 
Similarly, children's songs are not classic because we draw on traditional and exotic repertoires.
 
The goal: to have fun and arouse curiosity.
 
In the end, all pedagogy has the ultimate objective of awakening artistic sensibilities as naturally as possible in order to help children gain confidence and flourish.

Question 3

How do you manage children of 4 years old versus less than 1 year old?

Accepted Answer

Just like in Montessori schools, children are in multi-age workshops.
 
Why and what are the benefits for children?
 
This age diversity benefits all children. Indeed, we work on the awareness of the other and on the dissemination of artistic knowledge while respecting the rhythm of each.
 
The younger ones are stimulated by the older ones.
 
The older ones play a role model for the younger ones and see their self-confidence strengthened. 
 
The artist, for her part, interacts with all the children, whatever their age: by talking to them one by one, by distributing musical instruments to them to manipulate, by presenting them with gestures and choreography, the rules of musical games...
 
It will also give older children more responsibility in rhythmic games, but also in the way of addressing them, asking them questions, making them repeat words in English and French, and listening to their answers.< /p>
 
The little ones who do not yet speak see the older ones as role models, to which they aspire by imitation. 
 
This environment based on the exchange between all is highly stimulating and fulfilling. It reproduces the reality of social life, where we are in regular contact with people of all ages.

Question 4

Can we test a workshop?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Just order a la carte playgroup!

Question 5

What is the place of English?

Accepted Answer

The place of English is central: 80% of the songs are in English.
 
The transitions are in French and English.
 
The key words of the songs are taught in the 2 languages.
 
Children learn without realizing it the different vocabularies and phonemes in both languages with native or bilingual artists.

Question 6

How to host a workshop at your place?

Accepted Answer

Just contact us by email or phone.
 
The minimum number of participants is 5 and the price is 22 euros / participant. Playgroups can be private (with your friends) or public (with Petit Paris Playgroup participants).
 
The host gets a 10 euro coupon on their next playgroup.
 
We travel to Paris and the Ile de France.