Welcome to Les petits troubadours (first post 2014): Intro

Welcome to Les Petits Troubadours Edublog!

Hello, I'm Lorena Zurbano, and I currently teach Music and Multi-sensory sessions to children aged between 6 months and 4 years at Les Petits Heaven Maternelle in Lambeth, South West London. Additionally, I work as a freelance Spanish tutor (you can explore my other edublog here).

Through this Edublog, I aim to keep parents informed about my work at the nursery and provide everyone with the opportunity to share their thoughts through comments. I'd like to note that you won't find any pictures of children on my blog. Its purpose is to serve as a platform for interaction with parents who are interested in the benefits of music for children's general development and well-being.

In this space, I'll be sharing details about my Music kit and highlighting some of my favourite songs, such as Un Bosque Encantado. You can easily find everything I use online, except for my beloved cello!

I hope this blog becomes a valuable resource for parents seeking insights into the positive impact of music on children's development. Feel free to engage and share your thoughts—I look forward to building a community passionate about nurturing children through the power of music.

At the nursery, I engage with three distinct groups: Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers, covering a broad spectrum of ages and developmental stages.

For the Babies group, I've structured my sessions around one thematic focus per term:

• Sounds related to Water: Exploring the smooth sounds of Rain and Sea.
• Sounds related to Air: Delving into the sounds of Birds and Wind.
• Sounds related to Earth: Connecting with the natural sounds of leaves, twigs and Woodland.

When it comes to the nursery group, our approach is more comprehensive. Each term is carefully planned with various topics and subtopics. Our planning process is streamlined through Dropbox, in coordination with the Curriculum Coordinator at the nursery, ensuring alignment with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

As an example, the Spring Term of 2014 is dedicated to the theme of "Growing and Changes."

This structured approach enables us to customise sessions to meet the unique developmental needs of each age group, ensuring a sound and captivating musical experience for all the children at the nursery. Among these young learners is my own daughter, aged 3. This blog is dedicated to her as a heartfelt thank you for the lessons she teaches me every day.

If you're curious about 'how to create your own DIY carronets' or or if you're skeptical about the enchanting nature of these instruments, take a moment to experience the delightful sound of broccoli ocarina!

Toddlers: Our music lessons for toddlers have been an evolving journey. We initially started downstairs, only to discover the challenges of the main hall's noise, making it difficult to fully appreciate the sounds. Recognising the need for a more suitable learning environment, we shifted our sessions upstairs, resulting in a much improved sensory experience.

In recent sessions, we've taken the music outdoors, engaging in playful rounds of Hide-and-Seek with the instruments. Throughout the Spring term, our focus has revolved around the topics: 'Sounds related to the Earth: Drums and Wood/String (Cello/Viola)' and 'Growing and Changes.' A notable achievement this term is our ability to perform a captivating Sound Story using the book 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar.' It's worth mentioning that, after the reading, the children took a creative twist by munching all the carronets in a delightful snack-break!

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