INDEX parenting corner
Sophie Astin looks at music for kids, party options – and Dickens on our doorstep
Party time!
If you’re looking for an unusual, cultural birthday party venue for your child, look no further than Trinity Theatre. With the café back under Trinity’s own management, the venue is now offering a children’s ‘party- plus-theatre’ package. Prices start at £14 per head (depending on the production) and include room hire, invitations, balloons and decorations, homemade party food and cupcakes, party bag, thank you cards and, of course, a theatre ticket (minimum of eight per party).
One Frant mother of two, Sam Hipperson, thought it excellent value for money when she took nine little girls for her daughter’s seventh birthday in December, with seats for The Secret Garden. “The attention to detail was perfect,”
The Sound of Music
If your child is looking to learn an musical instrument but fancies trying their hand at something different, a new local initiative might prove ideal.
What the Dickens…
This year sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens – making this half term a perfect opportunity to take the family to nearby Dickens World, at Chatham Maritime. Little scalliwags will love the soft play area at Fagins Den, the Haunted House and the Victorian School Room. Meet Magwitch on the spooky Great Expectations boat ride and walk the eerie corridors of Marshalsea Prison. A fun day out for everyone except literary purists!
www.dickensworld.co.uk
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
Nikki Martin at Plink Plonk (
www.plinkplonk.co.uk) offers long-awaited, affordable individual and group harp lessons for children in Key Stage 2 and above, in Tunbridge Wells. “The harp is one of the loveliest instruments to listen to”, says Nikki, “and, unlike many other instruments, it is possible to make a pleasurable sound even in the earliest stages of learning. Harps suitable for children can be rented or bought via Plink Plonk- the great thing, if you go for the latter option, is that they hold their market value, so if your child decides it’s not for them, you should be able to recoup your costs when you sell. The Suzuki Method of music education is based on the philosophy and teaching methods developed by the Japanese violinist, educator
Children can meet the shoemaker and his friends at Trinity Theatre
she says, “even down to every cupcake being decorated with a robin, who plays a key role in the musical. The girls loved everything about it.” Forthcoming productions are the Elves and the Shoemaker (18 March), St George and the Dragon (22 April) and Treasure Island (29 April). If you’d like to book a children’s party at Trinity, contact Katherine Pursey on 01892 678678.
and humanitarian, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. He believed in the great potential of music to enrich children’s lives and developed a method of music education to enable children to play music to their highest possible level of ability. Today, there are more than 8,000 Suzuki teachers with over 250,000 students across 40 countries. There are many facets to Suzuki’s teaching philosophy (one of which is “Only practise on the days you eat!”) and it’s the totality of this approach that sets it apart from conventional music teaching. The principal instruments taught using the Suzuki method are violin, viola
and piano. For a full list of regional teachers, go to
www.britishsuzuki.org.uk. But if Ringo (or even Animal
from the Muppets) is more your child’s cup of tea, then check out Rok Skool, next to Skinners School in Tunbridge Wells. Instructors use popular rock and pop songs as their core teaching materials and encourage students to join a Rok Skool rock band to learn, develop and perform music alongside their peers. Rok Skool’s teaching methods also focus on getting students to learn to play music by ear, rather than focusing on musical notation and theory.
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The INDEX magazine February 2012
Kids’
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