Biddy Biddy bum bum

Matt asked some of his colleagues which 'Mommy and Me' type class would be the best one for Poppy and I to take.  They said that Music Together, the 'research-based early childhood music and movement program', is the best.  So now Poppy and I are taking a Music Together class.

Poppy and I have been to 3 classes so far.  We all meet on Wednesdays at 12:30 at Tiferet Israel.  Yep, you are correct, it's a synagogue.  Neither Poppy nor I had ever been inside a synagogue.  I think that Music Together was created by Jewish people.  The class hasn't presented any non-secular ideas or songs, so I'm almost certain that Music Together is not a religious activity.  Perhaps Music Together is simply a non-religious educational program created by religious people who do not use it as a forum for recruitment/advertising.  I've never met any Jews who were actively recruiting, and this experience has been no different.

After Poppy and I had signed up but before the class had begun, I said to Matt:

'I hope that they don't make me sing'.  I've always been very bad at the singing.

They do make you sing.  Most of the songs that we sing in class are originals with catchy titles like: Hello Song, Playin' in the Kitchen, Wiggle!, and Biddy Biddy.  Yes sir.  They even give you the CD for you to make music together with your baby at home and in the car.  These songs are so happy and innocent and energetic that they become a bit addictive.  I couldn't sleep the other night because the lyrics to Biddy Biddy proved to be too compelling to avoid repeating them in my head:

you receive sheet music to go along with your cd

Bid-dy bid-dy, bum bum    bum bum bum bum,     Bid-dy bid-dy, bum bum.


The Music Together teacher, Ms. Gila, is a fantastically charismatic South African.  She has no inhibitions when singing and talking to babies.  During class, she sings advice to the parents (and by 'parents', I of course mean 'moms'.  Their husbands are presumably working at 12:30 on Wednesdays).  She always wears floor-length skirts, t-shirts with words like love and peace on them, and a gold star of David necklace.  Ms. Gila explains to us that the best time to introduce our children to music is within the first 6 months of life, otherwise the musical synapses in their brains fizzle and die off from lack of use.  Poppy is only 2.75 months old, so she made the cut to be a musical little girl.  During all the singing and drum banging and maraca shaking Poppy is definitely entertained; she smiles and takes it all in.

I'm still a bit unclear about the goal of this class, but the idea of not doing some class of this sort reminds me of that park scene in that 80s movie with Diane Keaton called Baby Boom:


overzealous park mom A:  'What kind of classes do you have your daughter in now?'

Diane Keaton: 'Oh, uh, none.'

overzealous park mom B:  'Not even a Mommy and Me?!'

Diane Keaton:  'No.'

overzealous park mom A:  'Not Gymboree?'

Diane Keaton:  'No.'

overzealous park mom A:  'Not Reading Readiness?'

Diane Keaton:  'Nothing; the child can't even hold a cup.'

overzealous park mom B whispering loudly to overzealous park mom A:  'Oooh, the other babies are way ahead of her.'

overzealous park mom A:  'I thought I had problems.'


Diane Keaton then feels compelled to enroll her baby in an institution called The Center for Brighter Babies.

i need one of those 'College Begins at Birth' signs for Poppy's room

hehehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6dH9Mqum08

http://www.musictogetherdallas.com/vlt25920.htm