We're going on a journey - CBeebies Prom 2016!

You may have noticed I've had a break from blogging over the summer but now I'm back and have something very exciting to review:

we were lucky enough to get tickets to go the CBeebies Prom! We have just come back home, having seen it on Sunday (28th August).

Live music for toddlers near you?

I live in the South West, and whilst this obviously means we don't have the range of activities that the South East has in terms of the performing arts, living near(ish) Bristol and Bath means that lots of cultural events are still relatively accessible to us.

One thing I have recently discovered is a company called Music for Miniatures which runs classical concerts for 0-4 year olds in Bath (and sometimes out in Somerset). 

A bit of the blurb from their website reads: 

Music for Miniatures is a series of short live classical concerts specifically designed for parents, grandparents and carers to enjoy in the company of babies, toddlers and young children (aged 0-4).

The best thing about a Music for Miniatures concert is... we don't mind noise! Babies can sleep, cry, babble and crawl whilst toddlers are free to explore and enjoy in their own way without being told to "ssh". Older little ones can dance, play air-instruments and get right up close to the performers. We don't even mind if the audience needs a nap!

I've been to a few of the concerts which they held out in Somerset with my two and was impressed. 

Still chance to see My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty in some places...

A recent advert on my Facebook feed caught my eye: The English National Ballet is touring with "My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty".

By Stano Novak (own photo, assembled myself)
[CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)],
via Wikimedia Commons

Apparently this ballet is aimed at children from three years old and upwards. It's a shortened version of the "grown up" ballet and has a narrator to help children follow what is happening.

It's been on tour for a while but you still have a chance to see it if you live near Bristol, Woking or London.  I'm sorely tempted but I think my daughter is just a little bit young at the moment.  We've watched some children's ballets on TV and she doesn't really have the attention span for ballet yet. (I think it is the lack of words, so perhaps the narrator would help her keep focus, but I don't fancy risking it - she has a habit of saying "It's boring" really quite loudly at the moment!)

The website also has some resources including word games and character sheets that might be of interest to older children, even if you can't get to a performance.

If you have been to see it, or do go over the next few months, I would love to hear from you. How old were your children? What did they think? Would you recommend it to others? Please let me know below.