An earful of percussionists

There were a number of objectives for this session, to which I came late, but quickly grabbed my camera. There was the music participation objective. Not long after Alannah started to walk, Kirsten took her along to a small group session (perhaps 8 youngsters) in Bellevue Hill, that introduced a range of musical activities - with parent - for, if memory serves me well, 30 minutes. It also introduced the children to group participation. There was the "strengthen the back muscles" objective. Kirsten has been sitting in this pose with Juliet for about a week now, and in some of these shots, Juliet is able to balance unaided, Not for long, but that will increase. And then there is the bonding objective. And the intellectual objective ... but I prattle.

What I mean to say is that, to some extent, music was the means to an end, and not the end itself. They went through many of the instruments scattered around. The maracas were too heavy for Juliet. And it is way early for a xylophone. Way back in something like '85, when Kirsten was in Kindergarten, and I was running a childcare centre, I took a group along to a music "appreciation" class down in Gordon somewhere. I remember it with affection.