⁣𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲 takes the spotlight at our Grand Opening Weekend.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Led by Walker|West teaching artist Auntie Jayanthi, this special program for young children 0-6 and their caregivers brings together rhythm, movement, and joyful community connection.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Bring your little ones and kick off your Saturday with energy and inspiration at Walker West at 10 AM on April 26.⁣⁣ Until then, some words from Auntie Jayanthi: ⁣⁣⁣ 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲" 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞? ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Homies in Harmony is a music program for the very young and the people who drive them…literally! ⁣⁣⁣ We have circle time where we introduce ourselves to one another and to the space we are using and then we just get into some good music time when we feel like we’re ready we uncover a bunch of music instruments to explore and interact with. The main objective is to support children musically and often reintroduce families to community.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦?⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ We use Rhythm sticks to introduce different rhythms and we’re not getting too technical or conceptual but rather enjoying. I’m a big fan of the Montessori methods. Playing is learning. I allow plenty of room for the children to direct me and I feel they are my bosses in a way :-). ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧? ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Well, I’ve been happy to meet babies who are just days old and I’m just as honored to have had some well seasoned grandfolk around. 0-6 is just a suggestion but I have welcomed many ages and many abilities as my Homies. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ 𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?⁣ ⁣ by drawing on artists such as Ella Jenkins and Bob Marley, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Desmond Dennis. American folk songs, especially those from African American culture, will be shared during the classes and used to introduce and explore musical concepts. Families will sing about our peaceful instincts, self-esteem, empathy, history, responsibility, and honesty.⁣ ⁣ 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 "𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲"?⁣ ⁣ Quite often, I use my ability of being a bit of a human jukebox to guide us on our way or make a Musical community connection with another human by helping them remember a song they think they might not know fully… But they usually do :-) my background as an archivist songstress helps me tie songs together and make things feel more thematic and whole as an experience whether as a spectator or as a participant. It helps people feel more welcome and a sense of belonging.⁣ ⁣ 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐬 "𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲" 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦?⁣ ⁣ Through the years I’ve gained a lot more knowledge that I share with organizations and schools. When I’d been running this program outside of Walker West it had a lot more personality and support for families but it needed to become a bit tidier and easier to put away in order to make room for the academy’s many other programs. My future aspirations are to continue supporting families and finding my way to who is finding me. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ See the full schedule: walkerwest.org/grand-opening-fb⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #WalkerWestGrandOpening (fb)

Alongside performances and activities, enjoy lunch from some of the Twin Cities' favorite food trucks. We’re excited to welcome these local favorites to Family Day at our Grand Opening: - Egg Roll Queen - Pizza Karma - All Squares - 2 Scoops Food trucks will be serving from 11 AM to 2:30 PM on Saturday, April 26 — the perfect way to fuel your day between performances, music tech activities, and family fun. Bring cash or card and enjoy a taste of the community. See the full schedule and plan your visit: walkerwest.org/grand-opening-fb #WalkerWestGrandOpening (fb)