Note: I was provided complimentary class passes in order to facilitate this review and giveaway. Of course, all expressions of excitement, joy and happiness are purely my own (and BabyEnzoG’s!)
I’m so excited to announce that Saturday music classes are BACK at Raising Astoria this summer with Funikijam! I’m also excited to announce that I’ve partnered with Funikijam to share with Queens parents how great their classes are!
If you hadn’t heard of Funikijam before, I’ll fill you in: Funikijam was founded by Brian Barrentine, aka Captain Jam, in 1999. It started as a playgroup in Nashville; it has been in NYC since 2011. Brian has extensive experience developing music curriculum for kids of all ages. (Check out his bio, it’s awesome!) Brian also has experience training teachers to lead music classes; he teaches at NYU.
Funikijam specializes on “music exploration for the next generation” and place emphasis on learning about world cultures. The classes focus on developmental skills like fine motor skills, sensory skills and social skills such as sharing and taking turns, for example.
They have classes all over the city– but the BEST news if you’re an Astoria mom like me, is that there are classes at Raising Astoria three times a week. You can also hire Funikijam to jam it up at your next birthday party!
Here is why I love Funikijam:
The classes are GREAT. It’s not only about playing with instruments, it’s also about learning about music. Enzo has been learning about musical terms such as “piano” and “forte.”
Funikijam classes have themes. Each theme invites the children to learn about a new topic, and for three weeks, the children learn about that topic and build on it from week to week. Upcoming summer themes include: America’s Birthday Jam, Funikijam Beach Party, & Island Adventure!
Funikijam invites children to explore world cultures: This is one of the things Brian set out to do, he wanted to create a fun program where kids could explore world cultures. (Can you tell why this multicultural mama loves Funikijam??)
As a testament to this, even the name, Funikijam is a celebration of world cultures! FUNIKI means music in Japanese and JAM is an Indonesian word that means TIME. (It’s also clever that JAM means party in English!)
The classes promote creativity: While the classes are structured, there is time for kids to express their own creativity, and jump, tap, clap and sing their little hearts out.
I love that the classes invite each child to express him/herself in his/her own unique way.
Finally, for all the working parents out there, Funikijam classes at Raising Astoria are on Saturday mornings! Hooray! I am often sad when I see all the things that I can’t take my son to because they are during the week… so this is a perfect opportunity to get Enzo out of the house and do something fun!
Now, since I love Funikijam so much, I want a lucky reader to experience a summer with Funikijam!
Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a pack of 10 Funikijam classes valid throughout the summer, in all of their locations!
In addition, all who enter will get discount code for 10 percent off a class package purchase!
**Giveaway ends June 4th, 2014. Please see Rafflecopter for additional terms and conditions.
Come on, it’s time to #GetFunki 😉
We LOVE these classes!!!!
Jack LOVES music – this would be great for him! (and would really help my sad little summer budget…)
I would love to win…my daughter loves music and interacting with others, so I know she would have a blast!
My husband is a musician and my son LOVES music. How fun!!
Would love to try out a class with my kids, looks pretty cool!
These look like great fun. Would love for my daughter to experience them.
This is such an awesome giveaway, and a great way to keep busy during the summer!
My son loves going to Funikijam and playing with all the instruments…we had a lot fun making music and singing songs!
My daughter loves music classes and singing and dancing along!
Would love to take my 2 girls to these classes! We need fun stuff to do in Astoria this summer.
my daughters love music so much, we havent tried Funikijam, but would love the opportunity!