Peek-a-Boo Family Music

When the beat is so good nobody stops to question the donkey lore. 🫏🍴🎶

If you’ve ever actually listened to the words of “Tingalayo,” you know this is not your average donkey. 😂

The traditional Caribbean folk song has been passed down in lots of different versions, with verses giving Tingalayo an increasingly impressive and slightly ridiculous résumé. Depending on the version, this little donkey walks, talks, eats with a knife and fork, kicks, sleeps, comes and goes, and generally lives a far more eventful life than most of us.

But underneath the wonderfully silly lyrics is exactly the kind of musical play we love in Music Together: repetition, rhythm, movement, listening, singing, and giving children room to experience a song with their whole bodies. Music Together even cites “Tingalayo” when explaining how young children build musical memory and eventually begin making the music their own.

And judging by this circle, everybody understood the assignment. 🕺🪇💃

What’s happening at Peek-a-Boo Family Music? 🎶

So much learning, growing, singing, moving, connecting, and joy!

We’re also playing around with some new features in the Edits app. Tap any of the videos featured in the menu along the bottom of this Reel to open and watch each one individually. Pretty cool, right? 👀

We’re always experimenting with creative new ways to reach fresh eyes, connect with more families, and share the joy of music a little more broadly. 💛

The floor: simply exists

Our little musicians: Finally, a drum kit. 🥁😂

At Music Together®, we encourage children to explore music with their whole selves, whether they’re singing, dancing, playing an instrument… or producing a dramatic percussion solo directly on the ground.

🍂 Fall registration is now open! Join us this September for Music Together® classes for little ones and their grownups, Babies Only classes, and Rhythm Kids® for our bigger musicians.

Classes are available in Peekskill, Croton-on-Hudson, and Cold Spring. Visit the link in our bio to explore the schedule, register, or sign up for a trial class!

ADDRESSING SPECULATION! FYI, our current lease in Peekskill runs through 2028. We aren't going anywhere!

If you saw my comment on the local FB group or the reporting by the Peekskill Herald (who did not contact me to clarify my position), you may be wondering if we're closing up shop. That's something I do NOT want to or have plans to do, but I'm not ever going to pretend things are perfect and easy and then just disappear. I think it's important for small businesses to be transparent about what WOULD cause them to close/move, etc., and lack of support from the city to keep high quality businesses in town could be one of those factors. I encourage our city to be proactive with local businesses as the cornerstone of economic development.

In the meantime, we love Peekskill! (It's even in our name!) Just like we love our satellite locations, Croton and Cold Spring. We hope to serve families from Ossining to Yorktown to Beacon for years to come! Wanting the best for Peekskill, where I live and where my child goes to school, is about more than this small business, but I wanted to nip any speculation in the bud.

Have a musical day!

The “terrible twos”? Our director, Alexia, is helping to debunk that myth. 🎶✨

There is no single age when every toddler should suddenly be able to sit perfectly still, follow every direction, or participate in exactly the same way. Development is not a stopwatch. It unfolds in stages, and every child reaches those stages on their own timeline.

That idea is at the heart of the Music Together® philosophy. Children learn through movement, play, repetition, observation, and joyful connection with the grown-ups they love. Some little ones may sing every word, while others bounce, wander, clap, listen quietly, or explore the room. All of those responses can be part of meaningful musical learning.

At Peek-a-Boo Family Music, we meet each child where they are so they can move, create, discover, and grow alongside their parents and caregivers. No pressure to perform. No expectation to fit into one tiny developmental box. Just music, connection, and room to bloom. 🌱🥁

Netflix documentary voice: serious. Subject matter: toddlers with egg shakers. 🎬🥚🎶

At Peek-a-Boo Family Music Adventure, we know those tiny musical moments are doing some very big work. As a licensed Music Together® center, our classes help children explore rhythm, language, movement, confidence, creativity, and connection, all while having the kind of fun that usually involves at least one runaway scarf.

So yes, Alexia is prepared to sit down for the full eight-part series about why toddler music education deserves top billing. 😂

What would your documentary episode be called?