I Started my career as a professional flautist and pianist. I studied flute, piano and composition at The Janacek Academy of Music in Brno, Czech Republic. After graduating from Royal Holloway University of London, in 2001, with a BMus(hons) degree, I came to Cardiff to study PGCE secondary music teaching which led to a very successful teaching career from 2001-2009. During this time, my two daughters were born. Maddison in 2007 and Lillia in 2008. As an educationalist I have always been interested in child development, particularly through music, and I was keen to use music with my own children to help with their own development. My teaching degree gave me experience of working with children from 3 years of age right up to 18 years but being able to attend music classes with my own babies, from such an early age, gave me more insight into how important the early years are. The fact that the Monkey Music curriculum follows the early years framework was a delight to discover and it is a pleasure to now be delivering this curriculum to children in the area. We now regularly have over 300 families attending our weekly classes at venues across Vale & Bridgend including Penarth, Cowbridge, Bridgend and Porthcawl.

I wouldn't be able to run my classes without my fantastic team of teachers and administrator. This highly skilled team dedicate so much time and effort into attending training courses, planning and refining their lessons to ensure each child gets the most they can from every class. They enjoy teaching the classes as much as the families enjoy attending and it is a pleasure to introduce them to you. Please read below to meet our fantastic team!

I moved to Bridgend, South Wales, in 2001. As a local mum, I have been able to make strong links with local healthcare providers, education establishments, nurseries, preschool groups and other carers. I am fondly known as 'Emma Monkey' in the local area and have had several thousand families through my Monkey Music classes over the years. Music is at the heart of everything we do at Monkey Music and to be able to deliver something I am so passionate about to babies and children, at the most important time developmentally, is something I relish and am proud of.

I first became familiar with Monkey Music classes when my first daughter, Maddison, was born in 2007. There were no other classes that could provide a tailored and structured curriculum especially for my baby that met her developmental needs at each stage. Her little face when she saw the instruments, the other babies in the class and the immediate engagement with the teacher made me sure Monkey Music was the best possible introduction to music for her. I have a very strong background in music and teaching myself which led me to investigate preschool music classes as soon as she was born. In the past thee had been a lack of high standard children's musical activities in the area and it was very important for me to find the right class for her.

The award-winning Monkey Music curriculum is at the heart of our classes. Delivered by trained Monkey Music teachers, supported by high quality professional instruments, resources and props. Every class is a performance for your child with live singing from our highly skilled teachers. Everyone is encouraged to participate in class, joining in with the songs isn't hard- in fact it's quite infectious! Parents, grandparents and carers of Monkey Music are often seen humming the songs around the supermarket!

Music plays an important role in early development of a child. Children are natural, instinctive music makers. As parents we naturally try to use music to sooth and calm children. Research has shown that music can aid all areas of child development. At Monkey Music our curriculum uses songs and activities that are carefully selected for each developmental stage. Learning to move to music, explore sounds and resources given to them, socialise with other babies and families, communicate effectively, develop their fine and gross motor skills though playing and dancing to music, listen to themselves and others, strengthen their memory and recall skills...the benefits of music are enormous. We offer classes grouped according to age, ensuring a 'best fit' for your child. We teach the children the structure of our classes right from the very first stage. There are four unique age groups, Rock'n'Roll, Heigh-Ho, Jiggety-Jig and Ding-Dong. I love to see the babies making their first visual tracking efforts and swatting at sounds. Delighting in instruments and props they have never seen or heard before. They progress to be explorers in Heigh-Ho and busy up on their feet. So much fun to be had before starting to prefer a more structured approach to their class in Jiggety-Jig where they take turns, socialise with their peers and eagerly try to please and follow instructions. Many go on to complete the fourth stage in Ding-Dong, where they are prepared to play an instrument. They finish the final stage, Ding-Dong, being able to read crotchet, quavers and rests. Identify and try to play instruments of the orchestra, perform and compose on a variety of tuned and untuned percussion instruments. It really is quite amazing how quickly and how far they develop.

In addition to classes we also offer workshops, parties and nursery sessions. Your first class is complimentary, so you can experience Monkey Music for yourself and see just how fantastic the classes are and help you make that all important decision about which children's activity is best suited for your child. If you are unsure what stage your child needs or have any questions about our classes, please do get in touch. We very much look forward to welcoming you to our classes.