About Me...
My name is Carol Holbrow, I am mum to two boys aged 16 and 13, and I run MUSIC with MUMMY classes in South Devon. I am a qualified Early Years Practitioner who takes great satisfaction being involved in children's learning and development, but who also has a passion for music. I grew up surrounded by music and singing as my Grandmother was a piano teacher and my Dad also enjoyed playing the piano and singing every day. From an early age I discovered the great pleasure that you can get from music-making and music has continued to be a big part of my life since then. I played many instruments as a child, including the piano, flute, and various brass instruments as part of a band, but I always made sure that I had a go at any instrument that came my way!
I have worked in various early years settings over the past 12 years or so, including preschool, nursery and childcare environments, and also as a Cover Supervisor at a local primary school where part of this role became planning and delivering the weekly music sessions to the reception class children. However, I wanted to get back to working with the under 5's and getting to know their families too, so when I discovered Music with Mummy in 2007, it was the perfect opportunity to mix together my two favourite things of children and music. I started with just 2 small classes in September 2007, and now over four years on, I get to see well over 100 children per week and I feel so privileged to be a part of so many little people's lives.
In addition to my regular weekly sessions, I worked alongside the Early Year's Advisory Team in Torbay in 2008/09, providing support to local childcare settings helping to develop their own confidence and skills in their musical provision as it is often something that does not get enough focus or specific attention during a busy nursery day. I also have taken regular music sessions for the children of the Beehive Nursery at Tower House School in Paignton from 2007 to 2009. And now this past couple of years 2010-2012, I have been teaching the children at Stoke Fleming Preschool near Dartmouth all about music and rhythm through our preschool music programme, Three Four Time. The children enjoy learning lots of new songs, discovering how to play different percussion instruments with confidence, purpose and control, and we have lots of fun learning about basic musical concepts together. NB: I hold a current enhanced CRB disclosure (2011), First Aid for Child Carers certificate (2010), and carry full public liability insurance for my work through the Musician's Union, all available for you to view upon request.