My visits around the UK to see our teachers continue apace! I’ve so enjoyed seeing the work Musical Bumps undertakes – it’s inspiring and energising to watch, and I’m mighty proud that it started with me in a drafty village hall about seventeen years ago!
When I was a child, the choice was always sport or music. I chose music every time – and ended up being pretty rubbish at sport. Ten years ago, I decided that it must be possible to do both – and took up running, swimming and cycling. Competing in triathlons proved to be such fun, and I’m so cross that I didn’t take it up earlier!
If you live in North Kent, you can inspire your children to do both right now! Some of our very best Musical Bumps classes are happening on a weekly basis at one of the UKs foremost sporting venues – the Cyclopark in Gravesend. The best of both worlds – yay!
If you’ve never been to the Cyclopark, I can recommend it! There’s something for everyone (from bmx, road and mountain biking to cycle training for new cyclists and balance bikes for the very young!) As well as cycling, they have a wonderful building which houses a very nice café and – on Monday mornings – Musical Bumps!

The Children’s Playground at Cyclopark
When you arrive at the cyclo park, it’s great to find that there’s plenty of parking! There is a small charge (a modest £1.20).
As I entered the building, the friendly reception staff pointed me in the right direction and I soon found Helen – our teacher at Cyclopark – in a light and bright studio just off the main reception area.
Helen’s been teaching Musical Bumps classes for a while now and it’s easy to see why her classes are so popular. A welcoming and friendly start is important to us at Musical Bumps and Helen provided just that – greeting customers by name and welcoming new faces. Our very musical approach to early years education comes easily to Helen, who has a wonderful singing voice and an easy and engaging manner with children and adults alike.

What’s in the bag?
Helen knows exactly what she’s doing in class and has a super knack of providing enough (but not too much) information along the way. The pace of the lesson I watched was brisk (we like to keep people busy at our classes…), but not so brisk as to lose opportunities to respond to the children – perfect!
One of the things that really impressed me was just how much everyone was joining in. Helen had the parents up and moving, clapping and singing along too. The children joined in too with actions and songs as well as new ideas for new verses. They listened well too – it was splendid to see how their attention was held!
The children loved moving around – with superb walking, creeping and even running, loved singing favourite songs and really, really loved contributing new ideas! There was lots of fun to be had, and lots of laughter too! These classes have the mark of a very experienced teacher who can and does provide a really musical and engaging session for her families every week!
Bravo Helen – Musical Bumps is lucky to have you!