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Let’s be real: traveling with little ones isn’t exactly a vacation. It’s more like… logistically challenging joy-seeking. With snacks.
Whether you’re buckling in for a road trip to the cottage or boarding a plane with a baby and a prayer, summer travel with young kids takes stamina, snacks, and a healthy sense of humour. But you know what else it takes? Music.
I don’t just mean a playlist to drown out the “Are we there yet?” I mean music that connects, calms, distracts, and delights. Music that your child knows and loves. Music you can sing along to — even if you’re sleep-deprived and airport-weary.
Before I taught music here in Canada, I lived in Hong Kong, and going to visit my family back home in the UK with my kids meant a long-haul flight — plus all the travel that came before and after: buses, trains, strollers, and sleepy toddlers in tow. It was chaotic. And completely worth it (seeing family obviously) but also because the music we sang along the way made those long journeys feel shorter. It was more than background noise — it became a tool for connection, calm, and fun, no matter where we were..
read more - your sanity (and your child’s nap schedule) will thank you...
by Andrew Woods, TipToe Music Dad - June 2025
Meet Andrew, one of our TipToe Music Dads. He shared what it’s like to be in class with his little ones, how music has deepened their bond, and why he thinks every dad should give it a try. His story is real, relatable, and a great reminder of how powerful these small moments can be
Thanks, Andrew — and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads showing up, singing loud, and making memories with their kids.
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Make Music for Music's Sake - Guest Blog!
by Christina Vanden Bosch der Nederlanden, Ph.D, University of Toronto Mississauga - April 2025
Hello everybody! Guest blogger Christina here, but you may know me as Johan’s mom from last semester’s baby class at St. Cuthbert’s in Oakville. I am a mom of two boys and a developmental neuroscientist.
At my lab – the Language, Attention, Music, and Audition (LAMA) lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga – my amazing team runs studies to understand how children learn about music and language! However, instead of writing about my research, today I want to tell you what I learned from my 6-month-old, Johan, while taking 3 months of music classes. Every Friday this winter, Johan and I bundled up and joined our voices with 8-10 other caregivers to move, learn, and sing at a TipToe Music class...
by Miss Maria - January 2025
Felix, my son, remained non-verbal until we met TipToe Music. At the age of three, he did not speak. He had all kinds of tests and assessments. However, specialists could not figure out why, and he was diagnosed with Speech Delay. In the summer of 2023, we found TipToe Music. After one semester, he started to dance to music the way Miss E-J taught. ‘Wow, he remembers everything.’ I told myself. Soon after that, he started to hum ALL the time. After another six months, he started to call Mom and Dad! Every parent in the world would understand the joy brought by these two simple words...
by Miss E-J - December 2024
Don't feel bad if you don't get everything on your little one's wish list this year (you are doing them a favour!). It’s the time of year when I know I join many other parents in wondering - what makes the perfect gift? I’ve been researching this online and reading so many stories, and it seems the perfect gift is never about THINGS - but the one that provides unforgettable memories with family, friends, or someone you love! As a family, we have often fallen into the trap of "too many gifts", toys that fall out of favour after 6 months. Recently, we have been trying to give our children unique gifts that create memorable moments, namely experience gifts, as it’s an easy way to combat that feeling of excess...
by Miss Amber - July 2024
Over the last five years, I deferred part of my salary to buy myself a year off (what teachers refer to as a four over five). When I began the process, I wasn’t completely sure what my year off would hold - possibly travel, possibly school of some kind - but definitely, an opportunity to step back from my deeply trod routine and allow space and time to dance with some other elements. One of the most surprising turns my year took was to return to teaching Music Together® again, although if you consider the field of Community Music, it isn’t really such a surprise...
by Miss E-J - December 2023
Way back in the “before kids” part of my life I worked in the corporate world and saw many leading UK companies practice business in so many ways. The one that resonated most with me was Marks & Spencer, a company that practiced compassion and good business using social and corporate responsibility to achieve its core business goals. That stuck with me! Roll forward 3 children, 2 international moves and the creation of my dream - a wonderful creative small business - and here I am celebrating the generous nature and abilities of our TipToe Music families, team and partners...
by Miss Ashton - October 2023
Hello Everybody! Miss Ashton here! When your parents meet in the college choir, with one studying education and the other studying music, it’s fair to say becoming a music teacher was almost destiny. Growing up, our home was filled with music. My dad would sit and play at the piano, my mom would harmonize to any song on the radio, and we often made up songs in the car or in any ordinary situation.....
by Miss Stefanie - June 2023
Hello Everybody! Miss Stefanie here! I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful summer weather we are having, getting out and about a little bit more... speaking of which, does your little one struggle with moving from one part of their day to the next? It’s okay - most young children do! Can I let you in on one of my favourite parenting hacks?.....
by Miss E-J - May 2023
Hello Everybody! What do you think about JOY? It’s something that we, at TipToe Music, feel every time we enter a classroom...
by Miss Stefanie - April 2023
Hello Everybody! Miss Stefanie here! To support our goal of enriching family’s lives through music I wanted to share with you three simple tips you can use to support your child's speech and language milestones...
