How Musical Sam! has been helping kiddies through the lockdown

Sam Sewell has been offering the free sessions every Tuesday at 10.30am on her Musical Sam! (include the exclamation mark) Facebook page. “I have been running my Musical Sam! classes for nearly 18 years now, beginning with Sure Start... “When lockdown began, the first way – along with helping my neighbours out – I felt that I could help was to continue to offer my music classes free to families and friends during this whole time.” She films live from her garden every Tuesday morning: “I’m offering another way to keep us connected, cheer us up, give the little ones something to look forward to. Hopefully it is reconnecting families and helping them to stay positive! What I do is unique. I am very topic based. I tend to base things around a book. I have done The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We are now moving on to seaside and pirates. I will be doing Dear Zoo as it gets hotter and hotter. I am pitching it at about three years. I would say it is two to four years, but children of other ages can certainly enjoy it.” Music is crucial, she believes: “It does so many things. You get to develop a sense of timing and beat. You also develop your vocabulary, and it is also very sociable. You get understanding and empathy for other cultures and other beliefs, bringing ideas together through music.” Sam senses there is anxiety out there about the current situation, but the sessions are proving a popular way of enjoying fun and togetherness. It is a way of making a connection with people “As the classes are free, I am hoping that families are happy to donate a little bit to two local charities I support – Holbrook Animal Rescue, Horsham and Rommie Rescue Sussex.” Why running is my lockdown release Chichester Singers combine musically in isolation for beautiful video Lockdown Laughs 4 Parents switches online for comedy in your own home Why walking is what we all need at the moment - especially in glorious Sussex Shakespeare’s Globe makes productions available to watch for free during lockdown How you can still enjoy Sussex delights... from the safety of your armchair Up close but safe: enjoy collections online at Royal Pavilion & Museums in Brighton Chichester orchestra records its own lockdown song Coronavirus: top ten tips for boredom-busting during quarantine Singer and pianist Joe Stilgoe live-streams daily message of hope during the coronavirus crisis Music "more important than ever" in our time of crisis, urges West Sussex Music Coronavirus: live streaming for Sunday morning services at Chichester Cathedral Coronavirus: Festival of Chichester 2020 cancelled ************* A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton: In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers. Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. Stay safe, and best wishes. Gary Shipton Editorial Director