September 2021 Parenta magazine

Looking for Pandas
Young children are kinaesthetic learners, and they need to move to learn!
If you take advantage of this offer,
you and the children will meet the
Littlemagictrain. You will just need to get
your magic sprinkles to help him grow so
you can all fit inside and then it’s time to
go “toot, toot” and off you go.
In your adventure “Looking for Pandas”,
the Littlemagictrain stops on Mount
Everest and after looking at your map,
together, you discover that you are in
the wrong place.
You come across a family
of red cranes, who helps
you fly to the Great Wall of
China.
On the wall, you accidentally wake up
some very fierce and noisy dragons.
Exclusive FREE ‘Looking for Pandas’
training experience (RRP 60.25)
Here for you, is a full FREE “Looking for Pandas” training experience from Littlemagictrain,
that combines the elements of music, make-believe, and movement to give you a multisensory
approach to reach all your children and help them learn. Perfect for children with
additional learning needs. The sessions have been created in such a way to give you many
opportunities for learning through play and the fun of “what next?”. The perfect way to help
children with myelin building. Did you read the article last month?
“Looking for Pandas” is our new “special edition” and this month it is FREE just for Parenta
readers. Visit www.littlemagictrain.com and use the code PARENTAPANDAS.
You manage to get away from them and
stumble over a very hungry pangolin
looking for ants.
Between his slurping and burping, he
directs you to the Bamboo Forest where
you and the children get a huge fright from
the tiger hiding in the bamboo.
The tiger is so sorry that he scared you that
he helps you. You run with the tigers, all
the way to the pandas who you find doing
somersaults, climbing trees, dancing, and
of course taking a well-deserved nap.
When the pandas have fallen asleep
it’s time to jump on board the
Littlemagictrain and go “toot, toot!” all
the way home. Once you have put him
away safely, you can sit down with the
children and ask questions about where
you went, who you saw, what they did,
how you felt – so many opportunities for
additional learning.
Did you know that throughout the session
you will be helping the children improve
their:
• Speech and language skills
• Personal and social development
• Emotional regulation, self-esteem and
confidence
• Knowledge and understanding of the
world and yourself
• Physical literacy
• Mathematical development
If you are feeling a little anxious, don’t
worry as you will receive all the information
needed to run the session. As part of the
giveaway, we will also include the training
videos linked to the session. Don’t forget
we are also here to help you if you need
any assistance.
And a little something extra for
the children
A certificate to present to the children at
the end of the final session. This certificate
has been designed so the children can
retrace their journey along the train tracks
at home with their family and friends.
All you must do is go to www.
littlemagictrain.com and go to “Shop” and
in the category “Special Offer” pop the
‘Looking for Pandas’ pack in your basket.
Once in your basket, enter your details
and then use the Discount Coupon Code
PARENTAPANDAS and it will be 100% FREE.
If you have any issues at all, please contact
Littlemagictrain directly on 01865 321212
or hello@littlemagictrain.com and we will
sort it out for you.
Don’t miss out get
your FREE session
today!
A little bit about the music
Music composed and performed by
Jonathan Still with drums, mixing and
mastering by Andrew Holdsworth. In the
music for “Looking for Pandas”, they have
used some traditional Chinese instruments,
though not in a traditional Chinese way,
more just as a way of signalling “this is
where we are today, in this adventure”.
In the red cranes, we tried to capture both
the grace and flow of flying, as well as the
epic grandeur of seeing a whole continent
and its landmarks from a bird’s-eye-view.
We love using sound effects, so you’ll
hear recordings of tigers growling along,
pangolins slurping (and occasionally
burping, after eating too many ants), and
the sound we think the pandas might make
inside when turning somersaults.
For absolutely no reason at all, except that
we learned that Marlene Dietrich could play
the musical saw, we decided to write a tune
for the relaxing pandas on that instrument,
which turns into a boisterous waltz for the
somersaults. Although they look lazy and
ponderous, we think that secretly pandas
might enjoy dance parties, so we gave
them an up-tempo final dance, followed
by some music to chill, and meditate when
it all gets too much, and they need a little
rest.
About the musicians
Jonathan Still and Andrew Holdsworth have
over twenty years of experience of music
in the dance world, whether it’s working
with pre-school children or with some
of the biggest stars of the international
ballet scene: Jonathan as pianist for
ballet schools and companies, and music
producer Andrew, playing for ballet classes
and recording music projects for dance
schools and companies.
About the illustrator
Anthony Shoreman created all the
illustrations for this adventure, and we are
so pleased that he continues to work on
many other adventures and activities for
Littlemagictrain.
About the creator of
Littlemagictrain
Gina Bale has taught, for over 28 years,
movement and dance in mainstream, early
years and SEND settings as well as dance
schools. Whilst teaching, Gina found the
time to create the ‘Hi-5’ dance programme
to run alongside the Australian Children’s
Gina Bale
Gina’s background was originally
ballet, but she has spent the last 27
years teaching movement and dance
in mainstream, early years and SEND
settings as well as dance schools.
Whilst teaching, Gina found the time to
create the ‘Hi-5’ dance programme to
run alongside the Australian Children’s
TV series and the Angelina Ballerina
Dance Academy for Hit Entertainment.
Her proudest achievement to date is her
baby Littlemagictrain. She created this
specifically to help children learn through
make-believe, music and movement.
One of the highlights has been seeing
Littlemagictrain delivered by Butlin’s
famous Redcoats with the gorgeous
‘Bonnie Bear’ on the Skyline stage.
Gina has qualifications of teaching
movement and dance from the Royal
Ballet School, Trinity College and Royal
Academy of Dance.
Use the code ‘PARENTA’ for a 20%
discount on Littlemagictrain downloads
from ‘Special Editions’, ‘Speech and
Language Activities’, ‘Games’ and
‘Certificates’.
TV series and the Angelina Ballerina Dance
Academy for Hit Entertainment. Her proudest
achievement to date, apart from her
daughter, is Littlemagictrain. She created
this specifically to help children, including her
daughter, learn through movement and play.
Gina’s long-suffering daughter spent her
formative years being a guinea pig, testing
the format of the adventures, until they were
just right.
12 September 2021 | parenta.com
parenta.com | September 2021 13