Peanut Butter & Jam Session

 Samuel and I went to our first Peanut Butter & Jam Session at Symmes Township Public Library. I learned about Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions from a fellow teacher on the way back from a conference in Columbus. She was telling me about the different things she did with her kids when they were younger. She recalled her trips to these sessions and said they all loved them, so I have been on the lookout for a session ever since.

The theme was Steel Drum Summer and a story was told throughout the show about different islands in the Caribbean. It was an outdoor musical performance and we had great seats! We sat on the hillside in the shade and Samuel enjoyed his snack while doing some dancing. There was even a slight breeze while we listened to the music.

A couple of dance moves were taught for different songs played. Our favorite songs were Under the Sea and We don't talk about Bruno. Before each song was played a story was told or we learned something about the various instruments that were being played. Towards the end of the performance they had multiple limbo lines and kids could even play music with some smaller instruments they had.

They even had a photo booth area set up with different tropical props, like sunglasses and grass skirts. Samuel chose the crab glasses because he loves reading about crabs and making crab hands. They also had an area with mini steel drums and Samuel played on it for a few beats. He looked like a professional! 

Towards the end of the performance kids could pick up a pinwheel and fruit leather. They also had information on how to make a donation to keep programming free. The session lasted about 45 minutes and I thought that was a perfect amount of time. 

We look forward to the different sessions they will offer in the Fall (Musical Zoo) and Winter (Hit It!). If you want to check them out they have one more Steel Drum Summer session on August 3 at the Hebron Branch Library in Northern Kentucky.