Welcome to Shake Rattle & Roll!
Hello!
My name is AmyJo Doherty — a British teacher and musician who's called Madrid home for the past 22 years. (YIKES! I only came for 6 months!)
I'm PGCE qualified in infant education and TEFL trained, and my journey with young children started even earlier than that: I was working as a teaching assistant at just 20 years old, and I've always loved working with children. Over the years that's taken me into classrooms and nurseries across South Korea, El Salvador, England and Spain, mostly working with the very youngest learners.
After many years in the classroom, I started to feel that the system was outdated and problematic for many children and teachers alike. When I left teaching, I knew I wanted to do something different.
Shake Rattle & Roll was created by myself and Jac Daley — a new mum looking for a musical playgroup, and a teacher (although she didn't know it then) looking to run one!
I've been running Shake Rattle & Roll sessions for over 15 years now (YIKES, again!), bringing together my two great loves — teaching and music — in schools, nurseries, theatres, yoga studios, and private celebrations across Madrid.
It was Maria Montessori who coined the phrase “play is the work of the child,” and I firmly believe that. When children are having fun, they don't even realise they're learning — and that's exactly when the real learning happens, and the real connections are made.
I'd actually go further than that. I think play is fundamental to all of our mental health, not just children's. We draw such a hard line between “play” and “work,” between childhood and adulthood — and I wonder if that's exactly where life starts to feel heavy, and stress creeps in. Children haven't forgotten something we have: that joy and learning were never meant to be separate.
That belief sits behind every session I run. I've given conference talks to parents and teachers on the therapeutic and educational power of music, but at heart, it's simple: give a child — or a person of any age — joy, rhythm and a sense of belonging, and their brains and hearts do the rest.
What happens in each session?
Every Shake Rattle & Roll session is built around that same belief: that play is how children (and grown-ups!) learn best.
I'd encourage adults to remember that kids learn by example — so if you want them to sing, you have to sing too! It's easy to feel self-conscious and forget that even the smallest children feel that self-consciousness from us, too. So leave your pride at the door, and let's get jumping with those monkeys!
The weekly sessions follow a clear structure (which is important), although what happens within each session changes constantly.
We start with a hello song and nursery rhymes, brought to life with props — a gentle, joyful way to settle in and ease into the session. Then it's time for marching songs, getting those gross-motor skills moving (little ones love this part — though it's often more of a workout for the grown-up in charge!).
Children learn very quickly which toys go with each song — even before formal language is available, or before they speak English. They know the dinosaur means “row, row, row your boat,” and many of them reach for the doctor's hat straight away because they want to sing about the monkeys jumping on the bed.
We come back into the circle for instruments and songbooks, singing all together with me and Bernard, my trusty guitar. I bring a whole range of real instruments for the children to pick and choose as they wish — the idea is that they're free to experiment before they might ever receive more formal musical instruction.
Then it's Disco Time — dancing, bubbles, and party time!
To bring things back down gently, we finish with a story and a goodbye song, so everyone leaves calm, connected, and ready for what's next.
Sessions are designed for babies and young children up to around 4 years old, and their grown-ups — though we say that as a guide, not a rule. Every child is different, and that's exactly the point.
Please don't ever think a baby is too young. Babies crave stimulation, and although their development may be happening very internally, if they're awake, they can get so much from a session — whether that's you doing the actions for them, tapping out rhythms on their bodies, or just being part of the energy in the room. And they just love the marching part!t stimulants!
Check out this fab new song and video from Shakey Doodle time!
www.shakeydoodletime.com
