When a new mom asks us what a My Tribu class looks like, we always give the same answer, we open the door for you. There is no mystery here.
Each class lasts forty-five minutes, follows a clear structure, and at the same time leaves plenty of room for your baby to explore at their own pace. The structure is not there to rush anyone, it is there to create safety. The repetition week after week is what allows your baby to recognize the space, the songs, the faces, and relax.
Here is what a class looks like, block by block.
Minute zero to five, welcome song
Families arrive. Blankets are already laid out in a circle on the lawn. The day's materials sit in the center, still covered with a soft cloth. We sit.
Mari opens with the welcome song. It is the same every week, and it names every baby in the circle. Mari plays several different instruments throughout the program, and she has put together songs unique to this community. A live human voice singing is very different from a recording, the rhythm shifts based on what is happening with the babies in that moment.
Repetition does not bore a baby. It calms them.
Minute five to fifteen, circle of connection
After the welcome song we do a connection activity in the circle. It might be a short book read in Spanish and English, a hand game, a mirror routine where babies copy gentle gestures, or a seated movement song.
This block has no cognitive learning goal. The goal is emotional, for your baby to register that this moment, on this lawn, with you, with these other families around, is safe and shared. That safety is the base every other moment is built on.
Minute fifteen to thirty, themed exploration
Now we uncover the materials. Each week has a different theme that I design with pedagogical intention, water, textures, movement, sounds, light and shadow, color, nature. For each theme we prepare materials that invite babies to explore several senses at once.
Every baby goes to the material that draws their attention. You go with your baby. There is no right activity. If your baby spends fifteen minutes only on one texture, that is exactly what your baby needed that day. If your baby moves from material to material every minute, that is also information their brain is processing.
I move through every family in this block, offering an observation when I think it helps. For example, "see how she checks your face before touching something new, she is asking permission." Moms sometimes get emotional when a guide names something they were feeling without words.
Minute thirty to forty, music and movement
We shift the tone. Mari brings live music, and with her instruments invites us to move. Some babies dance in arms, others crawl around, others walk if they can. The songs mix Spanish and English, and many are originals written for this program.
There is something that happens when a mom sings live with her baby that cannot be recreated with a screen. Eyes meet, rhythm responds to your body, pauses are yours. That is real multi-sensory learning.
Minute forty to forty-five, goodbye song
We come back to the circle. Another song that repeats every week, this time for closing. Every baby is sent off by name. Some babies fall asleep right at this moment, after forty-five minutes of outdoor exploration. That is one of the gifts of the program that is not in the brochure, your baby will probably rest better the rest of the day.
It is not magic. It is rhythm, presence, and materials chosen with love.
What happens between the minutes
There is a part of the class that is not on the schedule, the conversations between moms while the babies explore. One mom shares how her baby is sleeping. Another talks about a puree recipe. A third mentions where she found a pediatrician. That happens always, in the space that the rhythm creates, and it is half the value of coming to class.
If reading this made you want to see it in person, your first class is free. We will see you at Doral Yard.
