The closest thing to Mister Rogers since Ms. Rachel is bringing something beautiful to a neighborhood near you, minus the screens.
Parents and educators Laren and Aimee Loveless developed Music & Me in 2022 as a way to provide vibrant, soothing spaces for kids to learn, grow, and play–and for their grown-ups to do the same. “When people sign up for this class, they’re really thinking about it for their kids, and then when they come, they don’t realize how much fun they’re going to have,” Aimee says. “I think with parenthood, sometimes it’s so hard that you have to laugh or cry. So why not play?”
Rarely are activities designed for babies and toddlers—or their parents—to fully tap into childhood wonder without the overstimulation or scheduling stress. But at Music & Me, there’s booking flexibility (whether you sign up for a full course or drop-ins); caregivers participate in the activities rather than sitting on the sidelines; and the environment is roam-friendly for tots in an exploratory phase.
The Experience
“Hello” by Laren (known by the kids as Mr. Loveless) kicks off the hour, as parents lay out their picnic blankets (or “musical islands”) and little ones pick out wooden instruments, ribbons, and shakers. A display of puppets, inspired by the Loveless family children, is set up behind the head music- and magic-maker himself. The whimsical puppets will be used throughout to engage parents and kids alike both in silliness and in conversations about social-emotional learning and what it means to be human.
After a calming breathwork exercise, the rest of the songs are a mixture of Mr. Loveless originals and well-known hits familiar to adults who grew up in, say, the ’90s but that have been humorously remixed as toddler tunes.
The intimate classes take place in Francis Park in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood or, when the weather is less than ideal, inside the chapel of Hope United Church of Christ at the corner of the park. Outdoor classes are set in tree-lined serenity, which families can follow with a stop at Rockwell Beer Garden or the newly reimagined toddler playground. Indoor classes also hold a certain charm, with light streaming in through stained-glass windows.
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The First Note
Like many who venture into small business, the parents of three had a moment of clarity when their work no longer fit their lives. (Laren taught at City Academy for 10 years, and Aimee taught in the Mehlville School District for 15 years.) For Laren, the guilt of missing his kids’ afterschool activities for work opportunities was a price too high to pay. For Aimee, the “a-ha” moment came while on parental leave with her middle child in the pandemic. “I developed this fire under me where I was able to really look at the education field from a different lens of what I liked and then a lot of the things I really did not like,” Aimee says. “There was this force telling me, You need to do something else, but it’s not going to be in the classroom… So over the summer, we had this idea to start our own music program.”
Meanwhile, the gnawing feeling in Laren’s soul only grew as well. When he finally decided to leave his job, wrapping up a robust chapter of his career, he remembers his administrator telling him, “This is the beginning for you.”
“And it was,” Laren adds.
Inspired by a music program they had previously done with their youngest child–one that allowed them to connect with him and to be silly alongside him–the Music & Me program took off almost immediately and now attracts families from more than 50 ZIP codes.
The Purpose
Through their growing community, the couple’s mission and purpose has been reinforced time and again. “There’s so much research on early childhood development–not just about music–but on play and how there’s less and less play happening,” Aimee says. “A lot of parents feel like play is this extra thing, but play is the thing. Play is the gateway to connection with your child, but a lot of parents don’t even remember how to play. They don’t remember how to be silly… But all our kids want is for us to play, because that’s the way they connect and grow.”
Aimee adds that the program is research- and evidence-based. “Connections in our brains start from when we’re babies,” she says. “And when babies are exposed to music, we know it increases their language development. Aspects of our class also increase their gross and fine motor skills. There’s also a lot of research on the importance of playfulness for adults. It decreases anxiety. There were reports of greater joy in daily life. It boosts serotonin. It creates stronger connections in relationships with their children and with other adults.”
If Aimee is the curriculum curator, Laren takes on the social-emotional work from the “inside out.” His hand puppets and songs routinely deal with processing difficult emotions, including the popular “Big Feelings,” which has been known to help his students at school drop-off. “I’ve had a lot of trauma in my life as a child,” he says. “And I play around with these ideas that are coming from a really inward place of healing. Everything that I present to the class has been practiced on me. I want to produce anything that allows people to let singing together and playing together bridge that human side.”
Laren says mirroring moments when he hears of a child giving themselves a hug because “Mr. Loveless told me to hug myself when I feel sad,” or when they use the calm-down tools he teaches them in class, or when a parent plays “Big Feelings” to help them in the harder moments of parenting chaos, it reinforces that this was what he was meant to do. “It’s just this huge ripple effect of sharing with others who are out there that feel the same way,” he adds. “That’s where the healing is, and it’s where empathy begins.”
The Next Track
Although inner and family connections are perhaps the heart of the program, community connection is equally important to the duo. Frequent collaborations include the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association, Schlafly, and Rockwell Beer Garden, as well as other types of children’s programming, from yoga to local festivals.
“The community partnerships allow the music to just be accessible to everyone,” Laren says. “We love giving back to the community and helping other small businesses grow.”
For families interested in checking out Laren’s musical stylings before signing up, check out Fa La La in Francis Park on November 30.
The Lovelesses aren’t sure where their program grows from here; Singing & Me classes for older kids were recently added, a children’s book may be on the horizon, and expanding their reach within the St. Louis community is certainly a goal.
For now, they are taking a page from the Mr. Loveless song ”Learning Me & Learning You,” which opens with the lyric, “Welcome to the world so far. Join in, and take part of the view.”
