Monday Week One: Meet the Mirror
Class One starts at 4:02 p.m. sharp in our Los Angeles studio on Melrose. Parents peel little fingers off their legs and kids waddle toward a circle of colored floor spots. Coach Gayla kneels, holds up a tiny mirror, and asks everyone to make their silliest face.
Five-year-old Maya scrunches her nose so hard her glasses fog. The room erupts in giggles and the ice is officially broken. Next Gayla presses record on a handheld camera the size of a juice box. She explains that the red light means the camera loves you. Every child waves like a celebrity on a red carpet. By 4:15 they practice the slate: name, age, favorite dinosaur. Maya whispers T-Rex so softly the mic barely catches it, but she smiles anyway. The playback rolls on a big TV and Maya sees herself ten feet tall. Her jaw drops and she whispers again, this time loud enough for the whole room to hear, I am on TV. Parents exhale for the first time all day.
Week Two: Story Beats with Teddy Bears
Class Two begins with teddy bears wearing tiny capes. Each child chooses a bear and acts out a three-beat story: bear wants honey, bear tries to climb, bear shares with friend. Coach Sean calls the beats beginning, middle, end and claps a rhythm like a heartbeat. Maya’s bear tries and fails twice before succeeding, which teaches persistence without anyone using the word. Sean records on a phone and texts the clip to parents before pick-up. In the parking lot Maya reenacts the story for her grandma, complete with sound effects. Grandma later tells us Maya has never narrated anything longer than two sentences before tonight.
Week Three: Emotions in a Box
Week Three introduces the Emotion Box, a shoebox wrapped like a birthday gift. Inside are emoji cards and mini props. Each child draws a card and acts the feeling for ten seconds while the camera rolls. Maya pulls surprised and uses a rubber duck as the prop. Her eyebrows shoot up like rockets and the class claps. Sean then asks the group to guess the emotion before the reveal. High fives fly and nobody worries about being wrong. After playback Sean points out how Maya’s eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect O. Maya beams because feedback sounds like praise. Parents notice bedtime tantrums are shorter that week and wonder if emotional vocabulary is the secret sauce.
Week Four: Mini Scene with a Partner
By Week Four the kids are paired for two-line scenes from a cartoon pilot. Maya partners with Ethan who is four and three quarters. They practice sharing cookies on camera. Lines are only four words each, but the focus is on taking turns and looking at the partner’s eyes. Maya forgets her line twice, then nails it on the third try. The room erupts in cheers louder than any callback. Parents watch from monitors and some wipe away proud tears. After class Maya asks if she can come back tomorrow. Mom says classes are once a week and Maya sighs like the world is ending, then smiles because next week is only six sleeps away.
Ready to Start Your Own Month of Magic
Four weeks, four tiny milestones, one giant leap in confidence. If you want to watch your five-year-old discover their voice under gentle Hollywood lights, book a trial class today and let the cameras roll.