Targeting 2-8 year old kids, Do the Hibble Hop! is 30 minutes of early childhood learning through song, rap and dance. This brainchild is the one man show of Hesh Habibullah (also known as Hesh or Hesh Hibble). As a hip-hop artist, YouTube performer, teacher and certified counsellor; Hesh has covered a range of childhood milestones.
Keeping to a simple set up, Hesh performed an array of children’s songs which encouraged positive habits. Starting from warm up rap in the morning; Hesh asked the kids about their habits, and got the kids learning raps about vegetables and animals. With some children’s performers they have annoying earworms, but each song was pleasantly individual.
Due to the younger audience, Hesh adapted his normal routine to keep the kids interested for the whole show. The steps were simplified, in case they didn’t know some of the moves or were unsure of the lyrics. The parents were also encouraged to get in on the act – which we enthusiastically did.
There were several highlights in the performance, the helicopter dance and animal song were positively received by the kids. All the kids loved Sarah, Hesh’s puppet assistant. The kids helped “teach” Sarah numbers and the alphabet. Because Sarah was so popular with the kids, Hesh brought her out for a couple more songs. This adaptability was the extra mile in making this show super enjoyable!
Having a simple set up worked for this performance, the kids were able to focus on the positive early education songs that Hesh was singing about. It was also great to see the audience have enough space to move about; and if the younger kids weren’t participating in a song that was OK too! As someone who doesn’t always want to attend morning children’s events, I personally enjoyed the early evening show time, as it exhausted my toddler in time for bed.
For interested parents, Do the Hibble Hop! will be available for a limited January session. For those who have attended, I highly recommend Hesh’s YouTube account for replaying songs for the kids to enjoy on repeat!