Today we’d like to introduce you to Nina Stone.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In 1993, I graduated from college with a degree in Dance, and started my professional journey with my first job out of college, as a dancer on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship. Then I moved to NYC to pursue my dreams! I performed in professional theater throughout the US and around the world and in between gigs, lived and worked in NYC. I did not have a knack for waiting tables so most of my survival jobs were jobs working with children. I was a drama teacher, dance teacher, play leader, party hostess, dance party leader for all kinds of businesses and venues and eventually decided to go back to school and get my Master’s Degree in Educational Theater from New York University.
The idea of getting that degree was to be a better teacher and to be able to have more well-paying side hustles/teaching jobs in between performing jobs. But after a while, I found myself most well paid as a Temp in the financial sector. So I temped a lot while I continued to study dance, acting, and voice, and audition for work.
And then one day in 2005, right after I started dating the guy who would become my husband, I had the realization that I wasn’t really living my life. I was doing jobs that I didn’t really like just to make money to get me to that “someday” when I’d finally get that big gig and get to do what I loved.
But what I’d (very slowly) learned is that there was never that one performing job, or one opportunity where it all changed – someday was always in the future and I realized I wanted to start enjoying and living my life NOW. That I should do what I love now. TODAY.
So, right there I wrote down a list of all the things I liked to do and I that I was good at. It had dancing and singing and acting in there, but also had to work with kids, teaching, being creative, etc. I looked at the list and just typed a bunch of those same words into Monster.com (remember that website?) and up came a listing for Gymboree Play & Music in NYC looking for teachers who were also performers. And the audition was the next day. So, ironically, there WAS that one day that changed the trajectory of my Life, but I didn’t know it at the time.
I got that job at Gymboree Play & Music in NYC and worked with the 0 to 3 crowd (and their parents/caregivers) and just loved what I did. I sat on the parachute on the Upper Westside of Manhattan with parents and kids one Saturday morning leading everyone in a rousing chorus of Old MacDonald and wondered, “is there some way to do THIS with my Life?” And well, yes! There was!
From there, one thing led to another – I became the manager of that Gymboree for a bit, and then was offered to work at a private preschool in Manhattan which I reluctantly accepted! I was scared to say yes to a an actual contract! I wasn’t used to committing to one place and one job.
But – I had a great time teaching my two-hour preschool readiness class (grown-up and me format) and infused the whole class with music and movement, using them both as cross-curriculum tools. It started with 7 of those classes a week, but my class quickly grew in popularity and I was soon teaching 12 a week!
While at the job, I started writing songs for the preschool classroom, learned how to play guitar, started offering my own private classes on the side, got hired to entertain at Birthday parties for the rich and famous, recorded and released two albums of original children’s music, started my YouTube channel, incorporated as a business and became the Miss Nina that I am today.
In 2008, I married that adorable guy I’d mentioned earlier, and in 2013 we welcomed our daughter, Piper, into the world. We moved out to New Jersey in 2014 where I continued my private groups, parties, performances and was the music teacher at local preschools. We moved to Minnesota in 2018. We first lived in SW Minneapolis, and then moved to Maple Grove in 2019.
Re-establishing myself in Minnesota has not been so easy, especially since I was just getting to know MN and my new community in Maple Grove when the pandemic hit and everything shut down. But as I was already very established online at the time, I was able to offer online classes (and still do) to friends of all ages and abilities and those online classes were crucial to some of my MN friends who are medically fragile and/or have special needs.
And now, I have all kinds of fun things going on. I’ve been performing in person at libraries again as well as at schools and parties, I’ve launched The Pink Guitar Club which is my online video-on-demand membership, we’re still meeting every Wednesday morning online for my Music & Movement class, and I’ve still got my YouTube Channel going strong with 66,000+ subscribers.
So, I can definitely say that I DO enjoy my life now and am so happy I made the choice and decision to start enjoying life NOW and do what I LOVE now, rather than wait for “someday”. And hopefully, through music and movement, I will help others to do the same!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not always been smooth, to be honest. At first, it was. At first, the way that one thing led to another and to another it just felt like I was doing the right thing. One opportunity easily led to the next. Connections happened. Support and funds would just show up! After I had my daughter, when my availability and priorities changed, things got harder for me in terms of business.
I had to leave the job that had been where I really established this whole Miss Nina thing. The amount of money I’d make there would be just enough to cover the childcare expenses we’d need to pay so that I could work. It just didn’t seem to make any sense.
And with each new life change – new baby or each time we’ve moved – there’s been a re-start and a re-establishment that’s been tricky.
Every new place has a different vibe and a different lifestyle, Even if those places are just 20 miles apart. Apartment living vs. house living, urban vs. suburban, colder climate vs. milder – it all affects people’s choices of how they choose to spend their time, what they value in general, and what they value when it comes to their children’s education and entertainment. With every change, there’s been a process of getting to know the area, what people want or like, where and how to market myself, and what the typical pricing is in the area….. and it takes a while to really figure it out. Throw in there a global pandemic and well, it’s definitely been a struggle at times!
We’ve been impressed with Miss Nina, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The easiest way to say what I do is early childhood music & movement. But what I do is different from typical music programs. My classes, my original music, my performances and videos are all about using music & movement as a cross curriculum tool to teach preschool concepts, themes and early literacy skills. So, it’s MORE than music class!
You’ll find the usual instruments and props associated with most early childhood music classes like shakers, scarves, drums, etc. – but the focus is on preschool learning.
I’m very influenced by Howard Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences – so I love to use music and movement along with books, props and/or instruments to access children across their various learning styles.
One of the things I’m known for is putting books to music with a pop-song feel. Making a book an interactive and multi-sensory experience makes it more accessible to more children, and brings those crucial pre-reading and early literacy skills to them. And this is especially beneficial to children who may not have an available adult to read to them.
I also like making children’s music that is fun & makes not just little ones, but all ages want to get up and dance! Music and movement is a great way to change up the energy in a classroom or at home, to lighten everyone up a little so that we can continue to be and do our best.
I also love to teach teachers how to use music & movement within the classroom for classroom management.
So, there’s several ways to get some Miss Nina Music & Movement in your life. I offer:
- Preschool Music & Movement Classes (in schools)
- Online Music & Movement Classes (via Zoom)
- School & Library Performances
- Miss Nina’s Pink Guitar Club Membership – a Video-On-Demand membership of Miss Nina songs, read-alouds, craft-alongs, curated video playlists, teacher workshops and more!
- Miss Nina’s YouTube Channel (with over 65,000 Subscribers)
- Original Music & recordings available on Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify & all online outlets
- Private event entertainment like birthday parties and private mommy & me groups
One of the things I’m most proud of in my business is my YouTube Channel. Not so much because of the number of subscribers, although I am proud or it’s continued growth. But it’s the feedback that I’ve gotten from teachers and parents around the globe about how helpful my videos have been to them and the children in their lives. That make my heart soar and helps me to know that what I do helps others and matters. I’ve had occupational therapists write and tell me that they use my videos as a reward for their clients completing their physical therapy appointments, and I’ve had parents tell me the videos help their children deal with medical procedures. Other parents have written to tell me my videos and songs help their little ones foster a love of books and reading. I’ve had school administrators tell me that my video series for teachers help their novice teachers learn skills for classroom management, and others simply write to tell me, well, I help them have fun! I’m really proud of the body of work I have there and how it reaches and helps people.
You can find my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/MissNinasWeeklyVideoShow
And you can learn more about my offerings here: https://MyMissNina.com
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What do I like best about Maple Grove? I really love all the wonderful bike and walking paths, and the parks and lakes and being surrounded by such gorgeous trees and scenery. Getting outside does EVERYTHING for me! Even if it’s just walking the dog.
What do I like least? Hmmm…… Perhaps it’s just that I don’t know a lot of people or have family here. It’s hard to make friends as an adult, in general. And it’s hard to make friends in a place where everyone has known each other for a long time. I totally get it. It’s probably the same as where I grew up (Wilmington, Delaware). But little by little, hopefully, I’ll make many new friends and feel a sense of home here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://MyMissNina.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/missninastone
- Facebook: facebook.com/MyMissNina
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/MissNinasWeeklyVideoShow
Image Credits
Wendy K. Yalom
Dirty Sugar Photography
Melissa Ince
