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"Kate Middleton is a natural with kids. After a very glam, grown-up red carpet date night with Prince William on Dec. 5, the Duchess of Cambridge got in touch with her inner child during a Friday, Dec. 6, visit to the Shooting Star House Children&amp;apos;s Hospice in Hampton, England.\r\nDressed for the outing in dark blue skinny jeans and Reiss&amp;apos; gray &amp;quot;Delaney&amp;quot; coat -- a far cry from her slinky Roland Mouret gown from the night before -- Prince George&amp;apos;s mum bonded with sick children and their families over nursery rhymes and arts and crafts. Following a tour of the facilities, she joined the kids for afternoon tea and was presented with a posy of roses by three young girls, Demi, Zoe, and Zofia.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Duchess also took part in a music therapy session with music therapist Sarah Hodkinson, who strummed her guitar to the tune of &amp;quot;Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Jingle Bells,&amp;quot; and other favorite children&amp;apos;s songs. Middleton laughed and clapped along, and even played with a little hand puppet made to look like a frog. An onlooker told Us Weekly she seemed &amp;quot;so at ease with the kids. They really lit up being around her.&amp;quot;\r\nOne little girl -- 5-year-old Demi-Leigh Armstrong, who had a kidney transplant after being diagnosed with a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome -- seemed especially enchanted. She gave the Duchess a big hug after the sing-along.\r\n\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;Kate was so sweet, absolutely lovely, and she really puts you at ease, because obviously you are a little tense to meet someone so important,&amp;quot; Louise Wilks, mom to sons Shaney and Chesney, said of the visit. &amp;quot;She was down to earth but had a real aura about her...She asked me about my boys and how we use Shooting Star CHASE and I told her how they like messy play. She said she has just introduced George to messy play and what fun it was.&amp;quot; (Messy play is a name for activities that engage babies in very sensory ways.)&amp;#xA0;\r\nAnother mother, Nicola Dasilva, whose 21-month-old son, Frankie, has infantile osteoporosis, added that meeting Middleton was &amp;quot;amazing.&amp;quot; She gushed, &amp;quot;It was just an experience and a memory I&amp;apos;m never going to forget with Frankie.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\n\r\nAnother part of the visit involved the Duchess meeting some of the volunteers who give their time to hospice work. &amp;quot;We are honored to have welcomed Her Royal Highness to Shooting Star CHASE,&amp;quot; Shooting Star CEO David Burland said. &amp;quot;The Duchess is a committed supporter of children&amp;apos;s hospices and showed great knowledge about our vital work supporting children with life-limiting conditions and their families.&amp;quot;&amp;#xA0;\r\nThe Duchess become a royal patron of East Anglia Children&amp;apos;s Hospices (EACH) after she married Prince William in April 2011. Shooting Star CHASE was actually opened in 2006 by the Duke&amp;apos;s father, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.\r\n\r\nA spokesperson for Kensington Palace tells Us that Middleton plans to launch a new initiative to encourage more people to volunteer in hospices. &amp;quot;The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry is currently developing a pilot for a volunteering program to support families of children with life-limiting conditions,&amp;quot; the rep says. &amp;quot;A key component of today&amp;apos;s visit is for the Duchess to meet a group of Shooting Stars volunteers, to better understand how they support the hospice and its families.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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