When is Spring coming?

Today was the first day of the Spring Session at Robertson House, although the weather seemed to disagree given the snowflakes falling from the sky. I was accompanied by RSF personnel Jo, who provided some excellent support during a busy first class following March Break.

I was able to arrive early and catch up with the staff at Robertson House. As they filled me in on the happenings over March Break one woman exclaimed, "We missed you last week for music!" I laughed and smiled and silently admitted to myself that it always feels good to be missed, because each time it makes me aware that the families are truly enjoying the RSF experience week to week.

We started with the Hello Song and continued to fill the rest of the class with some Rainbow Songs favourites, which included, Roly Poly, I Wake Up My Hands, Hands Together Hands Apart, and, Little Green Frog. I also tried a new lap-ride song with the group named She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain. For movement we went to the moon during Zoom Zoom Zoom and when I felt the need to refocus the group we tried Rolling The Ball. Some of the participants were new, while others were children who had been in class before, and it’s always striking to see how wonderful routine can be. The children who have been with me for some time are much better at participating and listening, while the new faces have some trouble with these concepts at first. I was happiest to see the moms singing loudly and making an effort to interact with their children through singing the songs and trying the actions.

For instrument of the week I did a demonstration of open and closed sounds of the drum. We practiced sharing with our neighbor and passed the instrument around the room giving everyone a chance. I also made sure to reiterate the idea that the drums are played only with the hands and no other body part, especially the maracas! We then brought out the Jam Bag and sang one of my favourites titled I'm In The Mood For Drumming, and continued the song with other verses for shaking, ringing (the bells), and singing. Knowing that the jam is most certainly a highlight for many participants, I kept things going with a new song, Hands Up! I could tell immediately that some of the grownups were familiar with the tune and encouraged them to sing.

We finished with the parachute, first shaking fast to Bamboleo then slowing going up and down. After putting it away on the count of 1 - 2 - 3, we sang the Goodbye Song and I handed out some lyric sheets to the group. I encouraged them to tell their friends and come again next week!