Kids Leading the Way

Though not as many parents were able to join us at Robertson house today, the kids who showed up were all in for some music! They were clapping and dancing and singing along with little to no encouragement; they were just excited for any direction we would go! The older kids were more than capable of handling themselves in the circle, and the mom who did join was very attentive to getting her baby involved. Some other older kids showed up towards the end and were fascinated by the Vibraslap which was our instrument of the week. It was so heartwarming to see some of the kids helping the younger ones position their hands on the instrument to get the right sound out of it. We were also joined by a staff member, whose claps and positive energy lent a great vibe to the class. The more the merrier!

New Room, Who This?

This session took place in a new playroom, different from the front room we normally use. It was quite spacious, and had lots of colourful mats for the kids to sit on. There were some toys in the room that did distract some kids, but they found there way to and from the circle in their own time, while their parents remained engaged and encouraging of their kids to participate without any fuss. This time, we had a nice balance of parents and kids, and all of the kids were in a similar age range. There was a very joyous energy in the room, and we had a fantastic jam where I could see parents light up as some of the youngest babies held and shook maracas for the first time. A delightful class!

Big Energy, Big Volume

There was quite a boom of energy in the room today at Robertson house. One of the staff members informed me that there were quite a few new kids to the building, so that made for a class in which the bulk of the kids were much older than the small handful of babies who showed up, which made things a bit difficult at times. The older kids brought lots of excitement, but also some rowdiness, and quite a bit of volume (especially during Sticky Sticky Bubblegum and our final jam), which led to some of the babies needing to have a break from the class. The kids who stayed seemed to be having a good time though, and were quite participatory with songs like The Hokey Pokey, If You're Happy, and Five Little Monkeys (basically anything with lots of movement). We had a short but lively jam, and once the parachute came out I think it made quite a few of the kids' days. Not without some challenges, but also not without great rewards!

Great to be Back!

It was a great time being back with our music circle at Robertson House. Some excited kids I met during previous sessions welcomed me, very excited that I was back and to have fun with our singalong.

Highlights of the class were the high energy and excitement. We sang classics like Wheels on the Bus and did lots of actions. Our movement songs was Zoom Zoom Zoom, and it was a blast (off!) getting ready and putting our astronaut suits and helmets on. Jamming to Baby Beluga was also a memorable moment.

Sharing is Caring

Some of the families were a bit late to our class this week, so things started off with a mini guitar lesson for the older siblings who arrived early. I showed the kids how to strum with a pick and some simple fretting patterns, and I have no doubt they'd like to learn more. Once the families arrived, there were a lot of babies who were still asleep, but the mom's sang to them regardless, as the lively babies took cues from their older siblings. For our Instrument of the Week we passed around the Vibraslap, which was a huge hit, but the bigger rewards were in how the kids passed it around among themselves without much fuss; they all just seemed happy to get to play with new instruments. The drum prowess of the older kids was very much present during our jam, and we ended off in a good mood as I said goodbye to this group for this part of the fall session. Many thanks to the staff at Robertson House for being so helpful!

On Our Feet!

This was a very lively class at Robertson House! There were an equal number of older siblings and young babies, and the older kids and parents were very engaged. I especially appreciated the enthusiasm of the siblings, as they recognized all of the classic songs that we warmed up with, especially If You're Happy and You Know It. The enthusiasm eventually spilled out into some running around the room, so we made an emergency stop with Shake Your Sillies Out, and focused on dance and movement songs to keep everyone in the circle. We jammed out with some clave sticks to the rhythm of 5 Little Monkeys, and finished off the jam with an amazing percussion section from the kids who were quite keen on the drums. Things were so lively that other families kept trickling in throughout the class!

A Lovely Intro!

I was warmly welcomed by the staff, parents, and kids for our first session. The little ones were all a similar age, so they played very well together. However, this did mean that a lot of exploration and running around was very much a part of the class. I tried to keep everyone on our feet as much as possible, but also bring things back to rhythm and clapping, which the grownups were very enthusiastic about. All of the grownups were engaged and interacting with their kids musically, which bodes well for this group in the coming weeks!

Celebrating the End of the Session!

It was time to wrap up the session at Robertson House this week. We sang our favourites and had a blast on our last class of Spring 2023.

We did some hopping with Sleeping Bunnies, went on a journey with Wheels on the Bus and jammed to I’m in the Mood for Music. At the end of the class, we handed out some gifts and the kids loved choosing their books and instruments.

Energy and Excitement!

An active and engaged group of 11 participants filled the room with joy on our music session this week at Robertson House. Looking forward to the jam and asking about the instruments bag from the beginning of class, they all had lots of fun as we danced around the room and sang together.

As expected, the jam was a huge success with The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Two Little Black Birds was also a highlight as we got silly together with the birds in the song and their funny names and actions.

Johnny and His Multiple Hammers

We had so much fun in our music class this week. Some new kids showed up for the first time and all participants were super excited to sing and share music even before the class started.

There were lots of movement songs on the setlist. We helped Johnny with the super fun Johnny Works With Hammers song and the kids loved to find all of the “hammers” to work with.