Today at Birkdale all the children got an opportunity to take the lead as they played rhythms on the drum! As each child played, everyone moved their feet around the room to their unique beat. Each child was excited to get their own turn on the drum and made the most of their turn!
Today I added a new warm up (after Roly Poly, which the kids always love). We sang up and down the scale with Solfege signs, and the kids and grown-ups learned them almost instantaneously! We transitioned into the Button and Flea songs, and then sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider, which even some of the newer grown-ups recognized (one of the kids started calling out the lyrics before we even began). Once we had made our rounds with some standing and dancing songs, I brought back the scale from the beginning of class, getting everyone to hold hands in a circle and sing "Hello" up the scale while walking in, and "Goodbye" sliding all the way out. The kids loved it, and I think I'll bring a stretchy band next time to add even more excitement to the exercise. Looking forward to sharing some Halloween songs next week!
We had a great first class with our CultureLink participants today. The kids and grown-ups were impressively focused as we went around and learned the letter signs for each person’s name. After an enthusiastic Hello song, we were off to the races with a slow then sped up version of Head and Shoulders and a very rhythmic version of Baby Shark, among others. Looking forward to a great session with CultureLink!
We were a smaller group this week, so I think everyone was feeling a bit more exposed, and therefore shyer than usual. To break the ice, I brought out some of my silliest songs with nonsense words and kookie actions. After that, we settled into learning a bit more about the technical aspects of music, namely Solfege. We learned how to sing the scale as well as the hand signs that go with it. We finished up with the Agogo, a Brazilian instrument that's similar to a cow bell, and one of the parents helped us sing Oye Como Va, complete with a translation.
Today I brought the Agogo from Brazil and the caregivers and kids alike really enjoyed trying to play a few different rhythms. We listened to popular Latin songs and practiced keeping the beat with the Agogo. I also brought a special number of the week and practiced tracing the number with the kids.
It was great to be back at the Plaza Hotel after being absent the previous week, and I was glad to see that the kids hadn't forgotten me, or any of their favourite songs! In fact, one of them kept calling out for Sleeping Bunnies before every song I played. Though this didn't affect enthusiasm for any of the other songs, the response to Sleeping Bunnies was, in a word, uproarious. The kids also took quite well to the train songs, racing with delight when the trains started to move faster and faster. This energy translated very well to our jam session, where I was amazed by how well the kids listened to my directions on when to start and stop. They were also so enthusiastic about helping to move the jam bag that I didn't even have to help! What a great group!
Although we started our time together with the usual energy I've come to expect at Redwood, dancing and moving our bodies, the real highlight of our session was an extended version of Down By the Bay. All the kids took turns coming up with silly rhymes, and they were being so considerate with one another, raising their hands for their turn to jump into the song. After that, we explored our emotions through If You're Happy and You Know It by adding "if you're sad and you know it" and "if you're mad". All of the expressions were great!
Today I showed the class the clave sticks from Cuba. One little boy (4 yrs old) caught the complicated clave beat and was able to carry the rhythm throughout the class. It was really exciting for him, me and the other participants to see someone get the rhythm and keep it!!
A group full of smiling faces where the grown-ups were having as much fun as the kids! We had a lot of silly fun playing with songs that got us creating rhythm together with a surprise STOP! “It’s time to clap, clap your hands! It’s time to STOP!” Everyone worked hard together playing circle games that had us “GO” and “STOP” with lots of giggles. Then we all listened carefully as we played the chime bars to the beat 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! DING!
Another great class at Robertson House this week! We had so much fun starting songs off slow and then gradually speeding them up. We also had a lot of fun attaching body bells to our wrists and ankles. As we sang Shake It Baby we couldn’t help but stand up and dance around! Looking forward to more classes like this one.
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