Jingle Bell Rock!

It was the smallest class yet, so I was able to really teach some things, including the scale (do, re, mi) with hand signs and a few new Christmas songs, including Jingle Bell Rock and Deck the Halls. Because of the small numbers I was able to bring out the parachute, which I don't think I've done in years. The children loved jumping around underneath and I could tell the moms were overjoyed to see the children having so much fun! We ended the class with a Christmas jam: Jingle Bells, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman. All in all a really fun and productive class!

Harmony in Music

The class started out with just a handful of moms and babies, so I was able to focus on repertoire for younger children. The class did grow considerably, but Miriam was very hands on and helpful, which was a big help to me! We sang a series of songs including: Wheels on the Bus, Roly Poly, What Are You Wearing?, Sleeping Bunnies, Little Green Frog, etc. and ended with a great version of Day-oh, In the Jungle, and Twist and Shout. I had some new moms present who can really sing, so it was fun harmonizing with them and I could see that they also really enjoyed belting it out!

Halloween Week!

The class started with just a few new mothers and babies (which was great!), however the masses did arrive and we ended up with a group of over 40 participants! I began by teaching a few fun Halloween songs – I'm Dressing Up and Five Little Pumpkins – and then went on to sing counting songs – Fast and Slow, and One Finger Keeps Moving. The group was a mix of ages and a bit wild, so I spent most of my time trying to engage the children while making sure people didn't get accidentally hurt. Somehow we managed to squeeze in a variety of songs, including Sleeping Bunnies, Roly Poly, Wheels On the Bus, and What Are You Wearing? We ended the class with a big jam, including Three Little Birds and Twinkle Twinkle.

Singing Away the Monday Blues!

Considering the large number of participants, we still had a very productive class! One of the moms who has been there the longest (over a year) really helped by belting out the tunes with her daughter. I think having one mom who sings well was inspiring to the others, as participation was at an all-time high. We began the class with a series of songs about the body: One Finger Keeps Moving, Head and Shoulders, Put Your Finger in the Air, and Sticky Bubble Gum, and then moved on to transportation songs: Wheels on the Bus, Row Your Boat, Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, and Walk and Stop. The class ended with awesome versions of Day-O and The Lions Sleep Tonight.

Learning Through Song

Monday was a jam packed musical adventure. The children were mostly two and under, so my aim was to deliver songs for the wobbly toddler. We started with Wake Up My Hands, One Finger Keeps Moving, Put Your Finger In The Air, and then moved on to Clap Your Hands Now Sing 1-2-3, Tickle Song, and The Grand Old Duke of York. Then it was time to get up and move around with Shake Your Sillies Out, Zoom Zoom Zoom, and I've Been Working On The Railroad. The jam included Three Little Birds, ABC, and In the Jungle. I enjoyed watching numerous one year olds “grooving to the music” and watching their moms react as their children attempted to keep time by stomping and clapping. Some pretty adorable moments all around.

Beatrice House Boogie!

It was another jam packed, crazy, rock concert at Beatrice House. Moms, kids, tots and babies all piled in to the room for a very high spirited class! We started off with a few popular songs: Roly Poly, Wheels on the Bus, and Row Your Boat, before teaching them The Little Green Frog and Shut the Door. Then we went on a journey: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, etc., before finishing with a rambunctious version of Three Little Birds, and an ABC/Twinkle Little Star medley.

Ending on a High Note!

I have to say I was a little emotional about this being our last class. Many of these women and their children have been taking the class religiously for up to 1 year so I will definitely miss their smiling faces and abundant energy. I knew I had to cut the class a little bit short so we could do the certificates, cupcakes etc. so I did "the best of ..." songs that were very popular throughout the session for both the children and moms alike. After the sing-a-long, we emptied the instrument bag for a final round of "Three Little Birds" and "Twist and Shout". All in all a great ending to a wonderful session.

Warm and Sunny @ Beatrice House

It was yet another energy filled class at the Beatrice House. It was a bit overcast outside but very bright and sunny inside the RSF music class. Many children came late today so we started off small but grew steadily. We began by taking a journey using many transportation songs: Wheels on the Bus; Zoom, Zoom, Zoom; Little Red Wagon; Row Your Boat;, I've Been Working on the Railroad and then went on to sail to Jamaica with Baby Shark and Jamaica Farewell. We also made a stop in Mexico where we revisited the Spanish version of "Twinkle Twinkle". The Spanish speakers were delighted to sing that one again this week. We ended the class with a big jam of "Three Little Birds", "ABC" and "In the Jungle".

Musica, Musica, Musica!

Over the past few weeks I've noticed that many of the mothers and children are Spanish speakers. Through speaking with them after class (with my limited Spanish) I found out that many are from Mexico and have recently immigrated to Canada. So, I thought since we are teaching many songs in English it would be fun to learn a song or two in Spanish. Together they taught the class "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" in Spanish:

Estrellita, ¿dónde estás? Me pregunto qué serás. En el cielo y en el mar, Un diamante de verdad. Estrellita, ¿dónde estás? Me pregunto qué serás.

After learning the words (and doing the signs), we continued with our regular programming with the following favourites: "What Are You Wearing?", "Little Green Frog", "Sleeping Bunnies" and "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" before ending the class with the parachute and a rocking jam session.

Sign Language Day!

I decided to make this a sign language learning experience for the moms and children. We started off learning hello & goodbye and then went on to learn most of the animal signs. This brought us to many animal songs including: I Had a Rooster, Little Green Frog, Listen to the Water and Sleeping Little Bunnies. We then went on to learn the sign for "milk", "more", "please" and "thank you" and the signs for the song "The More We Sing Together". We then went over the degrees of the scale and wrapped up the class with a fun filled jam and parachute which the younger children/babies just loved! Splitting up the age groups has made a real difference.