Rockin' Robin

This evening's class had a relaxed, laid back feel - maybe because of the chilly, snowy day we had. I was happy to see a new mom bring her baby to class, and I prepped a couple songs for Animal Week, next week’s theme, which the moms enjoyed. The guiro was this week’s instrument of the week, and right away a couple moms were able to identify that it was made from a gourd. The new mom, from El Salvador, also informed me that the "g" is pronounced with a "w" sound, which I was happy to learn. It's something I always wonder when pronouncing the "g" in Spanish - maybe it's different depending on which region/country you're from? I should look that up! The jam was great today with a couple moms really playing away on the guiro. Everyone got energized when I introduced our last jam song - Rockin' Robin. Most of the moms knew the words to at least the first verse, and everyone loved singing "tweet-twee-di-lee". I must say it was quite a rockin' note to end on. I hope to find a couple other hits with the moms in the few remaining weeks of the session!

Get Your Groove On

A child who has been a regular attendee the last couple of weeks really got her grove on today, dancing up a storm. She was one of 12 children and two adults who attended class, and had fun singing Sticky Bubble Gum, Two Little Blackbirds, Rooster Song, and I Have 10 Little Fingers.

Hugs & High Fives

It was a busy day at Gooch today with so many familiar faces filling the room. I was able to meet one new child and her mom who had heard about the class through a friend. Her child demonstrated several classic indicators of autism spectrum disorder and, although I wasn't able to speak with the mom to confirm this as there was a bit of a language barrier, I am happy to say that the child responded very well to the Rainbow Songs Foundation environment. Once the music began she started to sway side to side and seemingly became more focused, rather than running around the space.

I decided to sing a series of songs at the beginning that focused on using the voice rather than the guitar, and this seemed to help focus the group. These included, Roly Poly, Open ‘Em Shut ‘Em, Mr. Sun, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Then I added the guitar for several songs, including Old MacDonald, Little Green Frog, Three Green and Speckled Frogs, Row Row Row Your Boat, Crocky Crocodile, Listen To The Water, The Wheels On The Bus, Down By The Station, and Zoom Zoom Zoom.

Jamming this week was fun (as it always is), but slightly chaotic, so after a couple of reminders to use hands on the drums we packed up and brought out the parachute. I instructed the grownups to go up and down slowly in an attempt to calm the class down once more, and thankfully it worked!

After a round of high fives and some hugs I made sure to check in with my little friend and her mom to see how they enjoyed their RSF experience. The mom was very surprised that her little one was able to stay for the entire class and promised to come again next week. I hope to see them again.

Dancing and Grooving to Latin Music

I went early to Jessie's to rouse more people into joining. I even asked the front desk to make an announcement that went through the building before we started to try to get more people to come. The staff there are fantastic, enthusiastic and amazing with the children. The kids that were there yesterday enjoyed it. I had them dancing and grooving to Latin music before we even started the class. They were very musical. By the end, two of them were falling asleep.

I focused on Latin themes and showed them the agogo and cowbell. They were very drawn to those instruments and the Latin music I played for them to play along with. They all had great rhythm (kids and teachers!).

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!

La-dee-da-dee-da

Class was lots of fun this evening at Robertson House. There were some new faces and the regulars who have been coming for many weeks now. My favourite moment today was when we all sang The Little Green Frog. Everyone was sticking out their tongues, and I have never heard a class sing "la-dee-da-dee-da" quite as loud as the class did tonight! I brought the singing bowls as the instrument of the week, which fascinated many. As soon as I took one out a couple moms were trying to guess how it worked, and what kind of metal it was made of. As always, class ended with some exciting parachute time. I love watching the moms light up as they see their children dancing with joy underneath :)

Smooth Sailing

After feeling sick last week I was happy to be back at Gooch this afternoon. Most of the families had attended class with me two weeks prior, so it was a smooth sailing class. There were lots of smiles and great participation from all the grown-ups. A couple of the staff members were busy tidying up when we got started, but within minutes they had abandoned their tasks and were sitting on the ground with me singing along! We sang a couple of fall inspired songs (Five Little Pumpkins, Pumpkin Pumpkin) and dedicated a song to Mr. Sun himself (Mr. Sun). We also reviewed some favourites, including Roly Poly, Wheels On The Bus, Hands Together Hands Apart, I Wake Up My Hands, Little Green Frog, Old MacDonald, and Zoom Zoom Zoom. I also took the opportunity to prep for an "Animal Week" class later this session by teaching a couple of new songs – Baby Shark and Who Fed The Chickens.

The instrument of the week was the Ocean Drum. We took turns passing the large frame drum around, singing along to Listen To The Water. Some of the little ones seemed a bit scared of the sound, so we put it aside and had an extra long jam portion of the class singing a couple pop favorites – I Feel Good, Three Little Birds, and Stand By Me.

After singing the Goodbye Song, I stayed behind a while and chatted with some of the moms. It was nice to have some time to get to know them a bit better. I’m hoping for the week to go by quickly because in all honesty I cannot wait to return to Gooch!

The Resident Crier Returns

The resident crier was back, but this time with a twist. Tears rolling down his face, he ran at me, arms flailing. Out of options, I picked him up ­and he stopped crying. That is until I put him down so I could get set up, which of course brought on the waterworks again. But as happened last week, once the class got started, he joined in the fun. And with the rest, enjoyed trying out the guiro.

Where Did Everyone Go?

I arrived at Jessie's and there was only one baby (a sleeping 2 month old preemie). I spent some time chatting with the staff (who were disappointed that there were no drop-ins: they had everything all ready to go!) and I spent some time looking at tiny baby Noah. After about 20 minutes, we figured there wouldn't be any of the regular drop-ins showing up, so I headed home.

Energy!

While waiting for class to start this evening, one boy was running laps around the room - I was amazed at his energy! He kept running and running and I thought he'd tire himself out for class, but he didn't - as his mother had warned me. Energy was high for everyone throughout class and the singing sounded great! I brought the ocean drum for IOTW this week. Moms and children listened and watched in awe. One exclaimed, "And I thought you couldn't top the rain stick!" Everyone loved the rolling sound of waves it made. It was a nice moment to have the ocean drum passed around while we sang My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. At the end of class moms said they were excited to see which instrument I'd bring in next week. We'll see what I can surprise them with!