Tricky Situations

The highlight of today's class was enjoyable, but tricky; two of our toddlers just wanted to be right beside me helping to strum the guitar! Not such a bad situation to be in, though! Eventually we found a ukulele that Jessie's Centre owns, and one of the toddlers sat next to me and strummed along for about 1/3 of the class – there's definitely a future Rainbow Songs instructor there!

Jammin' and Dancin'

Class was a little quiet this evening at Robertson House with mostly young babies. I covered some baby material, like The Flea Song and Sittin' In My Highchair. We then spiced it up with the cowbell and agogo as the instruments of the week. The moms enjoyed jamming with these Latin instruments and dancing like we were at Salsa On St. Clair during the parachute.

A Fabulous Return

Today was a fabulous return to Jessie's Centre after a fairly long hiatus. A new semester has begun and there were a number of moms, babies and staff gathered for today's class (including a number of returning babies from last year!) Our major class highlight today was playing with the wooden frogs! They were as big a hit with the kids as they were with the moms!

Doo Doo Doo-Doo Daddy Shark

We had tons of fun singing about animals this evening for Animal Week! There was a lot of action on Old McDonald's farm, and we were put to work with Who Fed Chickens. The sleeping bunnies woke up in time for Elephants Have Wrinkles, and to play with the wooden frog, our instrument of the week. It was so much fun that I had one boy come up to me at the end of class saying, "Listen to me - doo doo doo-doo daddy shark..doo-doo-doo. I love that song!" So do I :)

Giggles All Around

I was greeted with excitement and hugs this evening as I set up for class at Robertson House. A brother and sister were returning with their mom and couldn't wait to sing! Class was full of smiles and giggles all around, and there were a couple new moms that joined too. Drums were the instrument of the week, and everyone did an awesome job jamming out to Somebody's Knockin' At My Door.

Up Up Up and Down Down Down

Another fun class at Robertson House this evening! There were a couple new moms and a group of returning moms. I began class with Roly Poly, to review opposites, and had a little boy sitting front row centre as I led the song. He applauded me as I sang "up, up, up" and slapped the floor after "down, down, down". I was glad there was such a strong Roly Poly enthusiast in the class! We then took a journey with The Fire Truck Song and The Wheels on the Bus. We ended up at Old McDonald's farm and saw a bunch of animals there. I did tambourines for the instrument of the week; the moms picked them up quickly and were rockin' away for Down in the Valley. We ended class with the parachute and, as always, the children had a blast lying underneath the canopy of colours. Can't wait to go back next week!

A Fun Beginning

We had a fun start to the winter session at Robertson House this evening. It was nice to hear moms exclaiming they were excited I was back, as I passed them in the hall. The class tonight was a mix of returning and new participants. Some of the songs we sang were: Roly Poly, Hands Together Hands Apart, Sticky Bubblegum, Bath Time and Sleeping Bunnies. The maracas were the instrument of the week, and everyone did an excellent job of shaking them. Class was moved to the front part of the family planning center for this session and the door was kept open. This allowed moms to hear the program as they walked by – a great advertising tactic! A few got wooed in by our voices and they stayed for the whole class. Everyone had a lot of fun today and it was a strong start to 2015 at Robertson House. I'm looking forward to the rest of the session!

A Fine Ending

The last week of the fall session. Always a sad time as you know that you won’t be seeing some of the residents again. And that’s particularly true when you have seven children and three adults come out for the first time, and really enjoy themselves. And there were three adults and four children who were making repeat appearances. There were a lot of song ideas, it being Request Week. Actually, there were a lot of requests about animals. Old McDonald and Listen to the Water were satisfactory responses to those ideas, as well as Allouette, BINGO, and Six Little Ducks. To fit in with the holiday season, we shook the body bells and sang Jingle Bells. Then the kids had the fun of receiving their certificates and goody bags. A fine way to end the session.

More Cowbell

It was a small group of only three children today. That didn’t deter us from having fun as we sang If You’re Happy and You Know It, Alice the Camel, The ABC Medley, Mama Don’ Allow, and When the Kids Go Marchin’ In. And, since everything sounds better with a cowbell, we rang that as the instrument of the week.

Celebration

This evening’s class was great! There was a true celebratory feel. Moms were excited to be back and had their requests ready. We sang The Little Green Frog, Old McDonald, BINGO, Sticky Sticky Bubble Gum, and even some Jingle Bells. I brought the Chinese gong for the instrument of the week, and everyone loved it. The older children were really good at hitting the gong strong and loud! For the jam we sang two requests – De-oh and Three Little Birds – and all the moms were singing so loudly I barely had to lead them! There was truly a light and happy feeling as everyone sang in unison. It was great having Jo come visit to participate and help with handing out certificates and the donated gifts to the moms. I was happy to hear Candice tell me after class that she already had a bunch of requests from moms to get their certificates laminated. They were very proud, as they should be! It's been a wonderful session at Robertson House this fall, and I'm excited to return in the new year!