I'm in the Mood

We were all in the mood for singing as we gathered together at North York Women's Shelter! A couple kids came in, saw me, and immediately started signing the Hello Song. It's wonderful to work with a group of children who have so much enthusiasm! One of our jam songs was I'm in the Mood for Singing, and we replaced singing with shaking, banging and playing so that we could shake tambourines, maracas and bells, bang on our drums and play all our instruments together. We also jammed to The Alphabet Song, by request!

Getting Set for Halloween!

I was greeted by some very ghoulish decorations at Jessie's Centre today! They have put up spider webs, purple lights, ghosts and skeletons, and some really spooky artwork! So, of course we had to make sure to sing some Halloween songs in preparation for next week. We got out our witch hats for I'm Getting Dressed for Halloween, our pumpkin fingers for 5 Little Pumpkins and our spiders for Itsy Bitsy Spider. There was some great howling today! The kids are definitely ready for October 31!

Rain and Parades!

This week's class at Robertson House was full of rambunctious fun and peaceful reprieves. With a smaller group than previous weeks, it was much easier to keep the attention of the room. The kids and parents seemed to really love the instrument of the week, the Rain Stick. I was very impressed at how well they shared and passed it around the room. The movement songs also went over really well – it seems like we're getting much better at making circles and parading around the room! Looking forward to more great classes.

Feel the Rhythm

We sang our hearts out today at Birkdale to beat the crisp Autumn chill in the air. Some old classics like Hands Together and Roly Poly took us a long way. With only one attendee, we were able to really get the giggles going with funny faces made during Little Green Frog. Our instrument of the week, the Clave, was a huge hit as we experimented with various beats and finding first and secondary rhythms in familiar songs. A small but mighty group we were indeed!

Active Singing

Today I was warned that the kids were all acting a bit nutty and that they may have trouble focusing. This being the case, we focused our energies (and there was a LOT of energy!) on singing lots of active songs! We were up and down and all around with songs like All Around the Kitchen, The Hokey Pokey, What are You Wearing, Johnny Works with One Hammer, and perhaps most importantly, Sleeping Bunnies. We sang three rounds of Sleeping Bunnies and probably could have done three more from all the hop, hop, hopping that was going on in that room! A great class with great energy!

Little Bunnies

Last Thursday's class at Gooch was a ball of positive energy! With a great turnout from both kids and parents, the group was as lively as could be. The kids really enjoyed warming up with Roly Poly, and especially loved hopping around the room like little bunnies – a great way to get their energy out! It was also great to see the parents really joining in when we moved around the room. Looking forward to more great classes!

Mama Don't Allow

There are lots of mamas at Jessie's Centre, and while they do like to allow for fun and singing, one of our jam songs today was Mama Don't Allow. We sang how Mama don't allow no drumming, no tambourines, no bells, no maracas and no castanets, and yet we all shook, clanged and banged those instruments as loudly as we could! It was great fun and so encouraging to see that some of the slightly older kids now know the names of the instruments and therefore knew exactly which instruments to rock out on during the song!

Into the Groove

This group is right into the Rainbow Songs Foundation singing groove! From the moment I entered the building I was greeted with smiles and hellos and children eager to gather around me to try out my guitar. As we started into our time together I was almost immediately bombarded with song suggestions from a couple of the kids who wanted to make sure we sang Listen to the Water, because they like making a fish face when we sing about seeing fish by the waterside. We also have one boy who refused to participate in the first session, but is now so eager to sing and provide song suggestions as we go along. These kids are so keen to sing and dance! It can get a bit wild, but in the best musical way possible!

Frogs, Fun, and Friends!

Our first official class for this session at Gooch went over very well. Although the turnout was a little lower than expected, the kids and parents were very eager to add a little music to their day. One child in particular was working extra hard to get all the silly faces correct for the Little Green Frog song, with great success. We managed as well to have a rockin’ jam, which really brought the crowd together. Looking forward to more great classes.

No school, but yes singing!

Today wasn't a school day for the moms who are enrolled in the high school program at Jessie's Centre, but one school mom still came in just to make sure she and her daughter would get singing time together! We also had a few new tots who were around for the drop-in program, so our class was still rockin'! We did a number of songs, and because we had one child who was a bit older than the others, we did a few songs where he could give some suggestions – like what kind of animals we could find on a farm so we could sing Old MacDonald!