Our second day of the session saw a couple of new participants. We started with our Hello song and took some time to warm up before everyone seemed ready to move around. We sang Train is a Comin’ and Shake Your Sillies Out with excellent response. Then we explored the Boomwhackers. We each played one tube (adults too) by banging it repeatedly on the floor, creating beautiful chords over which we could sing. Everyone had a lot of fun with this activity.
Day one of our session was pretty quiet. There was only one child in attendance, but we had quite a lot of adult support. I offered her a seat either at the table or on the floor, and she chose the former. We started with our Hello song and a few of her favourite songs. It took a little while, but soon she was ready to stand up and participate fully. We moved over to the floor and that's when things really started going. We pretended to be firetrucks (Hurry, Hurry) and animals (I Can't Fly) until our participant was all tired out.
When I arrived today, almost every baby was sleeping or just groggily awaking from a nap. So, we did a lullaby class! We sat in a circle in rocking chairs and focused on singing lullabies and quiet songs for most of our class. By the end the babies were all awake and ready to go, so we moved to the carpet to finish off with some songs with movement and the parachute. It was a great way to mix things up and teach some quiet songs!
We celebrated Animal Week at Birkdale today with tons of animals, big and small. I was dressed as a raccoon for the occasion, and the kids were most excited by my striped tail! We said “Hello” to Mrs. Turtle, a turtle puppet with a very funny voice, with the song Turtle in My Shell. We then found our elephant wrinkles all over our bodies and said hello to the entire frog family with the Thai Wooden Frogs, which were the instrument of the week. With that, we all got the chance to "La-di-da-di-da" with Little Green Frog. An animal themed jam and parachute capped the theme week off nicely.
Last week's class at Robertson House went very well. The class had a great turnout from parents and kids, and two staff members were on hand to help out, rather than the usual one. The kids loved the sounds and feeling of the rainstick. As the stick was passed around the circle, I was very impressed with the patience the kids showed and how quickly they got the hang of slowly tilting it to make the rain sound. I was also so happy to see kids sharing instruments during the jam. It was overall a great class and I look forward to the remaining classes.
This week's class at Robertson House was a great success. The moms were so involved and seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot. The kids had such a fun time "standing up, turning around and dancing" for our rendition of What Are You Wearing? The class had a nice peaceful moment as we sat playing the Tibetan singing bowl and performed the infamous Buddhist chant "Om Mani Padme Hum." The kids were very keen on trying the singing bowl for themselves, and the moms were mesmerized by its mysterious sound. I look forward to more great classes!
We probably could have sung Little Green Frog a hundred more times at Birkdale, since all the kids and grown-ups were so into it! The receptionist told me many folks could hear our "Ladi-da-dee-da's" from their offices, and it made many smile. We also prepared for Animal Week with Elephants have Wrinkles and The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Instrument of the week was the Tambourine, which lots of kids and grown-ups were able to master. There was a buzz of excitement in the air as we gave the giant stretchy band all we had. All are looking forward to Animal Week!
It was a sunny, lovely day both outside and in at Birkdale today. Lots of familiar faces came together to sing and play. In the song Snowflake, Snowflake, we sang about the sun melting all of the snow, as well as the very cold spider in Itsy Bitsy. We also learned a fun new rhythm that we played all together with the instrument of the week, the Tarbouka/Doombek. Jam and parachute time were super fun as always!
Today's class at Robertson had a great turnout, and we were lucky enough to have some newcomers join us. Participants new and old were not shy to jump in and sing right from the start. The group's energy was very high, which made the movement pieces extra fun – especially stopping and starting for I Have A Little Bicycle. We finished, as we did last week, with a lullaby followed by the Goodbyesong. This was a nice way to end and gave the parents a nice quiet moment with the kids. Looking forward to more great classes!
Today was a bustling day at Jessie's! We had a number of children and mothers join us – some right from the start and some joining as they arrived during the class. It was particularly lovely for me to see one mom and her son who I hadn't seen since the spring of 2015! It's always awesome to see the babies grow and to see that the moms – even when they haven't been around in a while – still remember the words to most of the songs.
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