Earth Week

A wonderful celebration of Earth Week started with the Rainstick. The children enjoyed the sound of the IOTW as we sang "Thunder Pounding", and were quite good at replicating it. We celebrated the planet by singing and dancing to "Oats and Beans and Barley Grow", "Down, Down", and "This is My Trunk". Then we went walking, just walking along, singing our walking song. We had a large group of 17 children, along with 7 adults. 11 of those children, and 3 of the adults were attending their second or third session. Rainstick: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainstick

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".

Bright Sunshiney Day

Because this week is Earth Week for Rainbow Songs classes, I decided to do an earth themed class at Robertson House this evening. Everyone participated and sang their hearts out today! We began class with "Thunder Pounding" - perfect for the rainy day we had. Then we moved on to sing about the sun, trees, the seasons, and went on an eco-friendly journey together. It was really a fun class and the moms responded so positively to the material we covered. My favourite part of this evening was the jam. I loved hearing the moms sing aloud to "I Can See Clearly Now". They were so loud that I didn't have to worry about being heard over them because they knew what they were doing! It definitely felt like we were singing under a blue sky in the room. I hope this evening brought some sunshine for all in the class as it did for me :)

Fun and Frivolity

Despite being away last week, we still a good group out this week. There were 14 children and 5 adults. 9 of the children and 3 adults were new to the fun and frivolity. Everyone in the group was fascinated by the Kalimba, the Instrument of the Week. Even some of the parents tried it. We had lots of fun singing "Mama Don't Allow" (with appropriate admonishment that not listening only applies to the song), "Trees Need the Sun", "Alice the Camel", as well as really shaking it baby during the jam session. Kalimba: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb_piano

A Quiet Day

It was a quiet day at Jessie's Centre today however we did have a small group of focused participants, along with two amazing staff members. There was one special boy were stole the show. He was extremely interested in the guitar and so I placed the strap around his neck resting the instrument in his lap. Well didn't he start strumming and singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?! Everyone in the room stopped talking and looked over. He had a HUGE smile on his face and his mom grabbed her phone to start taking a video. I started singing along with him and I chose to simply roll with it and begin the class this way. His mom sat down and we sang a couple more songs a capella (ABCD, Mr. Sun). Then he suddenly shifted in his seat and took the guitar off his lap and handed it to me saying, "Your turn!" It was so cute, we all could have just melted into the floor. His mom seemed in no hurry to leave and so I kept things going with the Wheels On The Bus, Little Red Wagon, If You're Happy And You Know It, I Wake Up My Hands, Hands Together Hands Apart, Sitting In My Highchair, Bath Time, Old MacDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Baby Shark and Zoom Zoom Zoom.

Although my guitar-loving friend had to leave before the jam, he seemed to really enjoy the experience. I also thanked his mom for giving it a chance and staying and she smiled at me and gave me a hug, which was very touching. With only one babe and three staff members we sang through a couple of jam songs before the littlest participant fell asleep and they whisked him away to the nursery.

I am looking forward to seeing my friends again at Jessie's Centre on April 30th, as Rebecca returns next week.

Ommm

I was surprised to have a smaller turn out for class at Robertson House today, but it was a nice change of pace for the class. I brought in the tingshaw bells for IOTW this week and wasn't sure how the class would respond. Luckily, the smaller class served this style of instrument better. It's interesting - in my daily RS classes, this instrument calms everyone down and brings us to a zen like state together and it did so tonight as well. I guess the Buddhists got it right with this instrument! I'm glad this IOTW went over so well today, I'm looking forward to bringing in some more exotic instruments - we'll see what next week brings at Robertson.

Old and New Favourites

I had a wonderful time subbing in for Rebecca at Jessie's Centre today. After meeting briefly with Barbara Poole and her team, they took me upstairs on a tour of the space. I was very impressed at how organized they were and found the room to be buzzing with excitement. After taking some time to set up, I made my way around the room casually introducing myself to the young mothers one-by-one. Sometimes I find this approach to be less threatening and although it takes more time, it can be easier to make a connection this way rather than simply inviting them all over the circle in one big group. Some moms were eating lunch while others were finishing up feeding, and so I began class with a small group that grew and grew as time went on.

We did a variety of material, both traditional children songs and some Rainbow Song favourites including Roly Poly, Mr. Sun, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Trees Need The Sun, The Wheels On The Bus, Row Row Row Your Boat, I Wake Up My Hands, Sitting In My Highchair, Bath Time, Old MacDonald, Baby Shark, Six Little Ducks, Horsey Horsey and Elephants Marching One By One.

For IOTW, I brought along some Tingshaw Bells. We passed these around the room, allowing the moms to realign their chakras and take a moment to reflect and relax during a seemingly busy day. Afterward we brought out the instruments and jammed to Three Little Birds, One Love and The Lion Sleeps Tonight. We finished class with the parachute and it was really nice to have all the babies lying down underneath looking up with their hands in the air. Some moms who initially seemed hesitant about participating were smiling and cooing at their little ones. I must note that Linda and her team were instrumental in making everyone feel comfortable, and that they were nothing short of incredible! I look forward to filling in for Rebecca again next week.

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.

Balance

I felt we got a good balance of energy with control! Moms and children participated in every song and I was able to go into more depth with the material covered. Kristin was quick to give a hand when needed. The class was full of returning participants and I'm so thankful to them each week for showing up. It really means a lot to me to see the moms singing and connecting with their children - taking the time to just let go and have some musical fun! I gave out a few CDs today too - another reminder of the commitment to class that the moms at Robertson House keep. I'm looking forward to next week and keeping the balanced energy going.

Hello Birkdale!

It's great to be back at Birkdale in 2014 after a great 2013. Music was provided to over 50 adults and 100 children over the course of three sessions last year. This year got off to a good start with 11 children and 5 adults. Several children knew the song "6 Little Ducks", so when I was teaching it to the rest of the class they filled in the "Quack, quack, quack" part. Other songs included "Sticky Bubblegum", "Apples and Bananas", and "BINGO". Everyone rocked out to "Jamaica Farewell" and enjoyed the parachute.