Today's class involved a couple of regular participants and a couple new participants! Unfortunately, one of our new participants was upset to see her mom leave, but would calm down whenever we sang – it was in the moments between songs that she would start crying again! Fortunately, we were able to flow from one song to the next quite quickly and keep her engaged with the music and actions. And, as usual, the parachute was a big hit with everyone!
Class was pretty quiet at Robertson House this evening – I think everyone was outside enjoying the heat wave. Nonetheless, class was successful and we had fun singing songs like I Shut the Door, Put Your Finger In the Air, and Sticky Sticky Bubblegum. At the end of class the moms were happy to receive certificates of completion (some for the second time) and the little ones loved clacking away with the clackers. I hope to be back at Robertson House in the spring!
Today had the potential to be a small class; we started with one toddler and a sleepy infant. But as our class went on, a number of moms came for some drop-in time at Jessie's Centre, and each one who came in was invited to join us in our song circle. We had a great time singing today, and got a lot of practice with the Hello Song as we sang it upon the arrival of each new participant! We were excited to welcome 3 new moms and their babies!
This week's class at Robertson House was a bit unusual. Some moms were in and out and children were wandering around the room. The age of the children also ranged from about 5 weeks to 5 years, so I attempted various activities to reel everyone in. Luckily, it all came together during the jam with a very spirited version of Down in the Valley. My favourite part was the 5 year old girl rockin' out on a little drum playing all kinds of rhythmic fills! I was very impressed. We'll see how the session wraps up next week.
We had two eager "guitar" players in class today! Our two guitar-loving toddlers each got to hold their own ukuleles and "strum along" to the songs. It was entertaining for all the grown-ups to watch them strum, then try to balance the guitar on their laps so they could also do the actions, then go back to strumming. One of our regular smaller ones really got into things today and bobbed her head along to the beat. Seeing such small kids with an innate sense of rhythm is so cool!
Class was calm this evening at Robertson House, but spirits and participation were high. I took some requests, like Bath Time, Little Green Frog, and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom. The moms enjoyed learning about the sruti box which was the instrument of the week. They were inspired to chant "ommm" as I passed it around the circle.
Today I was greeted by a very enthusiastic toddler. She has been coming to the drop in centre with her mom for a while now, and today was the first time we could really see how singing with the Rainbow Songs Foundation has impacted her. From the moment I entered the room she was sitting in her place on the carpet, repeating “Hello, hello, hello!" over and over. Once we finally got going she was overjoyed, and the moment the Hello Song ended, she was already rolling her arms, ready to sing Roly Poly. Much of what we sang was decided by this little one as she made suggestions along the way! So wonderful to watch!
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!
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.
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!
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