A Great Finish!

Last Monday's final class at Beatrice House was a great success! What a great session as well! Though it was consistently difficult to get parents involved, the kids were very engaged and enthusiastic with all the classes. Parents looked very proud when their children were receiving their certificates – this was great to see. After going through all the hits (Sticky Bubble Gum, Sleeping Bunnies, Five Little Monkeys), staff brought out all sorts of treats and we had a nice little party to end off the session. Until next time!

Squeals of Delight

We were a small group in week two with 4 children and 1 adult. Today, however, was a different story with 10 children and 3 adults carrying on. Where last week I had a child who thought he could sing faster than me, today I had a baby who thought she could wail louder than me. No, no. The little one learned the truth during Put Your Finger in the Air when I held the note while putting my finger on my finger. We also sang 1 & 2 & 3 & 4, Funga Alafia, Mister Sun, Mama and Don' Allow, and marched to Oh When the Kids. They were fascinated by the sound of the Jaw Harp. And, as usual, the parachute produced squeals of delight.

Feeling the music

Class was super fun tonight! We began with opposites - Roly Poly and clapping/knee slapping/foot stomping slow and fast with 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8. We all felt the Latin rhythms with the cowbell and agogo, and continued feeling it during the parachute as we danced to some salsa music. The class was really cookin' tonight – so much energy and excitement!

Shaking the Sillies!

This week's class was lots of fun, as usual. The kids (including the older ones) really seem to be getting a lot out of it. It seems like a good channel for their high energy. As usual, we really had a great time with the Sleeping Bunnies song, and had a blast "shaking our sillies out." I look forward to the last class next week!

"Psst Mommy... Rainbow Songs"

A returning mom showed up first for class today with her excited daughter, saying she was woken up from a post-dinner nap with a whisper in her ear, "Mommy, time for Rainbow Songs". This brought a huge smile to my face! We had a great turn out for class today with a mix of new and returning moms. So many loud voices, smiles and giggles – what a blast!

Ding Ding Ding!

This week's class at Beatrice House was loads of fun. With a smaller class size, participants were able to generally stay focused on the songs and activities. Passing the bean bag and practicing sharing continues to be a hit, and I've seen some definite improvements throughout the session. We had a very nice moment with the Chime Bars, our instrument of the week, when participants were near perfectly in sync with the ding-ding-ding rhythm they were tasked with. They seemed to enjoy using the chime bars as fire truck bells very much.

A Grand Finale

Today's class was a great end to our brief run of five classes. We had our biggest turn out yet, and the children were very excited to receive their noise-making gifts at the end of the class. Some highlights included a rambunctious version of What Are You Wearing? (geared toward the older children) and our final time with the parachute. The two moms who attended most consistently were very happy to receive their certificates of attendance. I hope to be back at Jessie's Centre in the near future. What a great place for kids and parents to learn and develop!

The Fun Didn't Stop!

This week's class was as enjoyable as the last. It started off with small numbers but grew to a healthy size of 13 children of all ages. The kids had so much fun when we sang and moved to the Walk, Walk, Walk and Stop song. It seemed like a great (and much needed) focusing exercise. They also loved practicing their skills on the Chinese Gong near the end of class. Can't wait for next week!

Raised Spirits

The end of a session is always bittersweet, so today at Gooch we sung lots of upbeat and well known songs to keep our spirits raised as we said goodbye. There was hectic energy in the room, but the more we sang the more focused the class eventually became. We started by remembering the rain we had this week while singing Thunder Pounding and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Later, after warming up our whole bodies with I Wake Up My Hands, we had a rousing round of The Wheels on the Bus and Old MacDonald. We got moving with Shake Your Sillies Out, and I was thrilled to see the moms singing and dancing along to Down By the Station. I will miss everyone at Gooch, but I was happy to end on a high note with lots of jam time and parachute fun.

Sharing Moments

Yesterday's class at Jessie's Centre was great fun. We were lucky enough to have a 2½ year old join the class, which made for some very energetic singing and dancing. A great moment was when we successfully (after a few tries) got the two year old to share a bean bag by joining us in passing it around the circle. We also had some great jams during which the kitchen staff sang and danced from across the room. Looking forward to next week's final class!