The kids had a lot of energy today, so we spent a lot of time up on our feet and jumping on the bed as in 5 Little Monkeys, hopping like frogs and bunnies, and swinging our trunks like elephants. I was preparing these kids for a special animal theme week next week. I brought the cowbell and Brazilian agogo - Latin instruments - for the kids to try out. They were quite good at keeping a steady beat on the cowbell, while doing solos with the agogo.
Friday was a wonderful start to the session at Birkdale! We have a nice large room in the Plaza Hotel with lots of space to move around, and the kids certainly took advantage of the opportunity. Though it initially took a little while to get everybody settled into the circle, The Hello Song had everybody focused and excited for their turn to spin around, and set the tone for participation throughout the class. The kids were all smiles as we went through songs with goofy actions and funny faces, like Sticky Sticky Bubblegum, and Little Green Frog. When it came time to bring out / put away the instrument bag, there were lots of excited helpers. I’m looking forward to seeing this group’s energy every week, especially as the songs become a bit more familiar.
On a suggestion from one of our moms last week, I brought in a drum called the doumbek. We learned about the different ways to play it, and then we passed it around. As everyone took their turn playing, we all danced to the fun new rhythms they were creating. Both grown ups and smaller friends got involved! It was really great to see everyone getting involved and having fun!
We had some old faces return to class for the first time in a few weeks, which is always a nice treat for our class. One of the fun things about having the same people in each class is that the kids start to master the signs we use during our Hello, Everybody song! We had a lot of names that start with E, A, and B, and one little boy was proudly showing me those signs before class. We kept the hand action going with One Little Finger and Sticky, Sticky, Bubblegum, before reprising last week's hit, The Tickle Song. There are a lot of siblings in our class, plus these kids are so comfortable with the other moms and children at Robertson House, so the tickling quickly erupted into wild laughter! We couldn't sit still after that, so we sang through some transportation songs held together by the story in How Now Brown Cow, before standing up to travel with Train Is A-Comin', and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom. We passed around the beanbag to refocus the group, which can sometimes be a challenge when you have babies and 4-year-olds in the same class. The beanbag ended up travelling in a less than perfect circle, but I think that was to be expected - we grown-ups were just happy the kids were practicing sharing!
The kids were stir crazy today as the rain had been falling for days now. They had tons of energy to get out. So we did a lot of jumping songs, like 5 Little Monkeys and Sleeping Bunnies, to get their sillies out. They enjoyed experimenting with the Cuban Clave Sticks that I brought for the instrument of the week, and we listened to Cuban music so that the caregivers and kids could hear how the Clave Sticks play a major part in the Latin band.
Everyone was ready for fun today, so we got our bodies moving as much as possible. We had our hands up in the air and down on the floor, clapping and waving, as well as our feet stomping and dancing around! That got the jiggles out so that we could sit and learn about the shruti box, which everyone was very keen to look at and use to build different chords. Some of the older children were helping the smaller ones move the stoppers to make new and exciting sounds together.
There was so much energy for the last class of the session at Rosalie Hall! The daycare kids had been inside all day and needed to use up some of their energy. We began by swimming with a baby shark, then went down to the water for Listen to the Water, and then rowed in row boats down the stream rather quickly. There was lots of jumping for Five Little Monkeys and Sleeping Bunnies. The jam ended with a bang, and the parachute elicited many giggles. It was a great end to the session!
It had been an exceptionally rainy day today, which runs the risk of putting kids and grown-ups alike in a less-than-cheerful mood. Luckily, singing is an all-weather activity, and the kids and moms at Robertson House are consistently full of energy and joy, so it was no matter! We started off warming up our hands with the ever-popular peekaboo song, Open and Shut Them, and the counting song, One Finger Keeps Moving, before moving into some rainy day-themed songs. The kids had a blast banging on the floor with Thunder Pounding, and the babies really reacted to the difference between the loud part ("Thunder pounding, crash, boom, bang!") and the quiet part ("Shh! Little falling raindrops kiss the ground"). We then brought the sunshine in with the classic, Mister Sun. The kids learned the signs for "please", "trees", and "play", which I hope we'll keep using. And we all had a perfectly good giggle with The Tickle Song, as requested by one of the moms last week who saw it on the lyric sheet. By the time the class was over, the rain had stopped and the evening sun was glowing. What a way to wait out the rain!
I used the theme of weather in class today. We talked about the thunderstorm and heavy rain that came on last night, and how the rain at this time of year brings about growth of flowers and trees and grass. I brought a thunder tube and a rain stick, and demonstrated both. The kids especially loved the thunder tube!
We came back this week, and it was so exciting! There were lots of new friends to meet, and everyone was full of energy, ready to sing and dance. We had the most rousing version of Old MacDonald, plus all of our sillies got shaken around, but the biggest squeals and giggles came out with the parachute - there's no substitute for that kind of fun! I'm really looking forward to what the rest of our sessions will bring.
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