March Break Madness

Our session this evening was a real mixed bag of songs. We started out with some favourites, then, because it was snowing, we got some requests for Jingle Bells and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, and I'm not one to deny! There was also a new family joining us tonight with some hearing impairment, so we moved into songs with some sign language and universal actions. We finished it all off with a bit of celebration, as we had a birthday in the room. I'm always so honoured to be included in these moments, though I don't envy having to get everyone calmed down for bed after the cake!

Music is Magical

Our group was smaller than usual tonight, but that didn't mean there was less enthusiasm. We made our way through songs that have lots of motions and actions, but the best part of the night started when I brought out our instrument for this week: the bar chime. We decided that it sounded like something magical was about to happen, and I think that was right. We ended up having a wonderful, extended jam session – with extra dancing, of course!

The Babies Sleep Tonight!

Great attendance at Robertson House this week! We had a lot of fun, with a pretty even split of babies and older kids. For the most part, the older kids (4-5 year olds) were very careful around our newborn participants. We made sure to have a “quiet jam” when jamming to Lion Sleeps Tonight, to make sure the babies weren’t too startled. One mom came in with a newborn in her arms asking if I recognized her – she was pregnant just last week! Nice to see that her child is getting exposed to music as early as possible!

Rhythm of Life

We had a fortunate coincidence today: a djembe workshop that was scheduled for another day was changed, and we still had a dozen of the drums at the centre during our session. I took full advantage, getting everyone to play in rhythm together, a few chants, and we even used them to accompany our parachute time. Our Goodbye song morphed into another jam with some of the moms getting up to show us their dance moves. Everyone was full-body into this one! It was so exciting and so much fun – I don’t think we’ll ever be able to top it.

Sugar Rush!

This was a particularly high energy week at Ernestine, as I saw some of the kids wolfing down chocolate bars before I arrived. Our group was a bit smaller, as a number of families have moved out of the shelter, but those who attended were still excited and eager to take part. One of the staff members was particularly excited that one kid who often doesn’t attend the shelter programming was present for the first time all year. So, even though some friends have had to say goodbye, there are still new friends to be made!

Infectious Enthusiasm!

Today was a wonderful day at the Plaza Hotel. Perhaps it was all the sun we’ve been having, but everyone brought their biggest and brightest smiles. One father in particular, who was new to the class, seemed to be having just as much fun as the kids (if not more!), and delighted in seeing his daughter playing and sharing. There was a lot of supportive encouragement from parents and siblings alike, who helped the little ones find their left and right hands, and helped them sleep and hop for Sleeping Bunnies. The class loved the agogo as the instrument of the week, and we had a great jam with lots of sharing. Pure joy!

Calming Sounds

Another great class at Robertson House this week. We featured the Tibetan singing bowls and tingsha bells, both of which brought a nice sense of calm to the class. With a big difference in ages among participants, these kinds of enigmatic instruments help draw the group together. The singing bowls in particular can be a bit tricky to get the hang of, so I was very impressed to see a young participant make a bowl ring out on the first try! Looking forward to more fun next week! 

Chime-a-Mania

The kids just loved ringing and ringing away on the chime bars that I brought this week. They proved to have excellent rhythm when I taught them The Firetruck Song, and managed to tap the chime bar exactly five times on each chorus. 

Dance to the Music

Redwood brought its usual high-energy exuberance to our session this week. We made sure to get a lot of movement into our class, so we tried out as many dancing, clapping, and jumping songs as we could. We let that feeling carry over into our instrument, the caxixi, where we had the players shake the instruments while the rest of us were shaking our bodies. We ended our time together with an extra special song, because we had a birthday in the room! I was so honoured to be able to play for our friend as they blew out the candles on the cake.

Opening Up!

This week’s class at Ernestine’s was tons of fun. The kids and parents were not at all shy to see a different instructor for the week and were ready to show me all that Steven had taught them so far. Great staff too! There was one boy, however, who seemed a bit shy at first. I was pleasantly surprised when I asked the crowd, “What do the doors on the bus do?”, and he finally opened up and confidently said, “Open and shut!” From that point on he was very involved. It’s always great to see kids gain confidence through music.