So great to be back at Robertson House for another session! We had an eager crowd today with basically a split between babies and four-year-olds. Right from the get-go, moms and kids were paying close attention and really putting their best effort into the Hello song. It's so nice to see kids enthusiastically repeating what I sing when it's a 'repeat-after-me' song. Looking forward to lots of singing and dancing this session!
Today I brought the ocean drum for instrument of the week. We all took turns tilting the drum from side to side and watching the little ball bearings run across the surface of the drum. The kids and grown-ups alike were amazed by how much it sounded like waves crashing on the beach. The kids enjoyed tapping the drum as well.
It was a full house this week with lots of new faces at the Redwood! Despite the change in people, the high energy levels we've come to expect here didn't change at all! We were celebrating Earth Week, so we explored all different manners of moving around that don't require fuel / small vehicles, with lots of suggestions from our young participants. What better way to end that with a dance-filled jam? (Hint: There is no better way!)
We had a change of scenery today, having our class in the TV room instead of the playroom. This was good, as there were no distractions from toys, and we got to focus on clapping and rhythm for the songs. The kids got a bit restless towards the end, but everyone perked up for the rain stick, and the kids were very patient waiting their turns as we sang Listen to the Water and Thunder Pounding. Excited to sing some spring songs next week!
After the weekend’s storm, it was nice to sing some sunny songs with the group at the Plaza. To coincide with Earth Day, we sang lots of songs about trees, rain, and the environment, and played with the rain stick as the instrument of the week. I’m loving the enthusiasm of some of the grown-ups in this group, with some of them calling out suggestions during certain participation songs, like Old MacDonald. More sunny sessions on the horizon!
This week was a wonderful learning and sharing experience at Redwood. Of course, we had our usual songs and activities, and recently there's been a new family coming to our sessions, one of whom is hearing impaired. Obviously we want to include them as much as possible, so we ended up helping everyone else learn how to do their ABCs in ASL [American Sign Language], as well as the song The More We Sing Together. This led into adding some French songs to our repertoire as well, as other participants are fluent. It was wonderful to have our participants teaching and learning from one another, and it's honestly such a privilege to witness this community in all of its beautiful diversity!
We were missing parents today due to an event at the shelter, but there were lots of staff around to help with the kids (which was well needed, because the toys in the playroom can be quite distracting). We had lots of songs about body parts today, and some of the kids who seemed to be babies just yesterday were already following the actions for Roly Poly and Hands Together/Hands Apart! I brought the guiro as the instrument of the week, and the kids loved hearing its frog-like sound! We finished with Five Little Monkeys under the parachute, which the kids loved.
I’m thrilled that the session is being extended at the Plaza Hotel, as this was supposed to be our last class and it’s clear that the kids and grown-ups are still getting a lot out of the classes. Today was a mix of familiar and new faces, and there were smiles all around. We had lots of bouncing and dancing dogs today, and sang some Hello / Goodbye scales, moving in and out of the circle. The kids are pros at bringing out the instrument bag and sharing all of the instruments during jam time, and we finished off with a raucous rendition of Twist and Shout for the parachute. I’m so excited to be returning for another few weeks!
It was nice to see the kids after having a week off from RSF last week due to the Easter Friday holiday. I spiced up the class a bit by bringing chime bars. Each child got one and we practiced playing an eight-count beat and then playing it double time. I then taught the kids how to play alternating C and G notes to play along with the Thunder Pounding song. But the climax was when we all chimed together in time for the Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck song. The kids all got excited to be able to play the chimes as fast as they possibly could for our big chime bar finale.
This week was originally slated to be our last of the season, but we're so happy to say that we'll be continuing on for a few more weeks! Our participants seem eager to continue, and they certainly have the energy – we can always count on having lots of dancing, and jumping, and anything else that will get our bodies moving to the music. Our young friends got very serious during our special instrument, the tongue drum, and they all requested complete silence as they played their improvised solo compositions. I love how they've made the effort to respect what they each bring to our time together.
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