A Family Affair!

Today the kids were connecting a lot with their parents during the class, more than in previous weeks where they were a bit more excitable and running around the room. Today they were on their best behaviour and all smiles. It was nice to be back in our regular room with the colourful carpet that the kids love. It’s also in a more central location of the shelter, which meant that today we had a few new kids and parents joining us towards the end after hearing the music down the hall. The excitement is infectious!

Speedy and Silly

This was a very fun class, as the kids seemed to find places for laughter in most of the songs. Put Your Finger in the Air was a big hit, with an extended "let it lingerrrrrr" at the end. We did lots of songs on our feet today, and the kids seemed to love the ones that speed up (like the bicycle song and the train songs), so I incorporated the speediness into a few others. We finished off with ABCs under the parachute, and a big jam with Peas Porridge Hot (a perfect way to end the class on one of the first hot days of the year).

Sing High! Sing Low!

A big crowd at Robertson House this week! Everyone seemed very happy to hear the Hello song. We did an awesome rendition of the Grand Ol’ Duke of York in which kids and parents belted out the lyrics “so high” in a really high voice and “so low” in a really low voice. They all seemed to have lots of fun with this. There were also lots of giggles as we all tried to play a scale on the Boomwhackers together. It was a great time!

Rain Rain Go Away

We had a full house on this rainy Thursday, and we let the rain inspire us a bit. I'm trying to get the older kids in our group more involved and to throw out lots of suggestions, so I had them choose what foods our raindrops / snowflakes / sunbeams became in All of the Raindrops, as well as giving fun animals for Listen to the Water – from catfish to giant squid! The big hit this week, though, was Down By the Bay, with everyone coming up with silly rhymes. They were really excited to come up with new combinations, and we almost went over time getting to everyone!

Can't Stop the Beat!

Because of construction, it looked for a moment like we might not have anywhere to have music at Ernestine this week, but Samantha found us a great room with lots of space once we moved out the coffee table. We’ve had classes in lots of different rooms around the shelter at this point, which is actually unexpectedly helpful, because being able to sing familiar songs in a new setting keeps everything focused. It’s nice to learn which songs and subjects really resonate with the kids (one of whom perks up so much whenever any kind of vehicle is mentioned). Others connect to rhythm, and even some of the littlest ones are repeating certain words back to me. There are so many ways for the kids to connect with the music, and they all do!

Spring has Sprung!

Today was a sunny affair at the Plaza, outside and inside. The kids were singing the lyrics and making signs for all the songs, and even the kids who didn’t know the songs as well as some of the others picked up on things almost instantly! We had a request for Baby Shark, and sang lots of water animal songs to follow. An extended jam and a parachute to 5 Little Monkeys made for non-stop jumping for joy.

To the Beat!

Great class at Robertson House today! There were lots of smiles from young ones as we passed the very soothing Mbira (thumb piano) around. We also had a lot of fun jamming out to Yellow Submarine. I asked everyone to strike their drums whenever my foot stomped on the floor and they followed along so well! It was fun to try different rhythms with my feet and see if they could keep up. Looking forward to another great class next week!

A Different Kind of Challenge

The shift in residents at Redwood has brought a slightly older group of children into our weekly music sessions – between 5 and 11 years old. That means we're singing and dancing our way through more interactive songs, where the kids can give suggestions and use their imaginations, like pretending to be animals or making up silly rhymes. It's definitely a different kind of challenge for me, but they're very game and willing to try!

Live Accompaniment!

This week we were back in the playroom at Ernestine, but rather than try to get the kids to ignore the toys, I decided to bring them into songs – like using the toy bus for Wheels on the Bus (with an extra verse about the wheels on the tow truck, by request), the toy frog, and even some extra instruments. One of the kids had a harmonica, and I instructed her on how to make two different notes on it so she could accompany the guitar for Everybody Knows I Love My Toes. It turned into a proper blues number! The kids loved the turtle puppet this week, giving it high fives and hugs, and were enthralled by the thunder tube, which they shared very well. Some of the older kids are singing along to every word of certain songs, and clapping without any prompts. They’re great!

Speedy and Sprightly!

I was greeted by a couple of kids eagerly awaiting music class at the door this Tuesday, and there were too many high fives to count. This energy only got more enthusiastic as the class went on and more kids filtered in, some of whom were new to the program. I made sure there were lots of easy-to-learn songs, and repetition of songs with certain body parts. The kids love Head and Shoulders as a speed-up song, along with The Bicycle Song and Train is A-Comin'. By the time we finished the standing and moving songs, they were able to tame the sometimes explosive energy that accompanies the instrument bag. We finished off with a very pleasant rendition of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and a rocking Jackson 5's ABC for the parachute.