A Beautiful Day for New Beginnings!

Today marked my first day not only teaching at Jessie's Centre, but also as a teacher for the Rainbow Songs Foundation. I'm elated to have been given the opportunity to join this incredible team and make a difference in part of our Toronto community. And so, how perfect that the beautiful weather outside matched our moods indoors as we embarked on a new journey together. The facilities at Jessie's Centre are amazing. It may not look like much from the outside, but inside it's high ceilings, bright colours and beautiful stained glass windows make Jessie's Centre a joyful place to be. After getting settled in, I gathered with about 4 moms, 1 aunt, 1 placement student, 5 Jessie's Centre staff members and 6 babies/toddlers for a lively music session. The young women with their babies and toddlers didn't take long to get into the groove and were happy to help their wee ones clap their hands, stomp their feet, ruffle their hair and tickle their tummies! Since the little ones at Jessie's are, well, quite little, we focused a lot on finding our hands and feet and playing with opposites, like up and down, and open and close. We also did our fair share of tickling!

Although getting into our big bag of instruments was fairly exciting, we definitely got a bigger reaction today from the parachute! A number of the babies laid on the floor and delighted at the colourful parachute as we moved it up and down and shook it all around.

All in all, I'd say it was a perfect start to what is sure to be a great semester at Jessie's Centre!