Today’s class at Ernestine was exciting for a number of reasons: first, it was great to see some familiar faces after a couple months away from the shelter, and the kids have grown very noticeably! Second, there were some new kids of various ages who brought a great energy and a lot of curiosity to the class. Last but not least, it was the first time I had split the class into two sections to highlight group participation for the younger kids, with more focused music lessons for the older kids.  The older kids really surprised me with their prior musical knowledge.  In fact, one of them already had a recorder, and was familiar with note values and some musical terms.  His sisters in the older group were a bit younger than him and not quite as advanced, but they more than made up with that in curiosity.  I worked his recorder repertoire (primarily consisting of variations on “Mary Had A Little Lamb”) into some rhythm games, and finished off with solfege, but I would definitely like to return with more recorders in the coming weeks, as these kids are definitely ready for them!