Send-off In the Sun

For our last week at Nellie's, we took advantage of the nice summer weather and did our class outside in their gated backyard. The weather made for a lovely and relaxed last class together. One child who was shy earlier in the session kept requesting songs, so we ended up catering the class to her favourites. She opened up so much over our weeks together, she gave me a huge hug when she saw me as well as when we said goodbye. We also had some other adult residents join us who don't normally, but who were happy to be together with us outside. It was a really nice send-off!

In Sync

Last week at Nellie's we had a lot of fun during the instrument jam. With summer on the horizon, we sang Hot, Hot, Hot! by Buster Poindexter and the kids quickly caught on to the beat. It was a really fun moment when we all strummed and drummed the beat together in sync!

A Bit of Everything

This week's class I brought out the singing bowl as the Instrument of the Week, and the kids were enthralled by it! We also sang about spring flowers and all of the different seasons in the year, and then finished off with an interpretive dance to Let it Go from Frozen, by request!

Healthy Self-Esteem

This week at Nellie's was fun and sweet. The ages of the children ranged from 4-months to 4-years old, and there was something for everyone. Highlights included the song I Love Me Everyday, in which we sang about our body parts and appreciating our bodies when we look in the mirror - an awesome song about healthy self-esteem, as well as The Walking Song, and the parachute!

Hands Together, Hands Apart

We had such a fun music class this week at Nellie’s. The three participants had a blast with Wheels on the Bus and Old McDonald. We also had lots of dancing and movement.

Hokey Pokey and Hands Together, Hands Apart were our movement songs of the week and the room was filled with giggles and joy as we danced and froze following the songs.

Two Different Energies

This week's class included two young girls, one was feeling quite grumpy and shy, and the other was up on her feet wanting to dance and sing. It was interesting catering to both energies. A highlight of the class included Elephants Have Wrinkles, in which the energetic child was keen to sing with me and repeated after me with clarity and volume! It was fun to see her enjoy this even though she was the only one singing along.

Music is Therapeutic

This class consisted of a mother with her two young daughters (one sleeping in her stroller), and another mom with her infant, and it was one of the most meaningful RSF classes I've taught. Both mothers were very engaged, but it was halfway through the class that I noticed that the mom of two was starting to get emotional in a song where she was snuggling with her older daughter. I believe the class was cathartic for her, and she let some tears come out towards the end of class. The support staff and I supported her afterwards, and it was a great honour to hold space for her. I could see how much she cared for her daughters, and I shared with her that I could see what a great mother she was. It was very powerful, and I shed cathartic tears myself on my drive home.

Excitement is the Word!

We had such an excited group of participants at our music class this week at Nellie’s. With enthusiasm and excitement, the kids engaged in the actions and movement for each song and even requested their favourite Sleeping Bunnies, by going to “pretend sleeping” and waiting for the song to start.

Another highlight was playing I’m Walking On Sunshine for our jam. It was requested by one of the kids on the week before and I learned it to play this time.

Small Group, Big Fun!

Although there were only two participants this week, our music class was fantastic! We did some Hokey Pokey dance and marched with our big elephant steps while making sounds with our long trunks. We jammed to Here Comes the Sun, since it was a beautiful sunny day. Our movement songs was You Gotta Sing, and we did some “raise the roof”, spinning, dancing and hopping.

Walk...and Stop

Not so crowded, but definitely a fun class! It took some time for participants to show up for this class, so I just started playing some music for everybody at the shelter in the meantime. It was a good way to set the mood and to announce that music class was about to start. When the participants showed up, we had fun with lots of dancing and with the Walk and Stop freezing game.