Taking Turns with the Singing Bowl

Last night at Arise we sang about the winter weather and pretended to be snowflakes melting on the ground when the sun comes out. Then we made silly faces while singing The Little Green Frog, and hopped around like bunnies to Sleeping Bunnies. The highlight of the class however was when I brought out the singing bowl as the instrument of the week. The children were very interested in this instrument! They all took two turns each, and insisted on the moms trying to play them as well. The class then ended with many hugs!

Together Under the Parachute

Last week's Arise class was another fun one. The children were once again extremely engaged, and highlights included tapping and stopping with our rhythm sticks, as well as the parachute. There was a moment under the parachute when a few children joined hands in a circle and began jumping together in unison to the music. It was really lovely. Back there tonight!

New Year, New Fun!

We were back for our first class of the new year at Arise last night. The ages of the children ranged from 2-6 years old, and they all waited for the class to start with anticipation. Then when we started, this was maybe the most focused and engaged RSF group I've ever had!! It felt like a true celebration, with lots of dancing and singing together. One little girl was a natural born performer and turned outwards to face the rest of the group and showed off her dancing skills. She had the other children and grown-ups smiling and encouraging her. It was super fun and also heartwarming to see how much the mothers in attendance were enjoying themselves. I'm really looking forward to continuing with this group again next week!

A Holiday Spectacular

We finished up our 2022 classes last night at Arise, and it was certainly high energy! We did many Christmas songs by request, and the ages of the children ranged in age from newborn to tween. Highlights included singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and adding little additions such as, "like a lightbulb!" and "ho ho ho," the jam session which included Jingle Bells and Twist and Shout, and a fun dance party with the parachute to Jingle Bell Rock. The children all really appreciated their gifts from RSF as well (xylophones, bells and books). There were many hugs and "thank you's" all around!

Time to Bring Out the Gong!

We had some new families join the class this week which included a set of toddler twins and another toddler. The average age of the class was younger and so I pulled out some popular toddler tunes including, I Wake Up My Hands, and Six Little Ducks. A highlight however was the instrument of the week, the Chinese gong. One of the older students joined in at this point, and all the children enjoyed trying their hand at the gong. We then did a group sound meditation to the sound of the gong. It was a lovely class all around!

Rhythm Stick Solos

This week's highlight was using the "rhythm sticks" as the instrument of the week. After we did some rhythm stick songs and activities as a group, each kid expressed their musical creativity by performing rhythm stick solos. They also enjoyed the song Two Little Songbirds, which we reprised from a couple weeks ago.

The More the Merrier!

Last week's class was a busy one! We had a new family join with four siblings, so our class size almost doubled. Highlights included discussing ideas for Halloween costumes and singing Halloween songs together, such as I'm Dressing Up For Halloween, Five Little Pumpkins, and Pumpkin Pumpkin Big and Round. The kids especially enjoyed pretending to be werewolves and howling at the moon in the former. The parachute was also a hit, as usual!

Growing in Confidence

This week we started off with the check-in question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Then, after some warm-ups and tongue twisters, we continued our learning of Do a Deer, and Under the Sea. The children were more confident in singing these songs for each other one at a time this week. I asked them what they would like to learn next and How Far I’ll Go, from Moana, was the winner.