Sing with the Bowls

It was a great pleasure teaching class at Birkdale today. I've seen a lot of the children come a long way – skills continuously improving in the areas of social and musical abilities. Keeping the beat, sharing well, playing instruments properly and with a cohesive tempo, are all examples of skills I saw in many of the Birkdale children today. Our instrument of the week was the singing bowls from Tibet, which a few of the kids were able to operationalize with little to no adult help. Everyone is really coming a long way!

New friends, familiar songs

Lots of new faces in class at Birkdale today! We stuck with the classics to introduce new kids and moms to the program. Lots of moms stayed for class today, which was really lovely, and made the class that much more fun. Instrument of the week was the Glockenspiel, and the kids had a great time passing it around and trying it. I reminded everyone that next week is our last class for the Spring session, and encouraged all the moms to attend the class again next week for the goodbye ceremony.

What Shall We Be??

Last week's class at Robertson House was small but mighty. Despite the small number of participants, the energy remained high and positive. At one point, the class was handed over to one of the older boys as he decided what animals we would sing about next; this made for great fun. To cap it all off, moms and kids found a spot to lay down to finish off with a nice lullaby. Looking forward to more great classes!

Movers and Shakers

We were a small group this week and it started out a little sleepy, but we soon had everyone up and going. We played with Boomwhackers, which were a surprise 'hit'. There was a lot of excitement when the parachute came out, but the big moment was when one of our smaller friends crawled for the very first time! It was a spectacular moment that we all got to share.

Have you ever had a time when you couldn't find a Rhyme?

With only a couple of kids in the room, I decided to let them share their favourite songs today. We sang several classics like B-I-N-G-O, Old MacDonald, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum, and Down by the Bay filled with interesting new rhymes.

The Mysterious Shruti Box!

Last week's class at Robertson House had great energy! The kids and grown-ups eagerly participated and seemed so excited to belt out the Hello song at the top of the class. I loved bringing out the bellowing shruti box (India) and seeing the looks on the participants' faces when it made its mysterious drone sounds. Looking forward to more great classes!

Mrs. Turtle's Debut!

We had a smashing fun Animal Week at Birkdale today. Although only one family participated, both kids had a tremendous time with their mom, the staff and me. Mrs. Turtle (our soft, snuggly, turtle puppet) came to visit with the song Turtle in My Shell, and she was a big hit with the little ones. We sang Listen to the Water, went for a lap ride with Donkey Riding, and moved around the room to Elephants Marching. Momma Frog and the entire frog family (our Instrument of the week – the Thai Wooden Frogs) came along for a visit as we sang Little Green Frog. Our jam songs were also animal themed, and everyone had a fabulous time.

Full House!

We had a dozen babies/toddlers and their mothers for class this week! This made for a great atmosphere, with everyone singing and really getting into the class. Everyone enjoyed passing around the wooden frogs for our Instrument of the Week, and I couldn't help but bring out I Feel Good for our jam... That's just how I felt!

Maracas are for Shaking

We started off in a circle, welcoming back our participants with some familiar songs such as Wake Up My Hands, Old MacDonald, and B-I-N-G-O. The children took turns clapping and making animal sounds, and when we were nice and warmed up we stood up for a good movement set, including The Hokey Pokey, and Shoo Fly, before ending with a super fun jam session. Some kids were very excited to get their hands on the maracas, so I reminded everyone that maracas were for shaking and we played some shaking songs to reinforce it.

More Monkeying Around

We had a great time introducing some new participants into the group. We started off singing in a circle and getting comfortable with each other, before standing up for a raucous dance session, which included Do the Monkey, and Five Little Monkeys. These guys love monkeying around!