Rainy Rainbow Songs

Due to the warmer weather, there weren't quite as many families in attendance this week. At first it was just one parent and child, but they took the opportunity to bond together over a slightly looser class structure to accommodate the size. Eventually a couple more slightly older kids came in, and they were so great with clapping along to songs that I made sure we had an extra long jam session. We started with a slow easy rhythm for ABC, then moved on to a shuffle for Everybody Knows I Love My Toes, and finished off with a big rollicking Twist and Shout, with an amazing extended finale. These kids have a lot of musical talent, and though I won't welcome the return of the cold, I'm looking forward to having more kids in the class next week.

WooHoo!

It’s great to be back at Robertson House with so much enthusiasm from the residents! We had a big crowd for our first class of the session, with lots of active participation from the parents and staff. My favourite part of the class was a call-and-answer part of Rockin' Robin when the parents eagerly sung back “woohoo”, in response to me singing “tweedily deedily deet!” If the parents are having fun, the kids are too! Looking forward to a great session at Robertson House!

Latin Fun!

I heard that some of the participants and staff enjoy Latin music, so I brought Brazilian caxixis (similar to maracas) to class today to demonstrate them and pass them around. We listened to some Latin songs and tried to shake the caxixis on the beat. The kids were dancing around and enjoying the Latin groove.

Shake Our Sillies Out

We had a slightly smaller group this week, and unfortunately not a lot of parents. Nonetheless, the kids were engaged and extremely high-energy. In fact, I wonder if moving to a slightly larger room (like the playroom) might be a good option in the future where there would be more space for parents and fewer couches for the kids to crawl over during classes.  Regardless, the attention in the room became focused on the maracas, which we shared one by one around the room. Eventually all the kids got maracas, and we had an extra-long jam session with just maracas (the kids have a great feel for shaking in time!). Next week we’ll start making use of all of the instruments in the bag.

Cabin Fever

The weather outside may have been frightful, but the music inside was definitely delightful today at Redwood. It seems that our group had energy to burn today – we went through two rounds of requests for monkeys jumping on the bed, as one was simply not enough! Even when the weather cleared up, we still danced up a storm of silliness.

Rainy Day Rainbow Songs

Though the weather was mucky this week, the kids were so excited for the return of RSF that they quite literally screamed at the top of their lungs when I arrived. What a wonderful welcome! The kids were extraordinarily jumpy and hyperactive this week, so there were lots of moving songs, including a great version of Elephants Marching, where all the kids held hands around the circle. Instead of a big jam session this week, I decided to pass one drum around the room, to start off the session with sharing the instruments. It went quite well, and I think it will set a good precedent for upcoming weeks. Unfortunately, no parents showed up this time, but I spoke with the shelter supervisor who said she would stress the importance of parental attendance for next week.

Reunited and It Feels So Good!

Today was our first session of the new year, and it was wonderful to see friends, both old and new! We got right down to business, moving our bodies in all kinds of ways, with some friends showing off their spectacular dance moves. When I brought out a vibraslap to share with the group, everyone eagerly awaited their turn with this silly instrument – even the grownups!

Jingle Bells

Today, for our final class of the year, we sang a bunch of our favourite songs and got out the bells and did some jingling all the way! PIA wanted to have a little party for us, so we sang a bunch and then finished off by eating some goodies all together. It was a great ending to a great season.

Jingle Bells!

The kids were filled with hyperactive holiday spirit for our final class. We were re-located again to a room in the shelter library, which was so small that, unfortunately, many of the parents opted to sit out the class. However, the enthusiasm of the kids was in full force today, with some of them almost literally climbing on the walls. There were many requests, and we concluded with a big jam-time version of Jingle Bells. The kids were delighted with their end-of-session clappers and recorders, and went running around the shelter to show off their new instruments. Looking forward to another session in the new year!

A New Year, A Fresh New Start

It was nice to return to Birkdale after a long break. I had one returning mom and child, and the rest were brand new to the shelter and very excited to be there. We did a lot of dancing and movement as the children had lot of energy. We enjoyed singing Five Little Monkeys, Sleeping Bunnies, and Elephants Have Wrinkles.