Call and Response

The kids at Birkdale are always so curious! Though sometimes the other toys and books in the room can be a bit distracting, it presents a good opportunity to explore dynamic ways of keeping them focused on songs, which lately I’ve found works best when we work on each section of the song a few times with call and response, and then do the whole thing together. They seem to pick up on more words this way, and recognize familiar songs. It’s great to see the development in action!

A Seasonal Mood

The fall weather is making things feel very cozy at Ernestine’s. The living room where we have our classes was filled with Thanksgiving decorations, and I was thankful for the amount of participation that this group so consistently gives. The older kids are getting bolder in what they help the little ones with. This time they were helping them walk around the room during the standing songs, to the delight of both the little ones and the grown-ups. Lots of smiles and laughing all around!

Halloween Anticipation

In yesterday’s class we continued preparing for Halloween with songs such as Walking in the Night and I’m a Spooky Witch. The children enjoyed making cackling witch noises and howling like a wolf. They also enjoyed the Kalimba, our instrument of the week (the coordinator even brought one out that they had in storage to play with at the end of the class), and dancing to the Ghostbusters theme song with the parachute.

Off the Walls!

Today was a high energy day at Birkdale, with limbs akimbo and all corners of the room explored. After a few warm up songs that were heavy on hand signs, I could tell the kids needed to get up and move so I added in a few extra jumping songs, and made Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes a standing number, going faster and faster (which the kids love). We did a funky version of The Hokey Pokey, and by the time we were done dancing the kids were ready to pass around the Guiro, which they played with no less gusto!

Helping Hands

Another joyful class at Ernestine’s this week! Everyone was very engaged and the mixed age group works so perfectly with these kids, as the older ones love helping the younger ones clap and find their body parts. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the songs themselves, which is always great when a song gets a warm reception during the first few bars. The jam was fantastic, with the kids bringing instruments to one of the grown-ups with mobility issues, and playing together with them. By the end there were high fives not just from kids, but grown-ups too!

Halloween Excitement!

This week was all about getting excited for Halloween! We discussed ideas for costumes and then sang I’m Dressing Up For Halloween and Five Little Pumpkins. Highlights also included The Ants Go Marching, during which the staff member got into it and brought lots of energy, and the Instrument of the Week—the relaxing Tibetan Tingshaw Bells.

A Herd of Elephants!

We had a great time at Robertson House this week! The listening skills are improving and the enthusiasm is unparalleled—so much so that when I asked the class to be elephants, they immediately all put out their arms as trunks. It was great to see the whole herd marching around to the beat. Looking forward to our next class!

Rainy Day Fun

There was a cozy vibe to the class today and we started things off with Rain Rain Go Away and Mr Sun. I took lots of time with hand signs today to accommodate the ESL speakers, but after a few sign-intensive songs I focused on clapping and rhythm, which definitely upped the engagement and the smiles. We all practiced loud and quiet drum playing and the kids listened so well! As I was packing up, the kids moved on to their Little Chefs program making pancakes. What a lovely way to spend a rainy day!

Great to Be Back!

It’s always such a pleasure to return to Ernestine. We finished our last session with a birthday party, and this one began as if the party were still going! Lots of older siblings joined in the fun, and their enthusiasm was fabulous. One particularly memorable moment came when one of the older kids let out a delightfully strange elephant sound for Elephants Have Wrinkles, then repeated it over and over again. The kids all have fantastic rhythm, so our jam was the perfect finale. Great to have a mix of old and new faces, and I can’t wait to see everyone next week!

Small, but Energetic

Today’s class was small but energetic. One child in the group loves music and is always dancing up a storm and telling me about songs that she knows. In fact she even asked me if we could sing the Hello and Goodbye songs she knows from school for the whole group. She asked if we could practice the song beforehand so we could play it, and that we did!!

The new rainbow-coloured chime-bars were super fun as well. I got the group to play Twinkle Twinkle with different children playing different parts. The children seemed to like this new instrument of the week!