My Favourite Thing!

The highlight of today's class was one child who was feeling shy and hid during the yellow song, and was then dancing and singing and playing all of the instruments by the end of the class! It is my absolute favourite thing when kids learn that this is a safe space for them to let loose! The toddler class had the most attendance this week which was a welcome surprise! The attendance for the school age class was low but it meant that I got to have some quality teaching time with a student who often feels left behind because they are the youngest in the group.

Harmonic Directions

When I arrived one of the kids asked if we could learn musical notes this class, which was perfect because I had already planned a rhythm exercise with doubling rhythm and adding triplets. The whiteboard in the school age program room came in handy, as I could use it to draw big musical notes and point to them to give the kids rhythmic cues for table drumming and vocal exploration. It also came in handy for our regular check-in of the kids' favourite songs. I think soon we'll have enough to compile a really great playlist! We finished off with vocals, bringing out the glockenspiel as a guide and working on sustaining notes so the kids could sing in three part harmony. The harmony didn't always stick, but I think we're moving in the right direction!

Happy Cowboys and Cowgirls!

We had a superb music class this week. Although there was only three participants, the songs we chose this week brought us all a lot of joy.

For our movement song, we did some yee-haw’s and other fun movements to She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain. Lots of giggles and excitement as we became cowboys and cowgirls!

New Family

Last night we met a new family who had just joined the shelter that day. The six-year-old daughter was shy at the beginning of the class, but then really opened up towards the end. I believe the four established and enthusiastic participants in the class really helped her come out of her shell. Highlights included playing the wooden frogs, dancing to Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, as well as parachute time.

A Happy Hello!

This was a great introductory class to the group at Yorktown. The kids were just the right ages where the older kids helped the babies get engaged and lead them through the songs, and the grown ups were enthusiastic and participatory throughout! A number of them were already familiar with the songs, but I don't think they were expecting the parachute, which the kids absolutely loved. The staff at Yorktown also couldn't be nicer. The class seemed to go by so fast, and everyone in the group said they were looking forward to next week!

Music Has No Limits

This group has such a love and dedication for learning to play the ukulele. They are focused and determined to learn the new skills each week. When the hard work is done they love to jam and bounce around the room to Sleeping Bunnies and Little Green Frog. With bells on their wrists their age doesn't limit what songs they enjoy and it is incredible to witness.

Different Ways to Listen

Today I wanted to emphasize that there are so many different ways to hear and express music. A bunch of the kids who are a bit shy with singing have already demonstrated the ways they connect with music in terms of beat and dance, so I wanted to spend a class emphasizing the physical aspect of music. We did a drawing exercise where the kids recommended songs and then with paper and pencils, we all drew out what we were hearing in the music. It was amazing how different the kids' interpretations were! To finish off, we played a musical freeze/go game, moving around the room and emphasizing the high, middle, and low voices of the music with dance moves at different heights. The kids got a kick out of the stop and start nature of the game, and they were engaged throughout! I'm particularly looking forward to doing the drawing exercise again, I think there's potential for the kids to make one big drawing or painting that they could hang in the program room!

Animal Sounds

Another great music class at Birkdale this week! The participants are always so excited to see me arriving with my guitar and getting ready to start.

On the list of songs, we had Listen to the Water. We had lots of fun doing all the actions for this song and making animal sounds based on the animals we saw by the water side.

Slow and Steady

This is the third week working with my ukulele student at Etnestine's. She is thoughtful and dedicated. She is very quiet and I have worried that I am not connecting with her. I love hearing my students talk about their lives and at today's lesson my student started to share. I am so grateful she felt comfortable to chat with me about school. She shared that she has ADHD and I shared that I do too. She was very glad to know this. She got a big smile and started to ask questions about learning to read. I was thrilled that we could have this conversation while colouring together. Having moments to colour together really help with connection.

What a Blast!

The excitement of our Friday music classes at Robertson House starts when I arrive. It is great to be welcomed by the kids with so much excitement and hear from them that they’ve been waiting the whole week for our musical moment together.

One of the participants arrived earlier and we got to chat about the guitar and even tried learning some basic chords together prior to the start of the class.

Among other fun things, we made silly faces with Little Green Frog and visited Old McDonald’s farm.