| Fall 2009 - Beatrice House |
Fall 2009 Session - Beatrice Houseinstructor: Alana Kurtis
We had many returning mothers/children as well as a few new mothers/children who have recently moved into the shelter. We've changed rooms (due to renovations) and the new room worked out very well. All the children were very excited to be back singing, dancing and playing the musical instruments. We started off the class by learning a few songs with sign language and then moved into some movement songs i.e. 'Shake your Sillies Out', 'Hokey Pokey' and 'Zoom, Zoom, Zoom'. I look forward to future classes together. The children are already very excited about Halloween, so we started going over a few key Halloween songs as well as passing around the 'Thunder' instrument. The children loved the sounds effects and couldn't believe such a loud sound came out of such a small instrument. We also took some time learning new songs such as the "Rooster Song" and "Jump Jim Joe!"
Week 3 In anticipation of Halloween, we focused mainly on Halloween songs: 5 Little Pumpkins, Shut the Door, Witches Brew and I'm Dressing Up for Halloween. The children were very excited about going trick-or-treating so these songs definitely got them into the Halloween spirit! The children also loved playing the chinese gong. One by one they each got a turn to bang on the gong and experiment with it's sound.
Week 4 This was the last RSF music class for many of the women/children at the shelter as many of the women have now found permanent housing. At the end of class many women thanked me for the wonderful experience and for teaching them how to develop a better relationship with their children through music. It was a very touching and significant week for everyone involved. It will be sad to see them go, but I'm also very excited for them as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.
Week 5 Today we focused on learning songs in sign language. I began by teaching each child the first letter of their name in sign. We then went on to sing and sign such songs as "Twinkle Twinkle", "The More We Sing Together" and "Rooster Song". This was followed by learning our Do, Re, Mi's in sign using the xylophone (instrument of the week) to help us along. Each child was also encouraged to compose a short song on the xylophone and play it for the group.
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