Beatrice House Instructor: Joel Corriveau Week 1 The first class of the fall session went amazingly well. There were so many familiar faces: smiling mothers and excited children who enthusiastically welcomed me back from the break between sessions. There were also several families attending their first class. By the time everyone arrived and settled in, we hardly fit in the space! (I spoke with the staff about this, and next week we will arrange the furniture differently to better accommodate such a large group.)
The first class is a great opportunity to reinforce some of the expectations of the parents who attend. I want them to know that this class is for the adults just as much as for the children. They need to understand that the more they participate, the more enriching the experience will be for their children and for themselves. I can feel the skepticism of some of the new moms, especially in contrast to the veteran moms. They were guarded at first too. My hope is that the new moms continue to come long enough that they can relax and enjoy making music with their children and with the group.
There was a special moment during the jam session where we were playing a freeze game. Basically, everyone needs to watch me to know when to... "Shake your instruments!" and when to... "Stop!" The activity only works well when the frozen moments are absolutely silent. There was one little girl who was neither paying attention to me (or anyone) nor was she stopping. She just kept rattling right through the gaps. "Who belongs to this child?" I asked. A mother at the back of the room timidly puts her hand up, "Come join her, she wants a partner to jam with." And then the activity really took off, as we were now playing (and pausing) altogether.
The children often sit in a tight cluster directly at my feet. They could not be any closer to me. There was a very funny moment when one boy (who was attending for the very first time) says, "Hey! You spit on me." I apologize, of course, but went on to explain that this front row - five inches away from me - is the wet zone, as I can't prevent a little spittle. "If you don't want to get wet, feel free to move back a couple of feet. There's lots of other spots on the carpet." The mothers laughed, that boy moved back 3 feet, and his front row spot was immediately filled by another child. Week 2
The second week of this session was a stark contrast to the first week, there were half as many people, (and double the space, after improving last week's furniture arrangement). Large groups (like last week) are great in that they lead to such energetic jam sessions. A smaller group is special because it allows me to focus more intimately and directly with the children.
Roly Poly is a very simple song about pairs of opposites: up and down, big and small, fast and slow. With the momentum of a large group, I am unable to zoom in if a child's attention is wandering. But tonight, I was able to encourage the children by name to participate with big actions. One of the older boys suggested another verse: "loud and quiet." I love it when kids offer additions to a song. It encourages them to think creatively, and take a sense of ownership with the class. We make music together.
The special instrument of the week was the Tibetan Singing Bowl. The children's eyes lit up when I brought the bowls out, and even wider when I made them ring. The slightly smaller group is to our advantage with this instrument, in that everyone gets plenty of time, and the activity doesn't need to feel rushed. I sent the smaller bowl to the row of parents, and then I brought the large bowl around to each child, placed it in her left hand, while together our right hands traced the bowl with the dowel.
Last time we sang "Sleeping Bunnies," one of the boys insists on singing a verse about sleeping tigers. I tried it out, but boy the new lyrics hardly rolled off the tongue. This week, the same suggestion arose, but I deferred it. "How about sleeping lions?" another boy called out. I can take a hint: these boys need to sing some songs about lions and tigers. Next week.
Week 3 This was one of the most challenging classes I've had at Beatrice House. So often, I leave feeling rejuvenated and excited about what I'm doing. There is no question that the children love our time together. Tonight, the parents were particularly chatty, and the kids energy was particularly explosive.
Despite that, I had a very special moment with one boy. He has been coming off and on since I began at Beatrice House, 7 months ago. The immediate 3 characteristics that make draw my attention to this boy: he is 5 years old, much bigger and stronger than the other children. English is not his native tongue, I don't know how much he understands when I speak to him directly. He can get a bit excited, I always keep my eye on this child when he attends. I've caught him going for my unattended guitar a couple of times!
We were singing Roly Poly (a simple song with hand gestures to describe binaries: up/down, big/small, fast/slow). This boy was sitting directly in front of me, but with his back slightly to me. I took a chance, reached around him, and gently took his hands in mine. I was skeptical he would let me, but he did. And as the class sang the rest of the song, he and I did the actions hand in hand. Week 4 Every 3rd Thursday of the month there is a Residents' Meeting that conflicts with our Rainbow Songs class. And so on the week that this occurs, our Rainbow Songs class is moved to Tuesday.
The change of day meant we were moved to a new location in Beatrice House. We gathered on the third floor in the children's reading room, which is much smaller than we are accustomed to. This certainly kept the energy of the group focused as there was no where to run off to!
For the dancing part of class, we sang several train songs, and I led a procession out of the room and into the atrium, circling around the benches and tree planted there. What a fun opportunity to use both a very small space and a very expansive space within one class.
This atrium connects many of the residents' apartments, so we were much more visible and "right outside the door" of some families who hadn't attended before. I saw many curious faces peak out of doors to see what was going on. Some new children, and a few older siblings came out to join in our dancing. Week 5 This week went SO well. We were back in our regular classroom, and the focus and energy of the group was fantastic. It was the class just prior to Halloween, so we sang several themed songs: about pumpkins, dressing up, and crazy witches. Everyone had a good laugh when I put on my "Pippy Longstocking Crazy Witch" hat. We got on our feet and danced to Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash." And during parachute time we danced and sang along to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
It was interesting talking with the mothers before class about their perception of Halloween, (particularly the families who have recently immigrated to Canada.) One mother was all for dressing up her child. Another said, "It's just about candy. And my boy doesn't like candy. So we skip Halloween." Week 6 Before class began, one mother taught me a few phrases in Twi, her native language from Ghana. I learned how to say, "εtε sεn?" (How are you?) To be answered with, "Εyε!" (I'm fine.) The lady's 3 year old son fell over laughing so hard to hear me speaking a few phrases in Twi. It is so great to be able to learn and share information about the various cultures represented in the classroom.
These mothers and children simply cannot get enough of the song, "All the Nations" (like bananas). The song is up tempo, with a great clapping part of the clave rhythm (and reverse clave rhythm during the verse, I think). Some songs have that effect. Three seconds into a song, they realize what song it is, and their faces light up. I'm referring to the mothers here, not just the children. "All the Nations" is great for another reason, during the verse, I get to include the names of each of the children, and I think they love that. Week 7
This was the smallest class I think I've ever had taught at Beatrice House. I found out when I arrived that our regular class conflicted with a "field trip" to the Dufferin/St Clair library. So... it was a very small group, but that didn't stop us from having lots of fun.
One activity which I haven't had much success with big groups at Beatrice is "Roll the Ball." It is a simple song, including each child's name. I roll the ball to her, she rolls it back. There are a few elements that need to be in place for this activity to work. First, the children need to be ready to share. If they are not, then at the very least, the parents need to support me if there are any tears or fighting to keep from sharing the ball. Some little children simply haven't learned how to share yet. And for this reason I feel this activity is an important one. But the main reason I haven't found "Roll the Ball" successful at Beatrice House is because I cannot for the life of me keep the children sitting in a large enough circle to facilitate the activity. Today was the ball's lucky day. The small class made it a perfect chance. And much to my delight, the sharing wasn't a problem for the littlest children at all.
Week 8 I had a break through with a parent tonight. She has been attended at least 5 classes now with her child. But the mother is always reserved and withdrawn. She is polite, but curt; slow to smile. Today, for the first time, I managed to crack her shell and get her joking around with me. (This woman LOVES to play the claves, and loudly!) But wouldn't you know it, this class that marked a new connection with the mother coincided with her daughter coming out of her shell, toddling away from her mother, and interacting with the group with a new sense of independence. This reminds me of how important these classes are as a bonding experience not only for the children, but also for the mothers: amongst the families, but also from family to family, and family to me.
I introduced a new song to the group, "Do the Monkey," which is a great song to dance and jump around to. The mothers seemed so skeptical at the beginning of the song, as I ask them to mash their arms up and down and make monkey sounds. But sure enough, the catchy but simple tune wins them over, and by the end of the song, we're all jumping together. Week 9 Today's class was Animal themed: every song we sang was about an animal (nearly.) We sang "Old MacDonald", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Do the Monkey." I led a few songs that were new to the group: "Poor Little Bug on the Wall," and "Five Green and Speckled Frogs." I realized that I had hit the limit of new material that I could teach to the group. One of the most enthusiastic mothers said, "We're not singing because we don't know these songs.... Play bananas!" Fair enough! I agreed to play "All the Nations" during the jam session. One animal tune that they really enjoyed was "Tingalayo" a Caribbean song about a silly donkey.
The special instrument of the week was the wooden frog from Thailand. These are such great little instruments, as they sound a very fine impression of a real frog. I introduce three different sizes of frogs, each one has a unique voice. It's great to see the kids experiment with getting them to sound. And it's always fun to sing, "The Little Green Frog," and encourage everyone to squish up their faces and stick out their tongues like a frog.
"La di da di da!" Week 10 We had quite an influx of new mothers and children this week. It was a large group overall, with the core group of regulars, plus several new families. Many of these mothers are very shy when they first start attending. It can take ongoing coaxing by me to encourage them to learn these relatively simple songs and sing them back to me.
In one particular song the participation was particularly low. As it finished and I was calculating in my mind what to say, one mother - who had been singing - calls out, "JOE! That's not right! No one is singing but me!" . I had to smile, and agree. And reiterate that I am here for us to sing together with our children. Then we sang, "Tapping in the Air," a great song that is easy to sing, reinforces rhythm, coordination and body parts - and I got 100% of the families singing together.
And again, there are requests to end the class with "All the Nations," or "Bananas," as they call it. That must be my greatest hit, because it's all these couple of mothers want to hear. So we rock it out.
Week 11 Today was the very last class of the Fall 2010 session at Beatrice House. There was a great turn out of mothers and children, many who I hadn't seen in quite a while. As it was the final class, I opened the floor to ask them what their favorite songs are. We sang many from the "Hands Together" CD, such as "Hands Together", "Little Green Frog," and "The Wheels on the Bus." Some songs I don't have to ask if they want to hear; the group never seems to get tired of "All the Babies Like Bananas" and "Jamaica Farewell." I save those ones specifically for the end of class when all of the tambourines and maracas come out.
The special instrument of the week was the Chinese Gong. I chuckle to think how even when I tell them to strike the gong hard, the children often defer and play it quite softly. This shows a side of gentleness and respectfulness in these children, who are brimming with energy. When the parachute comes out, they go underneath and jump and laugh and squeal.
There was a sad note to the end of the class. I knew I was saying goodbye to one family who has been very regular members of the program. This mother and child never miss a class, and the mother is one of my strongest advocates in the group. It isn't uncommon for her to hush other mothers, or chide them for not singing loudly enough, (before I even get the chance!) I know that this family is set to move into their new home at the end of December and so they will not be back when I return to Beatrice in 2011. When I first met this lady, she was praying that her house would be ready soon. It was a humbling for me to witness how - once her wish materialized - the thought of leaving the shelter becomes a scary reality. I will miss them, and they told me how much they would miss Rainbow Songs. These classes are a very special experience for everyone, myself included.
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