Alexandra Community Centre

Instructor: Danica Kotsopoulos

Week 1

1 - 3 Year Old Class:

I arrived at the Alexandra Community Centre half an hour early to go over some administrative details with my co-ordinator Denanna Yerichuk, and was greeted at the front door with a huge hug from one of my class participants! I guess they spotted the guitar on my back, and realized that I was the teacher! It was awesome, and the class quickly filled up with a number of eager, yet somewhat nervous participants. One interesting thing that I noticed was that there was an entire family enrolled in my class! It was wonderful to see both a mom and dad, and two children enjoying Rainbow Songs together. I began with introducing myself and discussing our expectations for the eight week session. After going over the sign language to the "Hello Song", we got into the swing of things starting off with Open Em', Shut Em'. We also sang Roly Poly, I Wake Up My Hands, Finger In The Air, The Tickle Song, Sticky Sticky Bubblegum, The Rooster Song, Crocky Crocodile, Little Green Frog, and Zoom Zoom Zoom. Instrument of the Week (IOTW) was the Dumbek, and this gave me an opportunity to introduce the class to the jam bag. I had to remind several of them that "we only use our hands to play the Dumbek and not the maracas!" After going on a Dumbek march and playing De-OH and Three Little Birds to accompany our Jam Session, I introduced the parachute, which was a huge hit! Saying goodbye was bitter-sweet for me. I sincerely hoped that all would return the following week for class, and many of them assured me that they had a wonderful time and that I would see them soon! It was a HUGE success, and I was surprised at how EAGER they were to PARTICIPATE. I have never had such a successful first day of class at Rainbow Songs, and I certainly didn't expect it from a Foundation class. I look forward to next week with this group!

3 - 5 Year Old Class:

This group was HUGE, and some of the participants were older than the alloted age of 5 years, so I concerned about keeping their attention for 40 minutes! However, again I was so touched by their willingness to participate and learn. Many of the grown-ups did not speak English and so I was afraid that there would be a language barrier, however, everyone harmoniously worked together to reach an understanding throughout the class of what was expected in terms of actions (such as signing during the "Hello Song"), and singing along.  Many children were very forthcoming in volunteering answers for songs such as Listen To The Water.  Both IOTW and Jam Session ran similarly to the 1 - 3 Year Old Class. However when I introduced the parachute, pandemonium broke loose! I have NEVER seen so many class participants dive under the parachute so fast. It was totally out of control and I decided to just go with it. After trying to put the parachute away (somewhat unsuccessfully), I launched into the Goodbye Song with only little explanation. It helped us all to regroup and end the class on a wonderful note (literally!). I again was hopeful that everyone would return the following week, and look forward to the adventure ahead. I feel so lucky to making connections with some wonderful people. This is so NOT a job, this is a joy!

Week 2

1 - 3 Year Olds:

The second week of class went really well! I feel like I am already making a connection with each and every participant in class. After writing out name tags (which I don't think I will need for the rest of the session), I reminded everyone to sing nice and loud, and try signing throughout the entirety of the "Hello Song".  They seemed to remember some songs well from the previous week, and these were a huge hit (such as Baby Shark, and Sticky Sticky Bubblegum). I introduced some new songs today including Sleeping Bunnies, Clap Clap Clap Your Hands, Wheels On The Bus and Shake Your Sillies. I decided to play Hot Hot Hot and Three Little Birds for our Jam Session, with the hopes that repetition will motivate the group to learn the lyrics and sing out loud. I decided to play the song Love Grows for the parachute, so that all the participants could pretend to sleep under the parachute (the overwhelming reaction to the parachute last week made me realize that I needed more structure for this part of the class). I love playing the "Goodbye Song" because introducing the waltz beat helps everyone to refocus and finish the class in an familiar fashion each week.

3 - 5 Year Olds:

This week I was hoping to really make a connection with each and every participant, and I feel that this was accomplished with the children in this class today.  We reviewed Listen To The Water and again the children were not shy to volunteer tons of animals living by the water, including a baby shark, octopus, frog, and whale!  After Zooming to the moon and back (which is very popular with this class already), I brought out the IOTW, which was the Tambourine and the Maracas. I decided to introduce both instruments today because the session is shorter than usual and I wanted to make sure that I have time to bring in a variety of instruments.  Before bringing the parachute, I asked everyone to lie down on their backs (and pretend to be "sleeping bunnies"), and gave the grownups full control of the parachute, going up and down gently to Love Grows. This group gets SO excited by the parachute that it sometimes gets a bit out of control, and I considered it a success!

Again, it was a great week! I am making connections with people I never would have met before and the Alexandra Community Centre is filled with AMAZING people, such as Paula and Sherrie, who have the children lined up ready for class with their grownups each and every week!

Until next time...

Week 3

1 - 3 Year Olds:

Repetition is very important (especially for Foundation classes where English is not the first language for many participants), so I reviewed signs for the Hello Song at the beginning of class and once again reminded everyone to sing nice and loud.  Lots of giggles today from the older siblings, and I made a point to thank them for helping the younger ones by encouraging them to sing and sign throughout the class. After growing long Elephant-like trucks and standing up, we sang through a new song called Elephants Marching and I encouraged the class to sing a repetitious melody that occurs in-between the verses. I choose to introduce the Clave Sticks as IOTW, and took this opportunity to teach All De Nations and Guantanamera, while encouraging them to try clapping the clave rhythm. Due to time restrictions, I played one song for the Jam Session (You Are My Sunshine) and was surprised to see that many participants knew the words! With little time left, I quickly played some jazz music to accompany our parachute and sang the Goodbye Song, emphasizing the waltz beat as an important rhythm to master.

3 - 5 Year Olds:  

I was able to get through some new material, including Clap Your Hands Sing 123, Johnny Works With One Hammer, and Wake Up.  After introducing IOTW and going through the same process as above, I brought the Jam Bag into the centre and hand out instruments. After singing through You Are My Sunshine, we put away the instruments and took out the parachute.  The grownups were very helpful in holding the parachute up very high and I told the children lie underneath quickly. After putting the parachute away and getting settled on the floor to launch into the Goodbye Song. This group is the BEST SINGERS I have ever had! They are SO enthusiastic.

Week 4

1 - 3 Year Olds / 3 - 5 Years Old:

I realized today that I am starting to form some wonderful genuine relationships with members of the Alexandra Community Centre. As I arrive early each Saturday, I usually take this opportunity to walk around the centre, and the adjacent outdoor park. Upon saying hello to those I have met before and introducing myself to those who I have yet to meet, I met a young mother who asked if I was the "singing lady". I  said "yes!" and she asked if she could sign up her daughter for the class at 1:50 PM. She said that she overheard parents talking about how much fun and wonderful the class was. I was so flattered and told her to come by the classroom 5 minutes before the start of class and I would take down her information. This experience made me realize that I indeed AM making a difference in the lives of these children by encouraging them to sing, and allowing them to feel free and safe enough to express themselves musically.  

I felt motivated motivated to have a good music making experience this week. The first class is simply wonderful. Honestly, they make my "job" easy by participating fully and I feel like they really set the tone for me to handle the second class. I always find inspiration in the room for a song I'd like to start with and so I saw a poster of the ABCs on the wall. For both classes, I took this opportunity to go through the ABCD medley (ABCD/Baa Baa Black Sheep with alternate lyrics/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with accompanying signs), and also taught the African welcome song Funga Alafia. Other new songs included Clean-O and Who Fed The Chickens - as huge hit. As we know repetition is important so I also reviewed Bath Time, Clap Clap Clap Your Hands, Where Is Thumbkin? Shake Your Sillies Out, Wheels On The Bus, and Sleeping Bunnies. For the movement portion of the class, I decided to repeat Elephants Marching hoping that some grownups would recognize the song from last week, and it worked! The singing wasn't so confident on the verses, however, the repetitive melody in-between was sung by all participants in both classes! It was great to hear. I also repeated the Bean Bag activity in both classes and it ran much smoother the second time around. The IOTW were the Tingshaw Bells, and they brought this serene quality over the group as I rang the bells together and passed them over each little head aligning their "chakras". It was so fun! And some of the grownups were brave enough to try and play them today, which was a first. I introduced the group to a new Jam Session song today called Down In The Valley.  We slipped in the Goodbye Song, and the class ended so peacefully.  I feel a renewed sense of energy for both groups.  I realized when they were leaving that I have made some new friends. Some of which look up to me in ways I don't even understand. So I will keep trying to bring the best of myself to them, and hopefully, this will bring joy and a sense of optimism about all things in life.

Week 5
 

Next week at Rainbow Songs we are celebrating Caribbean Music Week! And so I decided to include both Foundation classes in this wonderful week of island music. I gave a brief history, and introduced some new songs to prepare the class for next week which included One Finger Keeps Moving, Some Like It Hot, All Da' Nations, Dat Is The Left Hand, and Clap Your Hands and Sing 123. Some of these songs were more successful than others for a variety of reasons. For instance, instead of the splitting up the group to sing two different parts during Some Like It Hot, I decided to sing the "Island Ladies" melody on my own. It worked better than relying on the grownups who seemed uncomfortable singing on their own.  \\` The "banana" theme seemed to go over really well, so I asked the class "who likes to eat bananas?" This led perfectly into a new song called Apples and Bananas. After going over the sign language for all the vowels, I briefly spoke about how each vowel sounds on its own and how when we put all those vowels together we can sing and phrase normally. I taught the older children how to shape their bodies into the vowels A E I O and U. It was fun to be silly! After reassuring the class that crocodiles do indeed eat bananas too, we sang Crocky Crocodile, Donkey Riding and Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me. While standing we also sang circle scales on Hello - Goodbye, and the Doe Scale. The IOTW was the Chinese Gong. Many of the participants were familiar with this instrument, and so the response was overwhelmingly positive. Some of the grownups told me that they had seen/heard/played one during their childhood while living in China. The children were very good at aiming for the centre of the gong, and also making quieter resonating sounds by tapping the gong rapidly on the side. One child even mentioned that the Chinese Gong was similar to the Tingshaw Bells! She insisted that when both instruments were played, the sound decayed slowly as time went on. I was very impressed that she made this connection. After allowing each child to play the Chinese Gong, we sang "Hands Up" to accompany our Jam Session. I instructed the caregivers and children to raise the maracas. body bells, and tambourines up over their heads as they sang the chorus along with me. Again, I decided to use the parachute only in the first class accompanied by playing Jamaica Farewell (which provided me with an opportunity to introduce this song for our Jam Session during Caribbean Music Week).

I am looking forward to Caribbean Music Week. I have a feeling that the "island vibe" I am going for will be a treat for the class, and hopefully something new for them to experience!  

Week 6

First Class:

I was extremely excited to teach class today for a special reason. We celebrated Caribbean Music Week at Rainbow Songs! I had a wonderful experience throughout the week with my other RS classes, and I was expecting my day at the Alexandra Community Centre to run smoothly, which it did! It is interesting to note that even thought we are in the final weeks of the program, I welcomed four new participants and their families to class today. They had talked to Shirley the week before and were extremely interested in attending class. Due to the small number  of participants in the first class, I was delighted to have them! They adjusted to the routine of the class quite nicely, and I took some time to introduce them to their "sign" for the Hello Song. To accompany our Caribbean repeptoire, I brought flower leis to drape around our necks, and played a recording of "Rivers Of Babylon" as the participants arrived for class. We reviewed such songs as One Finger Keeps Moving, Some Like It Hot, All Da' Nations, and Dat Is The Left Hand. New songs included Tingalayo, Guantanamero and Oye Como Va. Many of the children remembered the songs from the previous week, and I noticed that the musicality of the group was indeed stronger than before. Both the lyrics and melodies were accurate and it was a great music-making experience. A new song called "Brown Girl In The Ring" was certainly a highlight for the class, as it is a movement piece having the caregivers and children walking around in a circle for the verses and walking into and out of the circle on the choruses. The melody is repetitious, and so my class caught on to the words rather quickly. I encouraged them to feel free to dance and sway their hips from side and to side. We then did a limbo dance with a piece of bamboo, travelling under and over the stick one by one. IOTW was the Steel Pan from Jamaica and it was a hit! I played them a melody and asked them to guess the name of the tune. Some children caught on right away, and I heard them humming along (the chosen melody was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). I then travelled around the circle and allowed them to try playing a scale one by one. This was very successful and I realized that this particular group, for whatever reason, is extremely attentive, if not a little shy when it comes to participating.  We jammed to Jamaica Farewell and ended with the parachute.  

Second Class:

I must say that I am so emotional when it comes to discussing this group. I can't really put my finger on it. I simply love these kids.  Now that it is coming to the end of the session, I am amazed by how far we have come. Not only I have formed some wonderful friendships with the children, but I have gotten to know their caregivers as well. Each week I am overwhelmed by their participantion and the effort that they put into singing and making music with one another. This was by far the most successful week for them, and I left (literally) with tears in my eyes. We started the class off like any other, but I noticed that something was different right away. They came in and sat quitely, putting the flower leis around their necks, and I could hear a few voices starting to hum the Hello Song. Paula had informed me that day of a incident earlier in the week where she caught some of them having their own RS class in the playground! One child was pretending to be me with a guitar while the others sat in a circle around her! After going over some of the Caribbean Music Week material, we covered the same repertoire as the first class, which went over extremely well.  Each child waited patiently for their turn and I kept saying "Good sharing everyone! You guys are doing so well today!" It was probably the best moment of the ENTIRE session so far! After jamming, and tidying up, I ended the class with the Goodbye Song and lots of hugs. I truly am going to miss this group. They have touched my heart deep down inside, and I am secretly dreading the end of this experience. It has made me a better music teacher, and I feel truly blessed to have met so many wonderful people like Paula, Shirley, Lisa and Deanna who have helped me along the way.

Week 7

First Class:

This was a particularly special week at RSF because a film crew was coming to document the class! I am usually 10-15 minutes early, however of course on the week a film crew is due to arrive, I break a string during my early morning classes on the Danforth! So I raced to a nearby music store and bought a spare, arriving just in time to introduce myself to the film crew and get ready for class. Rainbow Songs Foundation President Lisa Haberman was able to stay for the duration of the first class which was a real treat! I have been working for RS since January, and this was the first time leading a class for another member of the RS team, so I was a little nervous, but her energy is so wonderful that I felt comfortable immediately and began the class with introducing the class to two different Scale Songs called The Flea and One Button, Two Button. These are simple lyrical melodies that use the whole tone scale as a point of reference. Due to some late signups last week, the class size was perfect, although I had repeatedly ask the newcomers their names! I decided to sing familiar songs so that the film crew could capture some interesting footage so we sang tunes such as Roly Poly, Finger In The Air, Wheels On The Bus, Baby Shark and The Tickle Song. I showed them the signs for The More We Sing Together and introduced them to the melody, which we sang a cappella. I also introduced them to a new lap ride song today called The Little Red Wagon, which works on opposites by bouncing the knees up and down, and then leaning from the left side to the right side. After reviewing where our toes, knees, hips, ears, trucks (noses) and teeth are, we stood up and sang a tune called Elephants Have Wrinkles. Some of the children knew the song from the RSF CD, which means they have been listening to the recordings at home! The IOTW was animal themed, as they were Wooden Frogs from Thailand. After showing them how to make the frog "ribbit", I made sure to distribute the frogs evenly among the group. Considering that there were only 3 of them, I relied on the grownups help to pass along the instrument when I instructed them to do so. We sang two songs about frogs, both of which allowed the children to play the "ribbit" sound numerous times. Both tunes (Little Green Frog and Three Green And Speckled Frogs) are traditional favorites and seemed to be familiar to the majority of the group, even though we had not sung one of them in class before. After collecting the Wooden Frogs, we jammed to a Johnny Nash tune called I Can See Clearly Now, which was an unfamiliar song to many. I could tell because I was the only person singing on the verses, which means that I will most likely use this song again next week to reinforce the learning of both the melody and the lyrics. The parachute was again a success with this group, as we sang along to a recording of a jam tune we had covered previous in the session called Down In The Valley. I was very happy with the class, and I hoped the film crew was able to capture some wonderful moments between the grownups and their children.  
 

Second Class:

I was actually secretly hoping the film crew would like to stay to film my second class as well, becusae I simply love the class. Today was no different. Each week they surprise me. One child came into class today in tears (I was not sure as to why), but by the end of the Hello Song was smiling ear to ear which was nice to see! After introducing them to the sign language for scale song, I taught them the melody and the lyrics to both The Flea Song and One Button, Two Button. I leaned over the a child sitting next to me and tickled their toes and demonstrated the new songs, which immediately resulted in everyone scooting forward to have their turn! It was so funny, and a nice way to begin the class. After making sure everybody knew where their toes, knees, hips, ears, trucks (noses), and teeth were, we stood up and sang Elephants Have Wrinkles, which was SO fun. They loved the song and corresponding actions, and exaggerated their movements for the grownups to see. I was a little nervous about the IOTW because of the way in which the Wooden Frogs had to be shared and passed around, but again this week they rose to the occasion and did an awesome job. It took perhaps longer and more patience than the first class, but in the end, everyone had a turn and there were no tears! After jamming to I Can See Clearly Now, I skipped the parachute and closed the class with the Goodbye Song. Next week is the last week of class and I will definitely bring out the parachute for this class to enjoy! They deserve it!  

I made sure to remind everyone that next week is the last week of class, and I am not going to lie, it was not easy. I am slightly heartbroken that the past 8 weeks have gone by so quickly. And to be honest, I am trying not to think about how HARD it will be to leave these children behind as I move onto the next RS project.

Week 8

First Class:

At Rainbow Songs, the last week of class is "request week". This means that each participant has the opportunity to request their favorite song. After explaining this, I realized that some grownups did not understand. The children took it upon themselves to help explain the concept, and I think that this was an interesting moment because suddenly the grownups and children chose to communicate without my assistance. Some of the songs requested were The Flea, One Button Two Button, Roly Poly, and Doe A Dear. At one point, one participant brought a ball into the centre of the circle, and rather than take it away, I decided to introduce a new activity called "Roll The Ball". This activity incorporates song, sing language and repetition and I thought it would be fun to try before the end of the session. The IOTW was the Rainstick. Because of time constraints, I brought two Rainsticks and passed them around the circle while I taught them "Rain Rain Go Away" and "Thunder Pounding". Due to the repetitious nature of sharing the IOTW week to week, each participant now understands and embraces the concept of sharing, and this is a wonderful development. We sang Jamaica Farewell to accompany our jam session and it took everything for me not to tear up! We ended with the parachute and the Goodbye Song, and I reassured each and every participant that I would visit the centre soon.

Second Class:

As you know, this group of children hold a special place in my heart and so, I took a deep breath (literally) and began the class with the intentions of having an absolute blast! "Request Week" was a success with this group, and it was nice to see the involvement of the grownups this week. The IOTW (the Chilean Rainstick) was also a success and again, I was so proud of each and every child as they played the instrument, and then passed it on to their neighbor with little to no fuss. We brought out the jam bag and sang Jamaica Farewell, which I managed to enjoy (considered I had crazy butterflies in my stomach at the thought of saying goodbye), and then I brought out the PARACHUTE! It was so fun to see them react with such pure joy and it was awesome to dive underneath with them and lies on our backs and cuddle in a huge group. It was seriously the highlight of the day! Before singing the goodbye song, I took a moment to thank everyone for their attendance week to week, and yes, I got choked up and told them that I loved them all and would miss them very much. One mom then interrupted and asked "When will you be back to teach us?" and I realized at that very moment that not only did the children enjoy the class, but the grownups too enjoyed the experience and felt confident that they had learned something valuable that they could share with their child.

As I hopped on the streetcar, big fat tears rolled down my face as I realized that I may never see some of my kids again. I felt pretty down the rest of the day but later as I was digging through my guitar bag, I pulled out a tiny shrimp made out of lanyard string. A girl in my second class had made it for me, and I realized then and there that I would have the memories of our time together in my heart forever. My RSF experience was much more that I could have ever imagined or dreamed, and I hope to be involved the organization once again in the future.