One of my favourite organizations
says it best: ZerotoThree. org
Search: "PLAY"
Did you know that the
"Playing to Learn"
curriculum is
available for sale
to the public at the YMCA
Family
Development
Centre?
Its a simple and
informative guidebook
discussing the value
of adult involvement
in child-guided activities.
It also offers valuable insight
into the days of our lives
at daycare.
Call 416-513-1164
or drop by the
YMCA FDC
at 15 Breadalbane
(Yonge and Wellesly)
for details.
Learning about music through movement.
A
long time ago, I had a wonderful music teacher who took our symphony to
many great places all over the world! He talked, all the time, about
the way the sound of the music was enhanced by how it moved through
your body. He loved, loved, loved it when we could all see the music
moving through our bodies. It's a funny thing because, until I came to
have him as a guide, I was always embarrassed by the sway that would
invariably overtake me when in the presence of just about any music of
any kind at any time. But as I said that was a long time ago, and I've
long since learned to revel in it. Not only that, I've become keenly
aware of my own joy at the natural sway of others....and our ability to
continually find more and more flow as we become more familiar with the
rhythm and the song. I've also become keenly aware of the cycle - as
carefully applied, yet simple movement facilitates that
familiarity...
For those of us who know nothing of the basic
concepts of music, we find the opportunity
to explore these new ideas
both intellectually and experientially...
For those of us who have
been playing with music a long time, we can revisit the basics and,
through play, take old ideas down new roads. All while adding value and helping to make it
that much more fun for those taking their first steps!
YMCA FDC - Ongoing
St. Joe's Babytime - Tuesday September 8, November 10
Swansea Town Hall Toddlers- Thursday September 17, October 22, November 26
SambaFamz/Drum Artz Studios - September 2009 - TBA
This Summer!:
High Park Adventure Playground - Wednesday July 8, 11am
In the backyard, in the basement or at your local community centre...
Anywhere you've got a clean and relatively empty space you can gather in
for 4, 8 or 12 weeks of singing and dancing with jennielea!
$75/$140/$180 per child, 1/2 price for siblings (a travel charge applies to Circles outside the central Toronto area) See Map HERE 7 children minimum and 12 maximum (15 if you've got a really great space for it)
OR - an organization can elect to bring CircleSing! to their setting at a cost of $100 per session, dispersing
this cost accordingly among it's members. I think it's a good idea to
note that a larger group would pay less, individually, and receive a
less formal program.
It can take a while to pull together enough people for a CircleSing! at Home and my ever-changing schedule can, sometimes, be hecitic so it's a good idea to plan your sessions to begin
anywhere from four to eight weeks from first contact.
That being said - I'm a well-known member of the last minute club, and if its possibility exists,
I'm always happy to arrange something on the fly.
When people are relaxed and happy - without emotional or physical distraction - we can absorb a LOT of information. Playing is an opportunity to try out new things in life without fear of consequence. We learn early on that for every action, there is a reaction; and we also learn that there are a LOT of actions that can cause a NEGATIVE reaction! It's scary out there! It's important to have some time and space every day to stretch ourselves out and see who we are...find ourselves a big, safe space full of love and understanding where we can bask in the fullness of each others' light. And while we are in this safe place, we have a great opportunity to talk about what works for each of us individually and for all of us, as a group. We have to do that so that we can make sure that everyone is having fun. The more people that are having fun - the more fun we're all having! It's important! Truly, because....
Play is a fun and exciting gateway to understanding. We can say to a person:yellow
but they need to see it to begin to know what it means. They need to
see it and hear it at the same time to make the connection between word
and sight. Then there's the fact that yellow is a colour (and so is blue?!?) . Maybe it's a yellowcircle. Now it's yellow, colour, circle, shape...its a whole lot of information that children need to gather in their early years
and it can seem overwhelming. For the very young - even the effort of
learning about music and dance requires gathering general information about the
world around us and how to live in it. Then, as we play with friendly and
familiar ideas they take on a life of their own leading us down the
road to world of brand new ideas! When we play, we celebrate potential and achievement. It
works the same way for adults, too, who may have never had the chance
to learn about music or dance or the art of storytelling...or
construction equipment, even! I know SO much more about construction trucks and animal noises and super heros than I ever would have believed!
Early Learning is full of good reminders for everyone.
When
we play with children we find ourselves repeating over and over again
the things we already know. Things we learned long, long ago. But they
are important things; about awareness and focus; acceptance and
indulgence; kindness and consideration. And though we learned them long
ago, it's nice to fill ourselves with the reminders of our highest
ideals. It's nice to be able to to offer our wisdom to our children
while in that special, safe place; away from the stressors of the
sometimes precarious world around us. In the Circle, we have the
time and the space to take that deep breath; encourage our kids to take
it too...there's time to let everything sink in and take root.
One of my favourite organizations says it best: ZerotoThree. orgSearch: "PLAY"
Did you know that the "Playing to Learn" curriculum is available for sale to the public at the YMCA Family Development Centre? 15 Breadalbane (Yonge and Wellesley)
Its a fabulous guidebook focused on the value of adult involvement in child-guided learning.
Where a little demonstration goes a long, long way.
We
apply our consistent attention to their activities so children feel
secure in the knowledge that what they are learning is valuable and
enjoyable to the people they care about most.
Even
(and, sometimes, especially) the most mundane routines can become opportunities for play, bonding, growth and development. When we turn these routines into games; when we
add simple chants and songs for guidance and entertainment; when we relax into the moment we can all accept the gentle pleasure that arises from the completion of the simplest of tasks.
Messagespassed on to you, through me, from the Babes and the Big Kids that help us all get the most value out of the CircleSing! Experience:
(because I have the words they haven't yet acquired)
There are three main ways we're playing to learn:
"You can show me how!
Whatever Daddy can do, I can do too - if not today, then someday!"
"You can help me! Because I'm new and little, I need help to understand that my body works just like yours does.
If you move my arms or my legs for me; if you give me the
experience of making things happen. It helps me learn how to do it for
myself and it gives me confidence too!"
If
you tap out a rhythm on my knee or my back; or if you move in time to a
song, it's a lot easier for me to figure out what's going on so I can
play too."
"You can watch me try! Everything I learn and do has WAY more value when I share it with those I love...
things can happen spontaneously and, sometimes, only once - I'm really disappointed when you miss it!"
Also...
"Sometimes I can get a little over stimulatedand I may need a breather. Sometimes, I need to feel free to step out and rejoin; gentle reminders to return to the circle if I'm distracted and encouragement if I'm unhappy or shy is always appreciated:)"
"Listen to me carefully and watch me closely.
You never know what I might want to learn! Or what YOU might learn from ME!
Pay close and careful attention to my actions and reactions for clues about what I'm ready for next; physically, mentally and emotionally."
In this way, you can help me learn how to listen carefully too."
Workshops by Age (4 months - adulthood):
MuSings (for babies 3 to 12 months)Through songs and play we can teach babies about themselves and the world around them. We can let them know that we understand them and how much we care for them. We can also have a lot of fun! We use rhyme, melodies, sensory play, hand play, group dance, lullabies and stories to bond with babies and introduce them to their world through music and rhythm.
SongBlossoms (for infants 1 to 2 years) Now that the little ones have learned a little bit about the world, they are eager to discover more. This is the time when babies really begin to express their individuality. We can begin to help them, now, to adopt co- operative play attitudes, to deal with transitions, learn songs and to develop their creativity. SongBlossoms introduces melodies and rhymes, hand plays, group and partner dance, vocalizing and creative movement to create an entertaining environment in which these budding toddlers can explore. Limit 8-10 per series
BopSkipHop (for toddlers 2 to 3 years) Toddlers love to use their imaginations and their bodies, preferably at the same time. Now they are playing in partners or groups and developing keen memories. BopSkipHop gives them lots of opportunities to use their bodies rhythmically and creatively while exploring sound and ideas through add-on songs, rhymes, group and partner dance, creative movement, vocalizing and stories. Limit 10-12 per series
Bring out your active kindergarten kids! Yay! Let's all play together! No longer content to just follow along but not quite ready to take on the world, kinders are excited to have some control within a structure - ok, truth talk time: sometimes they change the structure too...but they appreciate the help to maintain it. And they tend to enjoy helping those younger than themselves. I think it makes them feel big! In WonderSing Siblings, we learn about the basics of tone and rhythm while exploring movement, imagination and group play through songs, poems, stories and games. Limit 10-12 total children per series
Ideal groupings include a focus on children ages 4 and 5 with siblings 3 and under/ children 3 and 4 with siblings two and under. This also works well for toddlers with brand new babes.
Song and Dance, Rhythm and Chants (for children 5-10 years old) Now able to experience, fully, the powerful joy that comes from synchronized song and dance, CircleSingers! use old favourites and learn new songs to play with rhythm, rhyme, melody, harmony and storytelling. Its a great way for Mid-Kids to develop confidence and creativity and is also a great complement to any formal performance training as it provieds opportunities to experiment with the basic elements of all disciplines in a non-competitive environment while promoting body awareness in music making.
Limit 15 per series.
BodyRhythm Project (for children 10 to 15 years) Using these young peoples ideas, we provide structure and information, help them to add elements of song(popular, folk,chant rap, etc), drumming (clapping, stomping, ...drumming!), dance (stepping, hiphop, break dance, double dutch, etc.), and storytelling we work together to create performances for our communities.
Limit 15 per series.
The Caregiver Program (for adults) This program is aimed at educating and informing caregivers who who lead and/or participate in song circles and other group activities with very young children.
This workshop explores the value of Circle Time and song in general, and the valuable knowledge
and wisdom we are able to share with each other and give to children during group play;
how group play can support healthy socio-emotional development and all the other valuable skills
that children of all ages can acquire during group play with our help.
Truly, because.... 
