A Gray Catbird is singing again outside our camper. She was here yesterday, too. Her melodies are rich and varied. I think she must love making up songs.
This reminds me of yesterday’s sessions with our new group of five and six year olds.
Like the Catbird, most of the kids LOVE to make sounds. Hooray!
Lucy and her sister, Celia, like to sing and make up songs like us. The two of them are very receptive to music and movement, so much so that I have to remember that there are other kids in the room!
One of the boys was quiet at first but he bloomed when we internet idea of creating songs (see Theo below). A boy named Scott, for example, co-created a song with me, a ballad about pirates, treasure and a hero who saved the day. I played guitar as he wove his story for the group. Everyone was enthralled.
As you can tell, we’ve got some creative kids on board!
One of the other boys, Theo, mentioned a six year old’s favorite word (poop) and Beth and I composed a silly song on the spot that got many of the creative kids enthused about making up songs and the boys just plain delighted about having poop become the subject of a song.
Theo is a real talker. He shares one of the Catbird’s qualities – he makes sounds constantly. I now recall that he and I developed a strategy last year to get him to take pauses, especially while others were talking. Some kids need to learn to slow down their nervous need to share and others need to open up. It’s interesting to watch and help both types of children grow during our week(s) together.
More soon!