This is my second experiment teaching toddlers. I had two students, my daughter and her one-year old friend. Here’s the plan I designed plus my reflections as to how it went.
Folk Music Lesson 1
Greeting Song (“Good morning, Good morning, Good morning to [Lucy], We’re glad you’re hear today,” sung to “Mi So Mi, Mi So Mi, Mi So Mi La So Mi, Mi So Fa Mi Re Do.”)
Rhythm Conversation
- Each parent-child pair play back and forth on a drum, taking turns. Parent can vary how loud, soft, fast, slow, or what rhythms s/he plays.
- Come together and play the rhythms for Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. Practice both fast and slow.
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins
- Play on drums for the rhythm in the book
Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush
- “This is the way we… wash our face, comb our hair, brush our teeth, put on our clothes.”
- Hold hands and go in a circle on the chorus. Do the motions on the verses.
- Repeat the song: fast.
So, Mi
- Hand signs
- Echo on So and Mi
- Solfege for “Ring Around the Rosies.”
Ring Around the Rosies
- Play several times at varying tempos
To Market, To Market
- Sit in laps, parent bounce child to the beat.
This Little Piggy Went to Market
- Wiggle each toe
Pat-a-Cake
Johann Strauss Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka Op. 214
- Dance, varying movements based on loud or soft.
The Ants Go Marching One by One
- March in a circle.
- Play drum or stomp on “boom, boom, boom”
Goodbye Song (same as Good Morning Song)
Reflections
My sweet daughter and her adorable little friend turned into overstimulated bombs of chaos the moment I started the music lesson. I decided to hold on to the belief that they were still absorbing the music despite their crazy behavior.
The rhythm conversation worked in private with just Lucy but not during our group lesson. Lucy kept saying “mine” and didn’t want a back and forth exchange, and her friend didn’t seem to understand taking turns. I guess he’s too young at just over a year old.
At a certain point, I had the children just play fast and slow on shakers. This was a good hit but only increased their overstimulation. As soon as I started with solfege, Lucy perked up, but she lost interest when I got overly excited at her initial response. The songs/rhymes with the greatest success were the ones that the children already knew, like Pat-a-Cake and This Little Piggy Went to Market.
Overall, I think that teaching two rambunctious toddlers who feed off of each other just looks differently than my initial expectations. Ironically, though, learning does seem to be taking place. After her friend left, I waited a little bit and then redid a couple of the activities just to see Lucy’s response. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she displayed evidence of learning, like by singing back solfege and playing rhythms. I think it’s worth the craziness to keep trying. Plus, I figure that I’ll only improve, right? 🙂
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