After several months of delivering music lessons live and online via Teams and YouTube, it was good to swap the living room for the classroom again this term. While the children were mostly engaged during lessons shown on the smartboard, there was a pleasing positive response to us being back in the same classroom again. The music and activities are more immediate and alive and there is more scope to adapt activities, depending on responses and interests.
This term we began by consolidating some of the songs and action activities from before that had become familiar over the smartboard. We then added new ones focusing on steady beats (Sugarplum Fairy), on fast and slow (Hare and Tortoise) and then on high and low (Five Little Froggies). We ended the term by improvising music together using some of the recently acquired instruments such as bass bars (wooden bass chime bars) and wooden tongue drums. We have also had more 1-1 music sessions that complement the work of Aisling, our music therapist.
The newer instruments were ordered in conjunction with Aisling, and due to not being able to be in the school, some are only now getting used by us. We look forward to being able to use them more next term.