Baby SOH on holidays

I was so pleased to hear from Baby SOH’s mum that on their recent holiday, Baby SOH kept the music going.

YEAH!

When children start to become familiar with a variety of songs and rhymes they include it in their playtime and daily activities, and you never know where you might hear them.

Baby SOH was sitting in the hotel lobby and started to say Shoe a Little Horse, and mummy joined in too. When it was raining, she said Incy Wincy and Its raining its snoring.

She asked for This Old Man in the car, its a great song, and when she was looking in the kitchen cupboard she said Round and round the Garden goes the Teddybear (normally we play it on her tummy).

Plato, the philosopher said
I would teach children music, physics and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys to learning.

Music is enriching her life, I cant wait to find out where it will pop out next.

Love from Nannyjay
jillsmusic.com

Beautiful Music!

Baby SOH really enjoys twirling with long ribbons in her hands.

The only thing is I have so many to choose from. At the moment I have red, orange, and yellow ones, because we will be singing autumn songs with the change in weather. I use elastic hairbands (ones with no metal bits) to tie the ribbons on to , which are ideal for the hands of little children.

Baby SOH often asks for music when she looks at the CD player, and she did today. I chose “Kummi to mi”, a German piece with a lovely flute, from Christoph Macbach’s Cd Step Back Sally.

I was twirling, she was twirling. It was lovely to watch. She did want to hold too many ribbons in one hand, but that’s part of the fun of being 2.

Best of all, she said “Beautiful Music” when it ended!! How gorgeous you are, Baby SOH!

Love from Nannyjay,
jillsmusic.com
a place to sing, grow, and connect with others in a supportive music environment

Baby SOH at the PROM

Nannyjay and Pa had been looking forward to taking Baby SOH to the prom concert for 2 – 5 year olds held locally by the Golden Kangaroos Concert Band.

This was an opportunity to see a trumpet for real, Baby SOH has been so interested in the sound of trumpets.

Baby SOH and I looked so pretty in our dresses.

Of course we had to have a front row!!

We all know “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”, and the band did a musical version, distributing percussion instruments to all the children. If you’re happy and you know it play your drums ….

We sang along to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star played by the band. Each farm animal was played by a different instrument in Old MacDonald had a Farm, and Baby SOH loved the owl and the birds (flute).

One confident little fellow conducted the orchestra with the baton!

We marched to music and the musicians introduced us to their instruments, and let us play them too! Baby SOH played the biggest drum! and the xylophone!

Baby SOH was so lucky to receive an egg shaker and some balloons to take home.

When we arrived home, I found my instrument picture book, and we talked about the most memorable instruments we had heard – the trumpet, the flute, the drums.

We all loved the prom, thank you Golden Kangaroos!! What will your favourite instrument be Baby SOH?

Love from Nannyjay
www.jillsmusic.com

Baby SOH is singing

We have had so much rain in Sydney these last weeks.

Baby SOH sat in the back of my car when I picked her up and she was singing “Rain, Rain, Go away”, over and over and over. It was so lovely to hear.

At playgroup music time today, she said “Open shut them”, she likes that song. We sang it at the cafe today, she loves opening and closing her hands. She loves waiting to anticipate the clap in the right spot, rolling her hands and blowing a kiss! What fun to be a nearly 2 year old.

We sang it when Mummy and Daddy came to tea.

Open shut them, open shut them,
Give a little clap,
Open shut them, open shut them,
Lay them in your lap.
Creep them creep them, creep them, creep them,
Right up to your chin,
Open wide your little mouth,
But do not let them in.

Shake them, shake them, shake them, shake them,
Shake them just like this.

Roll them, roll them, roll them, roll them,
Blow a little kiss.

Everybody clapped at the end of the song.

Family fun, We love you Baby SOH.

Love from Nannyjay
www.jillsmusic.com

Shoe a little horse

I loved tapping Baby SOH’s foot when she was small baby, and saying Shoe a little horse. Baby SOH loved it too, she would look straight into my eyes and focus.

I haven’t said it for quite some time with Baby SOH, but as I am using it in my music classes and it is such a simple and beautiful rhyme, I was interested to guage her response as a 22 month old toddler.

She loves now just the same.

Shoe a little horse, shoe a little mare,
But let the little colt go bare, bare, bare.

I said it several times to her during nappy change time in the morning.

In the afternoon, when I was on the phone and she was standing beside me, I felt her tapping my hand and saying “Shoe a little horse, Shoe a little horse” over and over. I was so amazed to see it in this way.

We shared it at the cafe today too, what a fabulous musical moment on a hot sunny day.

Love from Nannyjay
jillsmusic.com

Baby SOH and Trumpets

Baby SOH is now nearly 22 months. She points to the CD player in my music room, and says “trumpet”.

We have been listening to the Florentine March from Andre Rieu’s CD Andres’ Marches, and it starts with a trumpet. She likes to sit on her favourite chair and get ready to play her drum to the music.

Pa was intrigued as he watched us through the door. He did not want to disturb us, but I invited him in.

I sat Baby SOH on my knee and started bouncing Baby SOH up and down on my knee to the beat of the music. I then gave her to Pa and he did it too. Baby SOH was grinning from ear to ear. At different points in the music he lifted her up and changed her over to the other knee. He also rocked her side to side when the music changed.

The next day, Baby SOH found a plastic trumpet amongst our Christmas decorations and put it to her mouth.

She gave it to me and I put it up to my mouth and said “toot toot toot”, as much like the real noise of a trumpet as I could make. I gave it back to her and she did it too.

We need to go to a prom soon, so that Baby SOH can see and hear a real trumpet.

Baby SOH often marches whereever she happens to be, and says “Marching toes”.

A happy music time for us all,

Love from Nannyjay
jillsmusic.com

From Morning to Night

Baby SOH and I are just getting back to our regular routine, after the holiday season.

It just amazes me how music creeps into our day, one way or another.

Baby SOH went into my music room and appeared with shakers in one hand and bells in the other, and started shaking and singing the first line of Jingle Bells. She has loved that song this season.

She found the ABC Nursery Rhyme Playschool book that I have in her toy basket and Little Miss Muffet took her interest as did the picture of the spider. She kept saying “Muffet” after I had read it several times. The Humpty Dumpty book also takes her interest as he falls off the wall and becomes a broken egg.

As a grandmother, its fantastic to watch her language development, and I am certain that music has contributed significantly in this regard. Its so spontaneous and natural too.

We went for a walk and we had a swing at the local park, she looked at me and smiled several times as I sang Swinging Swinging Swinging Swinging.

After her nap, we looked at several books including This Old Man. She was fascinated by the numbers in the song and pictures. She loves numbers generally.

During lunch we tapped on the table of her high chair and said “1 2 3 Johnny caught a flea, put him in a teapot and made a cup of tea, OOPS!”

ABC Playschool had a lovely segment about fish, showing the lovely colours of the tropical fish swimming in the sea, and playing Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals by Saint Saens.

When drying her after her shower, I sing a little ditty about drying her, and when we put toys away we sing “Its time to put away, its time to put away” to the tune of the Farmer in the Dell.

For some boppy music time, I put on the music of the Eagles to sing to, and Baby SOH did some drawing while I cooked the tea.

After tea, Pa read her some books, including This Old Man. Pa was having so much fun remembering the words from his childhood. He said later that he didnt realise how much rhythm there was in the song, and how much fun it was singing it with her. He tapped the last phrase on her high chair table as he sang and so did Baby SOH. We all ended up singing together.

At the end of the day, we put the light off, and sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Rock a Bye Baby and Summertime when the living is easy …

What a day!!

Love from Nannyjay
jillsmusic.com