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This is the last year that we will be bringing Charlotte to London, so this is your last opportunity to see her live! Treat yourself and your child(ren) to a fabulous, interactive musical experience! You have your choice of two concerts on Tuesday, April 12 – 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. – at Forest City Community Church! Tickets are $10 each.
For tickets or more information, please call Jane at 519-434-3644 x36.
Charlotte Diamond will be returning to London to perform concerts for groups of children from child care centres and schools on the morning of April 12 at Forest City Community Church. There are two concerts – one begins at 9:30 am, and the second begins at 11 am. Tickets are $10 each and should be purchased in advance.
Charlotte will also be presenting a workshop for educators on April 11 at Childreach. For more information or tickets, please call Jane at 519-434-3644 x36. Check out Charlotte’s website and sign up for her newsletter.
This is a fundraiser for Childreach programs. Please help us spread the word, by sharing this with your co-workers, friends and family!
Our ECE Resource Centre Librarian Heidi and her son Andile love to rock out to this video! Thanks for sharing, Heidi! That Will.i.am is one cool cat.
Floating Bubbles
Play soft music, and have your child(ren) float like bubbles around the room.
Move and Imagine
Form a circle with your children, and ask a few children move into the middle of this circle. These few children will become bubbles in the circle. Encourage dramatic movement by asking open-ended questions.
- Can the circle make you move by gently puffing at you?
- Can you show us what happens when two bubbles collide?
- How would you move if you were a big bubble?
The Bubble Game
Form a circle with your children. Have everyone hold hands and then walk forward. Walk your circle in so that it is as small as possible, and sing this song to the tune of “Ring Around the Rosie”.
Blow air in our bubble.
(move one step backward while holding hands)
Blow air in our bubble.
(move one step backward while holding hands)
Bigger, bigger,
(move one step backward while holding hands)
We stop, and POP!
(drop hands and fall to the ground)
Songs make everything more fun!
Rainbow Bubbles
(Sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Rainbow bubbles everywhere,
Floating slowly through the air.
Sometimes big and sometimes small.
I wish I could catch them all!
Rainbow bubbles everywhere,
Floating slowly through the air.
Pop! Go the Bubbles
(sung to the tune of Pop! Goes the Weasel)
Bubbles float up, and then they float down.
They land on the ground.
Bubbles are fun to blow all around.Pop! Go the bubbles!
I’m a Bubble Teapot
(sung to the tune of I’m a Little Teapot)
I’m a bubble blower – - watch and see! (point to self)
Blowing bubbles all around me. (touch index finger to thumb and blow)
Some bubbles burst, (quickly pop open fingers)
Som bubles soar into the sky! (stand on tiptoes while wiggling fingers)
This well-known children’s entertainer from Vancouver has performed to sold-out crowds of young children for the past 13 years!
She is returning on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 to perform two concerts at Forest City Community Church. Group tickets (15 or more seats) are available at the early bird price of $7 each and may be booked at any time by calling Jane at 519-434-3644, Ext. 36. Individual tickets will be available in March.
The first concert is at 9:15 a.m. and is specifically for preschoolers. The second concert is at 11 a.m. and is trilingual – English, French and a little Spanish too! There will also be a workshop for teachers/parents/caregivers in the evening of Wednesday, April 22. Click here to go directly to Charlotte Diamond’s website.
In February of 1999, I told my 16-year old son that I was going out for the night. As I answered his question about where I was going, “To see Charlotte Diamond”, he started to laugh and recount his early childhood memories of us singing Charlotte’s songs together.
Recently I had a similar experience as I closed a seminar with university students with Charlotte’s song “May There Always Be Sunshine”. Students spontaneously blurted out, “I remember that song! I used to sing that with my mom!” They began to sing and sign this wonderful song.
It really doesn’t seem that long ago that my son belted out “Sasquatch”. It is not just the words and lively rhythms that I recall; it is the feeling of holding my son, sharing, laughing and playing together that I remember. What is it about Charlotte Diamond’s songs that touch everyone’s hearts? Her songs have the capacity to teach about building relationships and to bring us together within our family, community and world. How can a song have this power? As I listened to my son, I thought about how our singing made me feel – calm and connected to my child then and now years later.
Listen to, and don’t forget to sing, “Four Hugs a Day”. It really is about teaching how to communicate with your child.
Step one – look them right in the eye.
Step two – nose to nose.
Step three – reach your arms.
Step four – you can’t do any harm with . . .
Four hugs a day – that’s the minimum.
Four hugs a day – not the maximum.
I read the words of Charlotte’s songs, and I see that she is giving me the same information as famous child psychologists. Every child needs to feel – I am loved; I am loving; I am capable; I belong. Charlotte emphasizes the importance of being accepted, loved and the feeling of belonging. She helps our children learn to become caring and competent. She accomplishes all of this using a fun and adventuresome style.
Her songs are full of imaginary adventures, animals, weird and wonderful words, and lots of actions. If you have an active child, these songs are made for her. She teaches us about moving our body. Jumping, crawling, and stretching are part of some of Charlotte’s songs.
She also teaches us new languages. Many songs are translated into French and Spanish. A few other songs are translated into Cantonese, Hebrew, German, Russian, Norwegian, and Italian. Most songs include the use of sign language. Even very young children love to use the signs as we sing the words.
Charlotte is a certified teacher with degrees in Zoology and French. This is reflected in the themes of nature throughout her songs. What do each of us need to grow? Charlotte’s song “Each of Us is a Flower” recognizes that all people need friends, family, food and nurturing. What a wonderful way to learn about our unique qualities. We are becoming more aware of the beautiful diversity in our world. Throughout her songs we learn about love and respect of ourselves, others, and nature. We sing about celebrating differences and leaving the world a little bit better.
Join us on Wednesday, April 22 as we present Charlotte Diamond in concert at the Forest City Community Church. Her use of props, catchy rhythms, and interactive style makes for an entertaining event for everyone. For tickets or more information, please contact Jane Powers at 519-434-3644 x36.
By Marg Glendon, Parent Educator
Music Makers for Inside or Out!
Toddlers enjoy music with a strong and definite beat. If you supply them with inexpensive homemade instruments they will express rhythms that they hear in percussion repetition of sounds as well as creative body movement. No need for a purchased rhythm band set when all that is needed is a little ingenuity and household items. Older preschoolers, with assistance, will take an active role in the creation of the following “down home” instruments.
Cymbals – Try two flat pot lids (a definite ear ringer).
Tympana – Use wooden spoons for tapping assorted canned goods or hanging, metal pie tins.
Maracas – Partially fill plastic drink bottles with rice, dried peas, beans, small pasta, etc. Hot glue or tape the twist caps securely to the bottle to prevent opening. A sound matching game results from creating pairs of similarly filled bottles. Shake and match!
Harmonica – Still popular is the large comb covered with a sheet of waxed paper which vibrates when blown with the mouth slightly open.
Kazoo – Stretch a piece of waxed paper over one end of a toilet paper roll and secure with an elastic band. Pierce the paper several times with a pin. Blow and hum at the same times into the open end of the tube to create a vibrating, humming melody.
Xylophone – Use different lengths of copper tubing, steel pipe or wooden doweling (thick). Lay these side by side on top of a piece of foam rubber. Use a wooden spoon to tap out a lively tune. For chimes, hang the lengths from a frame using strong fishing line.
Tom Tom Drum – Remove both ends from a 48oz juice can (hammer edges flat, then tape for safety). Cut two larger circles out of old, rubber tubing allowing them to overlap the edges of the can. Lace the rubber ends together using a leather shoe lace threaded through holes that have been punched around the edge of circles.
Guitar – Use a discarded shoe box or tissue box. Stretch 6 or more coloured elastic bands of varying sizes around the box. Pluck with fingers for that “get down” sound.
Don’t hesitate to join in, sing along and dance to the antics of this young performing artist. Provide a full range of background music with toe-tapping, shake-it-up tempos that both you and your child(ren) will enjoy. Don’t forget to record this early musician. The tapes may not be award winners but certainly will be collectors’ items.
Written by Liz Hicks, Early Years Team Leader
