When we started music with Stuart on Wednesday mornings, we observed learning surge forth from the children. So far, Stuart has brought a guitar and has sung songs with the children in the West Wing. When more instruments were explored and the routine became established, their curiosity took off. Capitalizing on their interest in the instruments, we wondered together what other instruments Stuart could bring to explore. Many children called out for a drum.
On our next meeting, Stuart brought a djembe. We explored the djembe from its leather head and wooden body, to its hollow inside.
Then Caitlin offered a deeper exploration:
Caitlin: We should play a game.
Teacher Astrid: Tell us more about that.
Caitlin: Like a game with the djembe.
Stuart: I know a game with the drum. (He played a call and response game with the drum.)
Stuart: What did you like about that game?
Mason: T,he djembe part.
Everyone: Yeah we like to dance.
This experience was brought to reflection meeting where Caitlin, Coco, Julian, Liliana, Lola, and Mason shared information with a larger group of children.
Caitlin: We worked with Stuart. He brought a djembe and we played it like this (used her hands to create drumming motion on her lap).
Teacher Adriana: What does that feel like in your own body?
Coco: The feeling in my body is called, “smiling and stomping is the music in your feet”.
Jake: Imagine if we had djembes around the school.
We are anticipating that the children will deepen their understanding of each other’s and their own emotions and expose a tacit knowledge through the exploration of music. When their bodies mirror the wonderful sounds produced on the djembe, will their expressions be similar? During our team meetings, the teachers were inspired by Jake’s statement to add instruments to our classrooms to foster music as a language. If you are interested in donating musical instruments that resonate softly for an indoor environment, please connect with me! – Teacher Astrid.