Music for the little ones

Tuesday and Thursday are the toddlers’ favorite days at Place des tout-petits! It is the day for a visit from the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, hosted by Nicole Glover, musician and project coordinator, and Anne-Marie Perron Jutras, co-director of the Éveil musical project.

The Éveil musical project is an innovative and dynamic program for toddlers that offers a musical, speech therapy and discovery vision.

The routine

When the members of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra arrive, the little ones greet the animators with excitement, and quickly line up in a circle to wait patiently for the activity to begin.

It is time to bring out the instruments and puppets! Of course, the children can already tell the difference between a Ukulele and a guitar, and recognize Berlin  le lapin (the rabbit) and Poustichon le mouton (the sheep which is the little favorite). These processes are not only cute, but also help build memory.

During the activity, nursery rhymes are sung at the top of one’s lungs to say hello, to remember to wash one’s hands or to go to the table. Nursery rhymes help children to come together and concentrate.

At the end of the 30/35-minutes session, the animators, toddlers and educators sing goodbye together, and put away the ukulele, guitar and puppets in their proper places.

Immerse yourself and your little ones in a typical day through this article written by Medhi Mehenni, Le Voyageur.

Marie, supervisor and mother at Place des tout-petits

“For just over a year and a half now, I too have been able to take part in the weekly music sessions with Nicole and Anne-Marie. It is always a real pleasure, and I look forward to it every week, as do the children and my colleagues.

Over the months, I have seen many changes in the children: they know the routine of the sessions; they participate more and more; they learn and retain the songs really well, which is excellent for the memory; they know many musical instruments. For example, they know what a bongo or a kalimba is, unlike many adults; they develop their vocabulary and learn many concepts, such as “soft” and “loud”, “low” and “high”, “slow” and “fast”, etc. They also put into practice many of the values that are important to them.
They also put into practice a number of values, such as sharing and listening to others, by taking turns playing an instrument. They play and have fun together, bonding while having fun and making memories.

As a mom, I’m always amazed to see my son making connections between what he learns in the sessions and what he observes or experiences in his everyday life. I love hearing Milo sing Nicole’s songs in the car, or alone in his room when he is playing.
He talks to me a lot about Nicole and loves to play with rhymes like Poustichon le Mouton and Pouille la Grenouille. I am really grateful to be able to offer our son this time of awakening, it is a great opportunity!”

Music at home

You do not have to be a musician to introduce your little ones to music!

By following these video capsules made during an immersion at the Place des tout-petits center by Mehdi Mehenni, journalist for Le Voyageur, we advise you to get inspired and reproduce the various gestures at home with the aim of introducing children to music and involving them in an activity to be shared together.

The Carrefour francophone's vision

The Carrefour francophone wishes to introduce and generalize the Éveil musical project in his centers. To date, this project is in the discussion and analysis phase, with a view to assessing the possibilities available.