Let's put music forward!

For several months now, music fever has invaded our Centres de la petite enfance, thanks to the joint efforts of the Carrefour francophone and the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. This collaboration between the two organizations aims to provide a fun and stimulating musical awakening program for young children, while brightening up their daily lives.

In this issue of our Music notebook, our new monthly blog, we give you privileged access to different facets of this exciting initiative. In this issue, we explain the concept of l’éveil musical, and present the testimonials of a child and a parent who have experienced it first-hand.

Did you say “éveil musi-what”?

L’éveil musical is an educational approach that introduces young children to the world of music. At each session, an adult guides toddlers in exploring rhythm and sound, singing in chorus, learning rhymes with gestures, trying out musical instruments and playing musical games with accessories, toys and even puppets.

The benefits of l’éveil musical’s development are numerous. We will tell you more in one of our next Music notebook.

Children's words

If we asked a child to describe his or her éveil musical workshops, what would he or she tell us?

One night, we overheard a family conversation after returning from the Centre de la petite enfance. The parent asked his child, “What did you and your friends do today?”

Usually, the child doesn’t talk much, but tonight, he answers point-blank, with great enthusiasm: “Music!”

Surprised, the parent asks, “Was it fun?”

“YES!” replies the child, without the slightest hesitation.

The parent tries a new question: “What do you like best when you make music?”

And the child answers in one breath: “Everyone sings songs together… And we learn gestures… And we play with drums… And bells… And… and maracas… And… and tambourines… And clapping… And dancing… And Berlin the bunny comes to visit.”

“Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun,” adds the parent.

The child continues: “When we make music, I want to smile… And clap… And jump on the spot… I want to shout YÉ… And laugh… And… and sway from left to right… And raise my hands in the air.”

The parent remains silent for a moment. He’s never heard his child talk so much. Without even thinking about it, he starts humming a song his parents used to sing to him when he was young. The parent can’t remember the words, but remembers the tune perfectly. He hums along for a while, looking at his child and smiling.

Parent's notebook

How would you describe your experience of l’éveil musical?

“As a parent, it is amazing to feel the excitement of a toddler just before a éveil musical session. You can feel that there is something both joyful and comforting in the fact that they’re returning to songs, rhymes, games, rhythms and gestures that they know and love.

During a éveil musical session, we often see smiles and sparkling eyes, we hear bursts of laughter, we catch exchanges of knowing glances when we play together or sing in chorus.

It is wonderful to see toddlers carried away by joy, staying in place for so long. There is a wonderful sense of complicity that comes from singing together, an excitement at finding a familiar tune, a pleasure in being carried away by the rhythm, in letting oneself sway from left to right or dance. We come away from our musical awakening workshops energized and soothed.

See you next month for another Music notebook!