Music Notebook #2 - Dive into the heart of the Éveil musical program

Dive into the heart of the Éveil musical program

In our second Musical Notebook, we give you exclusive behind-the-scenes access to our Éveil musical program. First, we give you an overview of how it works, then we reveal the contents of our Éveil musical kit. Finally, we pay a visit to a Carrefour childcare centre to better understand how this initiative fits into the daily lives of toddlers and educators.

Un bac noir avec des collants de notes de musique.

Doing scales

The Éveil musical project for toddlers was developed by the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Carrefour francophone de Sudbury. It was first tested at Place des tout-petits, the CPE located on the second floor of Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury, the burnt-orange building downtown on Larch Street.

Over the past few months, the program has been gradually rolled out to all Carrefour childcare centres. Concretely, each CPE identifies a member of the teaching staff who plays the role of the musical leader. This person undergoes eight weeks of practical training designed to equip them with the tools they need, and to foster their confidence and autonomy. The aim is to ensure that all toddlers at all centres can participate in at least one Éveil musical session per week.

Throughout their training, staff members can count on the benevolent mentoring of Nicole, a musician with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. She frequently visits the centres to teach them tips and techniques, coach them and answer their questions.

Starter kit for l'Éveil musical

Here’s an overview of the materials and resources available to educators for conducting sessions:

An Éveil musical guide
A collection of nursery rhymes and songs
A bank of Éveil musical activities
A few musical instruments (percussion eggs, maracas, bangles with bells, etc.)
Accessories such as silk handkerchiefs, balloons, etc.
A puppet representing an animal, which children are invited to name (Lulu the Turtle, Berlin the Rabbit and so on).

Singing in chorus

To better understand the impact of the Éveil musical program in the field, we went to meet Roxanne, an educator at Boussole des tout-petits in Azilda. She is currently undergoing a period of practical training to support her in leading Éveil musical sessions with the toddlers at her centre.

In her opinion, the children in her group love the Éveil musical sessions, especially the activities that allow them to move, such as songs with gestures or incorporating the manipulation of a ball or other accessory. She also notes that songs have a positive effect on learning the French language and developing vocabulary. As an example, she cites a song that has greatly helped the children in her group to learn about colours.

Since the program began, she’s noticed that Éveil musical has integrated seamlessly into the routine. She even admits to enjoying the sessions more than she had originally imagined.

This is just one example of the harmonious way in which Éveil musical is integrated into the daily routine of the toddlers at the Carrefour childcare centres.