Creatures at the Ocean - Part Deux

It is truly amazing to observe and learn how much a child's mind can absorb during music, movement, and play.  Last week, in our Creatures at the Ocean class, the children were easily persuaded to listen, participate, and learn, even though it was our first class. (Well, except for our two youngest, whom at 18 months can not really be expected to sit still even the slightest bit.  Their bodies *have* to contantly move! They are busy little people!)

 Anyway, this week, at 3:45, small bodies came hurtling down the hallway from the front door, jumping onto my Kindermusik blanket, singing, and wanting to know "when do we start?"  Within minutes, it was *very* obvious that families had plugged in their At Home CD's this past week and listened to our songs.  :-) 

One of the hazards of living in the metro Atlanta area with a young child is that you had better have a CD player in the car, stocked with enjoyable, singable CD's, or you risk losing your mind while stuck in traffic on I-75 or I-285, trying to cope with the paving crews that insist on working during rush hour, all the while pacifying a bored child who can't *wait* to get out of the carseat.  (Yes, I know that rush hour here in Atlanta is now almost 20 hours long!) Optional alternative is a portable DVD player which according to a friend of mine is worth its weight in gold, traveling with teenagers 8 hours to Myrtle Beach!

Thankfully, Creatures at the Ocean offers a variety of pleasurable, singable songs, stories, and poems to please even the crankiest child.  One of the moms told me that they had a long road trip last weekend and enjoyed the CD all the way there *and* back! Even the trip to Grandma's can be made more bearable, even enjoyable while singing "Sand in My Sandals" or "Sandcastle, Sandcastle". 

We also had a *wonderful* time "wiggling our toes" in the sand out on the front porch and finishing our "Fish-y" windsocks. 

 

Then we "flew" our windsocks to "Blow My Kite" and danced around the room. We got to play with the seagulls and Folksmanis Puppet Co. would be pleased to know how big a hit their seagull puppet was in our class.  <grin>

Snacktime was a veritable smorgasbord of choices: "beach blankets" (graham crackers with peanut butter) or colored "Goldfish" crackers, served with apple juice or white grape-apple juice drink boxes.  Some of us had a hard time choosing and, instead, took some of each. 

After we finished our snack time, we came back for some more dancing fun with "Mary Ann" and, due to the high energy level in the room, opted not to do the "Sailor's Jig".  Instead, we rocked again to "Come Sailing with Me", then sang our Good-bye song to each and every child.  All smiles today and cries of "Can I take my fish home?"  (translated: the windsock)

All in all, another enjoyable day ……. at the beach!