The Parent and Toddler Workshops

Between June 2006 and September 2007, 80 workshops took place in parent and toddler groups.

Parental feedback was gathered at the first and last visit with each group. 

Comments from parents and other carers included:

The children loved the singing and actions and really looked forward to the sessions.  By the last session the kids knew the actions.

It’s been a lovely singalong for the kids, my little boy loves it each time you come. Lovely slow pace for kids.

Thank you so much for such an enriching time, bringing joy and culture to our group

As a result of the lullabies workshops, my daughter now falls asleep to me singing “Three Craws” learnt at the sessions.

Child went from not concentrating and running around to sitting and moving according to instruction.

In total over 200 children took part in workshops at parent and toddler groups and nearly as many adults.  Four parents opted out of the workshops.

It is clear, however, that it is the impact on individual children which is more indicative of the success of the project, rather than analysis of the statistics alone.

During the application process, the proposed number of visits to each group was increased from 3 to 4 and this was found to be a significant benefit, with both children and adults taking part far more enthusiastically and with much greater ease when they had the full four visits.

It was originally planned that each visit would take about an hour.  In going to each group it was apparent that it was necessary to stay for as much of the group’s session as possible, in order to build familiarity and trust with parents and children in the group.

Children’s own choices were incorporated into workshops by them requesting songs from previous workshops, favourite songs they knew already and offering to give solo performances.  In one group we included rehearsal of a version of ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ the group was going to present at a Christmas celebration and in another one child had made up new words changing the ‘Hullo Song’ to the ‘I Love you’ song, which we all sang together.

An outline of the content of a typical workshop in the order used for this project:
• Physical and vocal warm-up  - basic stretches, vocalised yawns, sometimes themed around stars in the night sky or going to bed.  Parents with babies and very young children assisted them in moving arms etc.  This established the start of singing time and involved all participants in the same activity while not asking them to sing straight away.
• Warm-up song – the Hullo Song, modern words put to traditional Orkney fiddle tune (Bonnie Tammie Scholar) Simple, catchy chorus using high and low hand actions to reflect high and low notes in the song, identifying the difference between verse and refrain, easy actions in verses.
• Dandling songs – usually starting with Ali Bally Bee (Coultart’s Candy) as this was often one parents found familiar, followed by shorter songs like Wee Chookie Birdie and Hey Jock ma Cuddy, with Crubag Bheag in Gaelic medium setting.  Parents asked to sit child on their knee facing them for these songs, encouraging eye contact.  Dandling involving moving child in time with song, bouncing, ‘rowing’, jigging, ‘dropping’ and so on, to establish link between heard and felt rhythm and develop gross motor control.
• Action songs – children very often facing me copying actions and joining in where capable.  Songs included I Had a Wee Hen, 3 Craws, Katie Bairdie
• Singing Games – circle games like Brochan Lom, parachute games like The Big Ship Sails and Chuir iad mise, chain games like Underneath the Arches and the Fairy Lullaby, encouraging group participation and turn-taking and again identifying the difference between verse and chorus through distinct actions
• Baby ‘swinging’ and dancing – gentler songs like Gille Beag o with the strong rhythm used for full body action either holding a pre-walker with sufficient head control round the trunk and gently swinging in the first part then turning with them held close to chest and using up and down motion for second part, or standing facing confident walker, holding both hands and swinging arms side to side echoing swinging movements.  This emphasises the heard and felt rhythm and eye contact and is more calming than action songs.
• Cuddle and cool down – rocking gently on parents knees or lying on floor with cushions with songs like Nam bu leam fhin thu or Dream Angus
• Story - in many groups we followed up the singing with a story associated in some way with the songs used

Sustaining Participation

A resource CD has been made available to all the groups taking part in the project and CALA member groups which were not included.  The songs on the CD include those used in the workshops and additional songs which might be useful for the groups.  Each CD contains a booklet with full song words and ideas on how to use them in the groups.  CALA staff continue to promote Learning with Lullabies in all member groups through of these CDs within groups to sustain the project. The P & T G Facilitator in Ross-shire is actively supporting 12 P & T groups to Learn with Lullabies.  Parents in some groups have also bought copies for their personal use and permission has been given for groups to make copies for parents to take home.

CDs were included in music resource boxes which were distributed in Inverness Area, as part of a separate project taking place during the course of the Learning with Lullabies project.

Personal Observations

Part of the joy of working on this project has been observing the change in the children’s response to singing and taking part in group activities, particularly when their parent has assumed that they are not interested.

This project has given parents and children the opportunity to try an activity which some had not considered or discounted.

There were many moments in the delivery of this project that will stay with me.  Two stand out as favourites:

On the first visit to one group, a mum with a baby and a toddler set the baby on the floor mat with a toy at the beginning of the workshop, while she took her toddler up on her knee.  I asked her if I could have the baby, so she lifted her onto my knee and gave her a book to amuse her.  She said she thought the baby was too young to participate.  I set the book aside and lead the session with the baby on my knee.  On the final visit, the baby was getting excited at songs she liked and clapping hands in time with the appropriate verse in the ‘Hullo Song’.

One boy refused to tolerate any singing from his mum, to the extent of climbing up onto her knee and covering her mouth, on the first visit.  He tolerated me singing in the room, but his mum said he became aggressive if she tried to sing at home.  On the fourth visit, the group had just received a loan of the ball pool from the Toy Library and he was very excited about trying it out.  I thought we had no chance of getting him out of the pool, so tried one song with him in it, and then suggested we sing Ali Bally.  He dropped the balls he was holding and scrambled out of the pool onto him mum’s knee and participated eagerly with all the songs.  She told me he had completely come round at home and now was happy for her to sing along to anything.  He occasionally still said “Silly Mummy” when she sang, but significantly, she now had the confidence to not let it put her off.

Conclusion

This project succeeded in a number of areas:
• encouraged many parents who had not felt confident about singing with their children
• gave parents ideas of more traditional Scottish songs they could use
• informed parents and other adults in childcare of the benefits of singing with children in bonding, communication, speech and language development, physical awareness
• provided support in a practical way to Parent and Toddler Groups
• introduced children to basic musical awareness with recognition of rhythm, and the concepts of fast/slow, verse/chorus, high/low
• inspired CALA staff to include singing in their work with Parent and Toddler groups
• helped children become comfortable with group participation
• gave some children an outlet to express their own creativity
• inspired and informed my own approach to working with young children and their carers

The statistics gathered from adult participants illustrate reaction to the project.  As a general overview, however, the development in the children is most striking.  Even if the project had not succeeded in most locations, it would have been worthwhile for particular individual children.  These include the boy who could not concentrate through the first workshops and spent most of his time running around, as he normally did at toddler group, but came and sat attentively, focused well and participated in the fourth workshop, and the girl who cried through the first half of the first two sessions, because she found sitting in a circle overwhelming, but came and sat on my knee for most of the fourth visit. 

Organisationally, this project has set the standard for traditional song development work in Scotland.

Learning with Lullabies has really demonstrably touched the lives of so many of the children involved and reignited interest in traditional song as a powerful tool in child development across the Highlands.

The respondent who answered “No” to the question “Do you feel you have learned about any benefits that might come from singing to children” qualified her answer by noting that the session “Reminded me” , acting as a refresher rather than picking up new information.