SC Hopes and Dreams Conference 2010

Hi Everyone,

On March 20th, 2010 Bryann and I volunteered for the Annual Hopes and Dreams Conference for South Carolina families with children who have special needs. What an experience it was to reach out to the children and their siblings who are apart of this program. We enjoyed a memorable time with the children as we led them in some fun Kindermusik activities during while their parents were attending the conference.

Everyone enjoyed time with the giant parachute. -always a big hit!
We all joined in for a circle dance to 'Wheels on the Bus' and even played "popcorn" with balls, balloons and even some of the light weight musical instruments.

Making Memories with the children singing a familiar tune with the guitar.


This is a model of the Family Time classroom as we included all ages and their caregivers (in this case, volunteers)

During the clip below, you will see us all singing joyfully to 'Old McDonald'. Watch the little boy in the yellow and blue stripped shirt. You will notice that he comes up to me and feels comfortable enough to sit right by my side and strum to the beat of the song.

What an extraordinary moment...a child enjoying the moments of a Kindermusik class, feeling completely uninhibited to make music with us in his own very special way. To encourage this type of reaction is true for ALL educators of all class sizes and all students, not just special needs classrooms.

As Kindermusik educators, our goal is to encourage the children to make music in their own way and in their own time. The benefits seen from this principle are remarkable, especially in a classroom dynamic such as this demo.

Music is indeed heard, felt and expressed by ALL.