This morning the girls and I were having a very uneventful morning. They were working with play dough and I was thumbing through a magazine when we heard...
Come along, sing a song
It's the Music Mobile
Have fun, build a drum
It's the Music Mobile
If you're a kid, bring a friend
It's the Music Mobile
It's a treat
On the street
Be the beat
Of the Music Mobile!
being pumped from a brightly painted van driving down our block. Our ears perked right up and we knew we had to follow it to the park. Albany is very lucky to have Ruth Pelham and her Music Mobile who bring music and simple projects to city parks. This morning she and her helpers brought along a big parachute. So after a song or two and introductions, we played. As I was tending to Fran on the slide I had the opportunity to snap a few photos.
Today's group was small, intimate, and very sweet. Last year there were many sessions that had up to fifty kids which is also blast. She gets the kids tapping and jumping and singing and clapping with one another. There was a woman there in her thirties, I'd say, who started going to the Music Mobile when she was five years old. So cool!
The project we worked on was planting Impatiens in pots and decorating them. We passed the seedlings around saying "Here is a plant of kindness" and "Here is a plant of harmony." Rather than feeling like a big cheeseball, it sent little shivers up my spine. Ruth is teaching these magnificent words to kids in a world where they are sometimes forgotten.
The Music Mobile visits our neighborhood the next two Wednesdays and next week we will be building an instrument. Summer in the city!