Returning students

Hello Dear Parents of the Little Lambs Choir. 


At the time of writing this we will have completed three weeks. This is no small feat; it is filled with many successes, frustrations, explorations and discovering what it means to be a part of the Little Lamb Choir. For many young learners the adjustment to being at the schola whether it be their first exposure or as a returning student is not easy. 


However, I know that this is going to be a great year. Returning students are setting great examples on all fronts - in their behaviours, enthusiastic singing and learning to be leaders. New students are finding their way albeit some timidly and others more comfortably. Already even the most timid are singing so that I may hear them and those who as yet are finding their singing voices are trying to match my voice. In one on one times spent either in class or out of class they are all discovering that we all have very low and high voices and everything in between. Our choir time is a great opportunity to discover all of our voices. For some this comes very naturally and for others, they merely need to attend to sound differently. Some get stuck in a very low voice modelling their dads and for others egocentrism may play a role; to hear oneself, the inexperienced singer may sing something totally different. This is not atypical in an early choir experience. At this point, I am so very proud of all of them. 


We already have our first First Friday Mass under our belts and the Little Lambs are very excited about being cantors along with the Junior Choir for the Kyrie for the mass in October.  This is from the new mass setting by Merbecke. Please look at the timelines in your child's binder.


A number of students have shared what they are singing at home from their binders. As promised, here are some gentle reminders of what you may do at home in the next month:


Material placed at the front of the binder are things that you may work on with your child. It may be memory work as everything we sing is memorized. Certainly, even though we only do one verse of a hymn for each mass - these hymns are longer than much of the repertoire that we do. The same is true for our Nine Lessons and Carols hymn which will be in the binder very soon. The work you do at home is not intended to be drudgery, but rather a way to have fun making music together and allow your child to shine. Let your child guide you and teach you a game or one of their favorite songs.


Miss Katheryne