On Saturday, September 28th, from 1:00 – 2:00 pm AYLUS Roslyn Branch taught basic concepts of music to people ranging from ages 5-18 from the Brookville Center for Children’s Services.
As ambassadors of music, our goal was to teach those with an IDD, who are not fortunate enough to receive a 40-minute music class offered by public schooling, how we can express feelings generated by music. In our class of 20 students, each with a unique Intellectual and Developmental Disability, we first read the story “Niko Draws a Feeling,” to introduce the concept of how one can express their emotions after feeling something by providing the example of Niko, a kid who expresses his feelings through abstract drawings. Catering to each person’s level of understanding, we asked questions during the telling of the story to recapture their attention and to make sure most people were following. After the story, we played Disney songs through speakers ranging from “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch” to “Reflection” from Mulan, explaining how each song sparked a different feeling, using simple words like “sad” and “happy.” Finally, we instructed the kids to put this feeling into coloring and drawing, as an attempt to help them communicate how they felt.
Teaching a group of kids with varied learning capabilities was way different than other forms of teaching. We learned important lessons in communicating to people with an IDD, discovering the importance of repetition and eye contact. Seeing these kids enjoy the music being played for them, we are filled with satisfaction as well.
Bringing music to the IDD community creates a sense of belonging which everyone should feel. Music is such an important part of the intellectual development of children – from improving cognitive skills to emotional intelligence, learning even just the basic concepts of music can have amazing benefits.
Members who participated include:
Kayla Chu (1 hour), Hanrui Wang (1 hour), Brooke Zheng (1 hour), Christopher Zhu (1 hour)
Reporter: Christopher Zhu