Rik Leaf's Blog, page 3

Cool Children’s Songs Appropriate For Schools

These Cool Children’s Songs Are Appropriate For Schools (and super fun!)

This is a behind the scenes look at the writing and recording of a fun new album of cool children’s songs appropriate for schools. This is the biggest project I’ve ever been part of. Over a two year period, I traveled thousands of miles across Canada, writing, recording and performing songs with thousands of First Nations, French and English students. This project is the result of hundreds of hours spent talking with students, writing, playing, rehearsing, performing, recording and editing the songs and videos from these experiences. This is a behind the scenes look at the process involved in producing these cool children’s songs and I hope it will be a rich resource for educators across the country and around the world. 

I’ve chosen to feature 20 songs that have transformed classrooms in schools across the country. They are listed in alphabetical order to make it as convenient as possible to scroll through. There are links to videos if you and your students would like to see live performances from the creative projects in each of the schools represented.

Awesome Song was written with a school in Winnipeg, MB. I asked the students to tell me about their class. As a joke, one student shouted, “we’re awesome!”

They all started laughing when I wrote it down on the whiteboard, thinking I was joking. But when I asked them to explain why they were so awesome…that’s when they really got into it and ideas for the verse came together very quickly.

My favourite lyric came as I was trying to think of a word that rhymed with cupcakes. This project was happening in the middle of winter, so ice skates jumped to my mind. As I jotted that down I called over my shoulder and asked them to think of a fast animal. Because it was winter I was thinking of winter animals like polar bears or snow foxes and laughed out loud when a student called out, “a peregrine falcon.”

He thought I was laughing at his suggestion and said really seriously, “Dude…a peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on the planet. It goes over 350 km an hour when it dives!”

“I’m not doubting you,” I laughed, “I just know that if you gave me a week to come up with something I’d never think of peregrine falcon.” It was obviously meant to be because when I grabbed my guitar and sang the line the syllables fit perfectly with the meter of the song.

The Actions have played a huge part in making The Awesome Song a national hit. We point to our chest with our thumbs in a really awesome way when we sing, “I’m awesome.” Then we point to others in our class in a super dramatic (awesome way) when we sing, “you’re awesome” and we throw our arms as high and wide as we can when we sing, “we’re awesome” when we’re together.

Best Day Ever came out of a session with a group of Kindergarten/Grade 1 students in the Northwest Territories. Which is definitely the youngest ages of students I’ve ever written a song with.

I made a list of their favourite activities as they called out things like playing games with their sisters and brothers, break dancing and hunting. I took their laundry list of activities and put it together into this song.

On a return visit to this school, a year later, we had the time to make THIS VIDEO to go with our song. One of my favourite memories of working on this song was the day I was really encouraging the students to shout out the line, ‘Best Day Ever!’ There was one little girl standing with her fingers in her ears, (because it was so loud) but still shouting the phrase at the top of her lungs because she was so into it.

Buddy Bench – Maybe you’ve heard of the buddy bench before, I’d hadn’t before I arrived at this school in northern B.C. The students explained that there was a special bench on the playground that you could go sit on if you didn’t have anyone to play with at recess or lunch. They told me it was everyone’s job to keep an eye on the buddy bench, and if they saw someone sitting on it, they needed to run over and invite them to come and play.

About a year after posting the video on youtube, I got a call from a school in Massachusetts. They were putting in their first buddy bench and were going to have a big ceremony. They’d been searching YouTube for a Buddy Bench song and loved this one I’d written with the students in Fort St John.

They asked me to send the lyrics and chords so they could learn how to play it. It was a fun story to be able to share with the school in northern B.C. when I went back the next year. It’s one of the things I love most about creativity and songwriting, you never know where it will go. We write a song in our little corner of the world and suddenly there are students singing it in other countries.

Captain Fluffy Beard (The Disrespectful Pirate) OK, this was a pretty funny session. I walked into a room with kindergarten and grade 1 students and asked them what they’d like to write a song about. They yelled, “PIRATES!”

As they squealed and shrieked with glee, their teachers managed to say, “well actually…we wanted to write a song about respect.”

I kept a smile on my face, but inside I was starting to freak out, cause I just couldn’t imagine how I could write a song about pirates and respect that would make the students and the teachers happy.

Well, not only did we manage to pull it off…but Captain Fluffy Beard has gone on to become a hit song in schools across Canada. And I’m sure will be with your little swarthy swashbucklers as well.

Change The World (Change le Monde) came together at the last minute. It was the third year in a row that I’d been booked for a one-week Artist in Residence at this French Immersion school. I called the principal on Thursday, just to confirm everything was good to go for the following Monday morning when I was scheduled to start.

The two previous years I had taught slam poetry. But when I asked if they were interested in doing the same thing the principal responded, “oh…I don’t know, what else do you do?”

When I told her about the songwriting project she got really excited and asked if I would be able to incorporate all 360 students in the school. Without thinking about what I was saying, I blurted, “sure, no problem!” Luckily it all turned out.

The school had a huge banner in the hallway that said, “if you change your mindset you can change your world.” That giant poster sparked our conversation about what each student could do to change their world.

I produce multimedia videos during these songwriting sessions, to document the creative process of working together creatively, and to provide as many different ways as possible for students to be involved. Some of us like acting, some are good at art and it’s important to create a win-win environment for everyone.

So we covered one wall in the hallway where students could write iMessages. Like…i feel safe here, i love my school and other positive messages. Some classes made big art projects and others acted out scenes on the playground.

We recorded the performance in the gym on Friday featuring all 360 students. It was deafeningly loud…I’m serious, like AC/DC kind of loud! This remains a really popular song to sing. The call and response lyrics make it easy for students to learn and sing-a-long. It’s also a great reminder for students what a difference their words and attitude can make each day.

Christmas Town is the best Christmas song I’ve ever written. (It’s also the only Christmas song I’ve ever written!)

This class of Grade 1& 2 students were so excited to write a Christmas song, it was absolutely amazing. They had so many great ideas I could hardly write fast enough to get them all down.

We wrote and recorded Christmas Town during the week in November that I was in their school. Their principal told me that they performed this song for the school Christmas program in December a few weeks later…and apparently, they also wrote a couple more verses after I left!

There is a moment captured in the video where a group of girls get up and start walking away from the group right as the song was starting to come together. Thinking I was losing their interest and focus I called out, “where are you guys going?”

“To make the actions!” they responded, already moving on to other important creative matters.

Écoutez Notre Histoire was the song I wrote with the French Immersion school in northern B.C. the year after we wrote Change the World. I don’t speak French, which gives me a great opportunity to learn from the students. I need them to help me write or translate lyrics into French.

Students in the Grade 6 class were fantastic. We were talking about finding our voice so we could share our story with the world…and they started muttering at the back of the room. When I asked what was going on, a few of them came running up and they wrote Écoutez Notre Histoire on the whiteboard…translating the line I’d written, ‘Listen to our Story.’

We ended up developing the bridge part where the Grade 6 students really took over the call and response part and lead the rest of the school, joining me at the front of the gym on Friday when we started recording.

There was a great moment right as we started to record our performance in the gym on Friday afternoon. I got the idea for all the students to punch the sky with their little fists as they yelled, “Hey!” It took our performance to a whole new level of elementary school rock and roll captured wonderfully in the video.

Powerful Slam Poetry Lesson For Middle School Students

Slam Poetry & The Dynamic Combination of Creative Writing & Performance

It seems like everywhere I go these days, I find myself in conversations with people who are facing some really big life decisions. For some it’s about work and changing their profession, for others, it’s been more personal and decisions about their relationships. Through all these conversations, the fascinating thing is what people tell themselves when change is forced on them. If someone believes something is true, then whether it’s correct or not, isn’t the point. If they believe it, then it’s true…for them at least. 

For instance, if you believe you are talented and capable of rising to the challenge of reinventing yourself and finding another employer or a better relationship, then that’s your truth. Belief doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the facts or reality, if you believe it’s true, then it’s true.

Of course, it works the other way as well. If you think your dead end job is the best you can hope for and that you deserve to be treated poorly and taken for granted, then that is also true. This is why it doesn’t matter how many pep talks you give someone or stats or articles you quote…perception is the key that either locks or unlocks the door to the world of possibilities.

This lens of perception has everything to do with a student realizing and reaching their full potential. Perception is the lens that students filter their expectations. I had an opportunity recently to teach slam poetry to middle school students for a week; it was a powerful experience that I’d like to share with you.

When I come into a school I usually see students differently than they see themselves. Not that my perception is right and theirs is wrong, but that we are seeing things differently. The slam poetry lessons I’ve created and taught to thousands of students are at their core, all about providing an experience that changes a student’s perception of themselves and their relationship to the world around them.

For instance…if a student struggles with spelling, that’s usually their lens of perception that they see themselves through, and this dictates what they believe they can or can’t do. So it’s interesting to see what happens when I come in and say, “I don’t care how you spell. No one is going to read your slam poem but you, so if you know what you’re trying to say, that’s all that matters.”

You know what happens? The student’s perception of ‘truth’ changes and they give themselves permission to try, and in the act of trying, discover things about themselves they never knew. Some of the most amazing slam poetry in schools comes from students who typically struggle to write and never participate.

Can I speak candidly? Sometimes they’re the s#* disturbers that drive their teachers crazy. But the thing is they have lots to say and fascinating perspectives on life. They are often the best performers because they have learned to compensate for feeling frustrated and hopelessness with traditional avenues of self-expression and act out in ways that let them have a voice.

I was one of those students myself. I’ve always loved words and I’ve always struggled with things like spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In fact just the other day, I was trying to spell the word, bureaucrat, and I couldn’t even get close enough to spelling it correctly for spell check to offer me the correct answer! It felt like spell check was taunting me, ‘yeah so, whatever you were going for you missed it by a country mile…lol!

This is one of the reasons I love being a slam poet and teaching slam poetry in schools. With slam, you write it, memorize it and perform it, and no one knows how you spelled sovereignty or bureaucrat. Taking creative risks and trying something new is all part of learning who you are and appreciating what makes you who you are. I’m not suggesting that the way it works for me is the right way or the best way, or even the way that will work for you. I’ve just discovered the way that works for me and hope you find the same for yourself.

Providing an opportunity for students to have this type of experience is one of the things I love the most about teaching slam poetry. The way it can alter a student’s perception and transform the truth and their belief in what they are capable of.

Those of you who have gone through my slam poetry training course know that on Day #1, I work with students to write a group poem, and then slam it for them. My goal on the first day is to establish a safe creative environment for students to try something new. I do this by providing a level of anonymity. After establishing a simple writing structure with some common elements, I get every student to write 1-3 lines and then pass their papers in. No one knows whose lines is whose as I start reading them out loud, picking lines here and there to create one big poem on the whiteboard.

The process is collective and lets students see and hear how the creative process works. As I read lines out loud, I comment on what I love about them. I draw their attention to particularly descriptive lines that paint a vivid picture in our mind’s eye and show how our different ways of looking and describing the world compliment one another. When the whiteboard is full, I slam (perform) the poem for the class. This is how I introduce slam poetry as the combination of creative writing and performance.

See slam poetry is different than acting in that we don’t use costumes or props, and it’s different from rap and hip-hop because there is no music or beats. It’s just about words. The lesson on Day #1 is really about showing students that they can do it and that their ideas are just as good as anyone else in the class. As we create a group slam they get to see and hear how their ideas fit with those around them.

If you have haven’t gone through my slam poetry course for schools, you can check out the first lesson HERE. You’ll find the first video in the series, as well as a lesson plan with learning objectives that you can print, and a ‘sample’ slam poem, so you can show your students what their writing can sound like. You are absolutely free to use this lesson with your students in your class; I know they will enjoy it! 

This video is from a middle school I was at a few weeks ago. This is the slam poetry lesson I used on Day #2.  I asked students to write about someone in their class or school that is going through a hard time, and what they would want to say to them. We talked briefly at the beginning of the lesson about ways we can write descriptively, and certain elements they could use to make their writing, ‘paint a picture’ in the mind of their audience. 

Then they wrote for about 15 minutes and spent the remaining class time performing. Poetry slams are really engaging and fun. The audience members are encouraged to be active participants, clapping and cheering the poets to and from the stage as well as giving snaps if they really like something the poet said or how they said it. Over 95% of the class slammed (performed) their poem for the class. And this was just Day #2! If you’re looking for ways to get your students interested in creative writing, I know this will interest you.

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like more info on this lesson.

 

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet, and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests, and abilities can provide. I’m excited to offer teachers and schools my best lessons through a brand new online Slam Poetry Training Course that I developed over the last 10 years teaching slam poetry to thousands of students. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Powerful Slam Poetry Lesson For Middle School Students appeared first on Rik Leaf * Creativity in Education.

Students Describe The Value Of The Creative Process

And What They Have To Say May Surprise You

Bert Ambrose Elementary School is located in Fort St John, B.C. This energetic city once claimed to be the Arts Capital of Northern British Columbia and in the fall of 2016 it was the location for the most ambitious school songwriting schedules I have ever been part of. I’m happy I lived to tell the tale and be able to share some excerpts, as students describe the songwriting experience in their own words.

Here’s Our Production Schedule And How We Organized The Week

There are approximately 350 students at Ambrose from K-G6. Over the course of one week, I worked with 6 different classes to write 6 original songs, in addition to working with a 7th class doing filmmaking. This was an unprecedented production schedule, and frankly, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone! I typically write one song in a week as I work with all the students in a school, and this is in itself incredibly ambitious. So it wasn’t until I actually got to the school on Monday morning that I realized what I’d agreed to. For you songwriters out there, imagine writing, recording and performing 6 original songs in 5 days with 200 trained professional musicians…it would be madness right! Well, this project involved writing original music with 200 elementary students. I would record the melodies and chord progressions of the songs on my phone so that I could listen to the melody walking down the hall from one room to the next. Each song was completely different, so keeping the melodies and chords and lyrics straight was a challenge. So if you hear me talk about the value of taking creative risks, I want you to know that I definitely walk the talk. 



I’ve had the privilege of working at Ambrose for a number of years in a row, and it has let me develop great working relationships with many of the teachers. After the week was over, I got an email from Paula London, who teaches Grade 5 & 6. She let me know that students in her class write blogs, and she gave me access (and the student’s permission) to go read the blog entries they’d written on Friday afternoon immediately following the general assembly where they had just performed and recorded the song we wrote together. The following excerpts are written by the students. I want to share their observations because sometimes I think it’s easy for creative people to forget how amazing the process of being creative is. 

I’ve spent my life writing and playing music on stage and in the studio with other people. And while I love it and appreciate it, I can’t honestly say I always recognize what a miracle it is, and how amazing it is to create something original with a group of people. 

 Students Describing The Creative Process

Jordyn – Having Rik come to our school to write a song with us this week was great! On day 1 we started getting some ideas from students in the class about fair play. On day 2 everyone wrote a small story telling about something that happened in their life or just making it up. Then we gave them to Rik to inspire some ideas for the lyrics of our song. On day 3 we pretty much had a song written we just needed to edit. On day 4 our class practiced singing the song together and in the right melody. And on day 5 our class sang the song in the assembly to the school. Rik is a very awesome guy! If you have him at your school, I bet will be a really great week! 

Dane – Rik and us have been working on a song and it’s really cool. We started by just getting into groups and just writing ideas of what we should put into our song. Second we started going through the ideas and making a song. Third we started to go through the song and read it. Fourth we started singing and practicing. Last we started perfecting it and keep on singing it and start to get ready to sing In front of the whole school. Thanks for listening. 

What Did You Want To Write About?

Jaci – Hey everyone I’m writing about our visit from Rik Leaf this week at Bert Ambrose School. First, we planned a really cool song and it’s about Fair Play and it has lots of cool ways to explain what fair play is. Second, we started to write the song and we added more things as we made it. It was the best experience I ever had. 

Emma – I am telling the story from Mrs. London class. The first day Rik walked in the door we were all excited to get started. We had already figured that we were writing a song. Now this song was going to be not any ordinary song, it was going to be a song about fair play. During the week we wrote and practiced. Today is the day we present the whole song to the school. My classmates are very nervous but also excited to share our creation. 

How Does It Feel To Write A Song?

Arianna – This past week Bert Ambrose elementary was very fortunate to have an amazing poet named Rik Leaf. He went to every classroom around the school telling kids and teachers stories and writing songs! The faces of happiness when he walks in the room. When he leaves the class everyone waves and says bye Rik! After that, we have to do something quiet so Mrs. London can calm us down. Just because Rik gets us so excited! He doesn’t say, this is my song, he says what do you want to do cause this is your song! He is always so excited and has a happy and free spirit. 

Mika – The Rik Leaf Experience! On a normal Monday at Bert Ambrose school someone popped through the door and said, “We’re gonna write songs together!” So we started working and came up with ideas. That’s when we had! The most amazing song ever written. We all practiced and practiced until it was Friday and we had to sing it in front of the whole school! Everyone freaked out because we didn’t think we were ready. That’s when Rik said, “let’s practice one more Time!” So we practiced and nailed it. We got ready and sang our hearts out in front of the school. The school loved it! The school wanted to learn it right away and they did. 

Jessie – The past week at Bert Ambrose has been extremely exciting. The children have had the whole week to spend with Rik Leaf and they created amazing songs. When the kids get to sing their song they have so much adrenaline running through their little bodies that they are almost jumping up and down. So if your school is looking for a singer/artist to teach you class or school how to make a song you should pick Rik Leaf! 

What Are Students Saying About Their Experience?

Jackson – Good morning everybody my name is Jackson and I am going to be your news reporter for today. It is 11:24 in the morning here and we have breaking news! A class in Fort St. John just had CELEBRITY Rik Leaf come to their school and write a song with them. One of the kids in the class said, “We had a blast writing the song!” Another said, “We loved making the song with Rik he is so fun and energetic.” That’s what some of the kids said and I think they had a great time working with him. 

By now you’re probably dying to know what the finished song sounded like when this class performed in front of the school. We liked the idea of someone from the class introducing the song to the school before we performed it. To let the other students know what the song was about and why the class had decided to write about that topic. In the case of, Fair Play, this is a subject that affects students every day, and I think it just made the assembly and the performance of the song that much more meaningful.

We all love being in a situation where we can be part of creating something fun and original. Something like songwriting is cool and lets us discover more about ourselves, and hopefully how we fit with those around us. That is certainly a good description of my own experience writing songs with other people and the inspiration behind this songwriting series in schools.

The Combination of Vulnerability & Confidence

There is a really interesting combination of vulnerability and confidence that comes from sharing the creative process with others. I find creativity blurs the edges of the broad brushstrokes we use to define ourselves and others. When you’re being creative it honestly doesn’t matter if you’re a jock or a dork, or a dorky jock…because it’s a moment of connection, that connects our mind, body, and spirit, but also connects us to others. If your class or your school is dealing with intolerance, lack of acceptance, bigotry, racism or bullying, a creative project like this can be an incredibly powerful agent of change. 

When we start writing a song, we have to break the initial moment of inspiration down into words that can work as lyrics. When I walked into the room this class knew that they wanted to write a song about fair play. So that’s where we started. At that point in the process, my role is to ask questions, things like, what is fair play? Do you have a personal story where someone did or didn’t play fair? How did that make you feel? Why is it important?  This is a quick photo of the whiteboard at the end of our first brainstorming session.

Creativity and the Point of Connection

I find inspiration always has an emotional point of connection for me. Inspiration seems to live in close proximity to imagination, which is where we need to be as songwriters when we are creating something out of nothing. We’re not revamping and old idea, we are leaving the shore and paddling into uncharted territory searching for something totally new. And in addition to connecting our spirit and mind, music physically connects us with our bodies, our vocal cords, or maybe through dance or actions in song. And a song that connects our mind, body and spirit has incredible potential to move us emotionally and spiritually. That’s when a song can talk about things that make us dream and hope of being better than we’ve ever been. Of being the change we’ve never seen. Students start to imagine solutions to problems like bullying or people not playing fair…and it happens in songwriting sessions all the time.

Finding Our Voice & What We Are For 

That’s why I really loved reading how these students described the energy and excitement, as well as the process of writing Fair Play. Lots of times we can get into a habit of describing what we’re against. We’re anti-bullying, anti-exclusion, anti this, that and the other thing. But what are we for? That’s where creativity comes in. Cause it draws us in, it makes a space to come together and create something bigger and better than any of us could on our own.

I might be the ‘professional’ in a school songwriting session, but that doesn’t mean I’m more important than anyone else… when we’re being creative together, we’re all equal. Because everyone has a story. You might be 10 years old, or 40 or 80, but no matter how old you are, you have your own story. We’ve all experience success, we’ve all experienced failure. We’ve all had people say mean things to us and other people who have said really encouraging and inspiring things. We know what that feels like and age does not qualify or disqualify anyone. Everyone’s story is important. Certainly, your story is important for you, but it’s also important for those around you. Because it informs your perspective. The best lyrics in a song about bullying are going to come from a student who has been bullied. Someone who is vulnerable enough to channel their experience and their story into the creation of a song is going to find a confidence and a strength. They will inspire themselves and those around them.

Roots of Empathy

In almost every school I go into, I see a sign in the hall that says, Roots of Empathy. In my humble opinion (and experience) there is almost nothing better for teaching the roots of empathy, than a creative project like this. Because we all need a safe place to take a creative risk and try to do or be or say something we’ve never done before. I don’t care who you are, if you take that risk, you know that scary feeling. Offering a lyric. Trying to sing a melody. Suggesting a phrase or maybe a different groove or an action for the song. Whatever it is, being creative requires vulnerability, and that teaches the roots of empathy and compassion. It’s the perfect training ground to treat others the way we want to be treated and be the change we want to see in the world.

Songs From Schools

Fair Play is one of the most recent songs that has come out of a school songwriting session. If you’re interested, you can listen/download to a brand new album of Songs From Schools that has just been released called, Listen to our Story/Ecoutez Notre Histoire. It features English, French and First Nations students from across Canada.

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet, and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests, and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Students Describe The Value Of The Creative Process appeared first on Creative Resources That Transform Schools.

Students Describe Songwriting Experience (In Their Own Words)

And What They Have To Say May Surprise You

Bert Ambrose Elementary School is located in Fort St John, B.C. This energetic city once claimed to be the Arts Capital of Northern British Columbia and in the fall of 2016 it was the location for the most ambitious school songwriting schedules I have ever been part of. I’m happy I lived to tell the tale and be able to share some excerpts, as students describe the songwriting experience in their own words.

There are approximately 350 students at Ambrose from K-G6. Over the course of one week, I worked with 6 different classes to write 6 original songs, in addition to working with a 7th class doing filmmaking. This was an unprecedented production schedule, to say the least. To write one original song ‘on demand’ in a week, incorporating all the students in a school is in itself incredibly ambitious. To write, record and perform 6 original songs in 5 days involving over 200 students…well, just try and imagine that schedule if everyone involved was a trained and experienced professional musician! I talk a lot about the value of taking creative risks, and for the week at Ambrose, I certainly felt I was walking the talk.  



I’ve had the privilege of working at Ambrose for a number of years in a row, and it has let me develop great working relationships with many of the teachers. After the week was over, I got an email from Paula London, who teaches Grade 5 & 6. She let me know that students in her class write blogs, and she gave me access (and the student’s permission) to go read the blog entries they’d written on Friday afternoon immediately following the general assembly where they had just performed and recorded the song we wrote together. The following excerpts are written by the students. 

 Describing The Process

Jordyn – Having Rik come to our school to write a song with us this week was great! On day 1 we started getting some ideas from students in the class about fair play. On day 2 everyone wrote a small story telling about something that happened in their life or just making it up. Then we gave them to Rik to inspire some ideas for the lyrics of our song. On day 3 we pretty much had a song written we just needed to edit. On day 4 our class practiced singing the song together and in the right melody. And on day 5 our class sang the song in the assembly to the school. Rik is a very awesome guy! If you have him at your school, I bet will be a really great week! 

Dane – Rik and us have been working on a song and it’s really cool. We started by just getting into groups and just writing ideas of what we should put into our song. Second we started going through the ideas and making a song. Third we started to go through the song and read it. Fourth we started singing and practicing. Last we started perfecting it and keep on singing it and start to get ready to sing In front of the whole school. Thanks for listening. 

What Did You Want To Write About?

Jaci – Hey everyone I’m writing about our visit from Rik Leaf this week at Bert Ambrose School. First we planned a really cool song and it’s about Fair Play and it has lots of cool ways to explain what fair play is. Second we started to write the song and we added more things as we made it. It was the best experience I ever had. 

Emma – I am telling the story from Mrs. London class. The first day Rik walked in the door we were all excited to get started. We had already figured that we were writing a song. Now this song was going to be not any ordinary song, it was going to be a song about fair play. During the week we wrote and practiced. Today is the day we present the whole song to the school. My classmates are very nervous but also excited to share our creation. 

How Does It Feel To Write A Song?

Arianna – This past week Bert Ambrose elementary was very fortunate to have an amazing poet named Rik Leaf. He went to every classroom around the school telling kids and teachers stories and writing songs! The faces of happiness when he walks in the room. When he leaves the class everyone waves and says bye Rik! After that, we have to do something quiet so Mrs. London can calm us down. Just because Rik gets us so excited! He doesn’t say, this is my song, he says what do you want to do cause this is your song! He is always so excited and has a happy and free spirit. 

Mika – The Rik Leaf Experience! On a normal Monday at Bert Ambrose school someone popped through the door and said, “We’re gonna write songs together!” So we started working and came up with ideas. That’s when we had! The most amazing song ever written. We all practiced and practiced until it was Friday and we had to sing it in front of the whole school! Everyone freaked out because we didn’t think we were ready. That’s when Rik said, “let’s practice one more Time!” So we practiced and nailed it. We got ready and sang our hearts out in front of the school. The school loved it! The school wanted to learn it right away and they did. 

Jessie – The past week at Bert Ambrose has been extremely exciting. The children have had the whole week to spend with Rik Leaf and they created amazing songs. When the kids get to sing their song they have so much adrenaline running through their little bodies that they are almost jumping up and down. So if your school is looking for a singer/artist to teach you class or school how to make a song you should pick Rik Leaf! 

What Are Students Saying About Their Experience?

Jackson – Good morning everybody my name is Jackson and I am going to be your news reporter for today. It is 11:24 in the morning here and we have breaking news! A class in Fort St. John just had CELEBRITY Rik Leaf come to their school and write a song with them. One of the kids in the class said, “We had a blast writing the song!” Another said, “We loved making the song with Rik he is so fun and energetic.” That’s what some of the kids said and I think they had a great time working with him. 

By now you’re probably dying to know what the finished song sounded like when this class performed in front of the school. We liked the idea of someone from the class introducing the song to the school before we performed it. To let the other students know what the song was about and why the class had decided to write about that topic. In the case of, Fair Play, this is a subject that affects students every day, and I think it just made the assembly and the performance of the song that much more meaningful.

We all love being in a situation where we can be part of creating something fun and original. Something like songwriting is cool and lets us discover more about ourselves, and hopefully how we fit with those around us. That is certainly a good description of my own experience writing songs with other people and the inspiration behind this songwriting series in schools.

The Combination of Vulnerability & Confidence

There is a really interesting combination of vulnerability and confidence that comes from sharing the creative process with others. I find creativity blurs the edges of the broad brushstrokes we use to define ourselves and others. When you’re being creative it honestly doesn’t matter if you’re a jock or a dork, or a dorky jock…because it’s a moment of connection, that connects our mind, body, and spirit, but also connects us to others. If your class or your school is dealing with intolerance, lack of acceptance, bigotry, racism or bullying, a creative project like this can be an incredibly powerful agent of change. 

When we start writing a song, we have to break the initial moment of inspiration down into words that can work as lyrics. When I walked into the room this class knew that they wanted to write a song about fair play. So that’s where we started. At that point in the process, my role is to ask questions, things like, what is fair play? Do you have a personal story where someone did or didn’t play fair? How did that make you feel? Why is it important?  This is a quick photo of the whiteboard at the end of our first brainstorming session.

Creativity and the Point of Connection

I find inspiration always has an emotional point of connection for me. Inspiration seems to live in close proximity to imagination, which is where we need to be as songwriters when we are creating something out of nothing. We’re not revamping and old idea, we are leaving the shore and paddling into uncharted territory searching for something totally new. And in addition to connecting our spirit and mind, music physically connects us with our bodies, our vocal cords, or maybe through dance or actions in song. And a song that connects our mind, body and spirit has incredible potential to move us emotionally and spiritually. That’s when a song can talk about things that make us dream and hope of being better than we’ve ever been. Of being the change we’ve never seen. Students start to imagine solutions to problems like bullying or people not playing fair…and it happens in songwriting sessions all the time.

Finding Our Voice & What We Are For 

That’s why I really loved reading how these students described the energy and excitement, as well as the process of writing Fair Play. Lots of times we can get into a habit of describing what we’re against. We’re anti-bullying, anti-exclusion, anti this, that and the other thing. But what are we for? That’s where creativity comes in. Cause it draws us in, it makes a space to come together and create something bigger and better than any of us could on our own.

I might be the ‘professional’ in a school songwriting session, but that doesn’t mean I’m more important than anyone else… when we’re being creative together, we’re all equal. Because everyone has a story. You might be 10 years old, or 40 or 80, but no matter how old you are, you have your own story. We’ve all experience success, we’ve all experienced failure. We’ve all had people say mean things to us and other people who have said really encouraging and inspiring things. We know what that feels like and age does not qualify or disqualify anyone. Everyone’s story is important. Certainly, your story is important for you, but it’s also important for those around you. Because it informs your perspective. The best lyrics in a song about bullying are going to come from a student who has been bullied. Someone who is vulnerable enough to channel their experience and their story into the creation of a song is going to find a confidence and a strength. They will inspire themselves and those around them.

Roots of Empathy

In almost every school I go into, I see a sign in the hall that says, Roots of Empathy. In my humble opinion (and experience) there is almost nothing better for teaching the roots of empathy, than a creative project like this. Because we all need a safe place to take a creative risk and try to do or be or say something we’ve never done before. I don’t care who you are, if you take that risk, you know that  scary feeling. Offering a lyric. Trying to sing a melody. Suggesting a phrase or maybe a different groove or an action for the song. Whatever it is, being creative requires vulnerability, and that teaches the roots of empathy and compassion. It’s the perfect training ground to treat others the way we want to be treated and be the change we want to see in the world.

Songs From Schools

Fair Play is one of the most recent songs that has come out of a school songwriting session. If you’re interested, you can listen/download to a brand new album of Songs From Schools that has just been released called, Listen to our Story/Ecoutez Notre Histoire. It features English, French and First Nations students from across Canada.

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet, and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests, and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Students Describe Songwriting Experience (In Their Own Words) appeared first on Rik Leaf * Creativity in Education.

Students Describe Songwriting Experience

And What They Have To Say May Surprise You

Bert Ambrose Elementary School is located in Fort St John, B.C. This energetic city once claimed to be the Arts Capital of Northern British Columbia and in the fall of 2016 it was the location for the most ambitious school songwriting schedules I have ever been part of. I’m happy I lived to tell the tale and be able to share some excerpts, as students describe the songwriting experience in their own words.

There are approximately 350 students at Ambrose from K-G6. Over the course of one week, I worked with 6 different classes to write 6 original songs, in addition to working with a 7th class doing filmmaking. This was an unprecedented production schedule, to say the least. To write one original song ‘on demand’ in a week, incorporating all the students in a school is in itself incredibly ambitious. To write, record and perform 6 original songs in 5 days involving over 200 students…well, just try and imagine that schedule if everyone involved was a trained and experienced professional musician! I talk a lot about the value of taking creative risks, and for the week at Ambrose, I certainly felt I was walking the talk.  



I’ve had the privilege of working at Ambrose for a number of years in a row, and it has let me develop great working relationships with many of the teachers. After the week was over, I got an email from Paula London, who teaches Grade 5 & 6. She let me know that students in her class write blogs, and she gave me access (and the student’s permission) to go read the blog entries they’d written on Friday afternoon immediately following the general assembly where they had just performed and recorded the song we wrote together. The following excerpts are written by the students. 

 Describing The Process

Jordyn – Having Rik come to our school to write a song with us this week was great! On day 1 we started getting some ideas from students in the class about fair play. On day 2 everyone wrote a small story telling about something that happened in their life or just making it up. Then we gave them to Rik to inspire some ideas for the lyrics of our song. On day 3 we pretty much had a song written we just needed to edit. On day 4 our class practiced singing the song together and in the right melody. And on day 5 our class sang the song in the assembly to the school. Rik is a very awesome guy! If you have him at your school, I bet will be a really great week! 

Dane – Rik and us have been working on a song and it’s really cool. We started by just getting into groups and just writing ideas of what we should put into our song. Second we started going through the ideas and making a song. Third we started to go through the song and read it. Fourth we started singing and practicing. Last we started perfecting it and keep on singing it and start to get ready to sing In front of the whole school. Thanks for listening. 

What Did You Want To Write About?

Jaci – Hey everyone I’m writing about our visit from Rik Leaf this week at Bert Ambrose School. First we planned a really cool song and it’s about Fair Play and it has lots of cool ways to explain what fair play is. Second we started to write the song and we added more things as we made it. It was the best experience I ever had. 

Emma – I am telling the story from Mrs. London class. The first day Rik walked in the door we were all excited to get started. We had already figured that we were writing a song. Now this song was going to be not any ordinary song, it was going to be a song about fair play. During the week we wrote and practiced. Today is the day we present the whole song to the school. My classmates are very nervous but also excited to share our creation. 

How Does It Feel To Write A Song?

Arianna – This past week Bert Ambrose elementary was very fortunate to have an amazing poet named Rik Leaf. He went to every classroom around the school telling kids and teachers stories and writing songs! The faces of happiness when he walks in the room. When he leaves the class everyone waves and says bye Rik! After that, we have to do something quiet so Mrs. London can calm us down. Just because Rik gets us so excited! He doesn’t say, this is my song, he says what do you want to do cause this is your song! He is always so excited and has a happy and free spirit. 

Mika – The Rik Leaf Experience! On a normal Monday at Bert Ambrose school someone popped through the door and said, “We’re gonna write songs together!” So we started working and came up with ideas. That’s when we had! The most amazing song ever written. We all practiced and practiced until it was Friday and we had to sing it in front of the whole school! Everyone freaked out because we didn’t think we were ready. That’s when Rik said, “let’s practice one more Time!” So we practiced and nailed it. We got ready and sang our hearts out in front of the school. The school loved it! The school wanted to learn it right away and they did. 

Jessie – The past week at Bert Ambrose has been extremely exciting. The children have had the whole week to spend with Rik Leaf and they created amazing songs. When the kids get to sing their song they have so much adrenaline running through their little bodies that they are almost jumping up and down. So if your school is looking for a singer/artist to teach you class or school how to make a song you should pick Rik Leaf! 

What Are Students Saying About Their Experience?

Jackson – Good morning everybody my name is Jackson and I am going to be your news reporter for today. It is 11:24 in the morning here and we have breaking news! A class in Fort St. John just had CELEBRITY Rik Leaf come to their school and write a song with them. One of the kids in the class said, “We had a blast writing the song!” Another said, “We loved making the song with Rik he is so fun and energetic.” That’s what some of the kids said and I think they had a great time working with him. 

By now you’re probably dying to know what the finished song sounded like when this class performed in front of the school. We liked the idea of someone from the class introducing the song to the school before we performed it. To let the other students know what the song was about and why the class had decided to write about that topic. In the case of, Fair Play, this is a subject that affects students every day, and I think it just made the assembly and the performance of the song that much more meaningful.

We all love being in a situation where we can be part of creating something fun and original. Something like songwriting is cool and lets us discover more about ourselves, and hopefully how we fit with those around us. That is certainly a good description of my own experience writing songs with other people and the inspiration behind this songwriting series in schools.

The Combination of Vulnerability & Confidence

There is a really interesting combination of vulnerability and confidence that comes from sharing the creative process with others. I find creativity blurs the edges of the broad brushstrokes we use to define ourselves and others. When you’re being creative it honestly doesn’t matter if you’re a jock or a dork, or a dorky jock…because it’s a moment of connection, that connects our mind, body, and spirit, but also connects us to others. If your class or your school is dealing with intolerance, lack of acceptance, bigotry, racism or bullying, a creative project like this can be an incredibly powerful agent of change. 

When we start writing a song, we have to break the initial moment of inspiration down into words that can work as lyrics. When I walked into the room this class knew that they wanted to write a song about fair play. So that’s where we started. At that point in the process, my role is to ask questions, things like, what is fair play? Do you have a personal story where someone did or didn’t play fair? How did that make you feel? Why is it important?  This is a quick photo of the whiteboard at the end of our first brainstorming session.

Creativity and the Point of Connection

I find inspiration always has an emotional point of connection for me. Inspiration seems to live in close proximity to imagination, which is where we need to be as songwriters when we are creating something out of nothing. We’re not revamping and old idea, we are leaving the shore and paddling into uncharted territory searching for something totally new. And in addition to connecting our spirit and mind, music physically connects us with our bodies, our vocal cords, or maybe through dance or actions in song. And a song that connects our mind, body and spirit has incredible potential to move us emotionally and spiritually. That’s when a song can talk about things that make us dream and hope of being better than we’ve ever been. Of being the change we’ve never seen. Students start to imagine solutions to problems like bullying or people not playing fair…and it happens in songwriting sessions all the time.

Finding Our Voice & What We Are For 

That’s why I really loved reading how these students described the energy and excitement, as well as the process of writing Fair Play. Lots of times we can get into a habit of describing what we’re against. We’re anti-bullying, anti-exclusion, anti this, that and the other thing. But what are we for? That’s where creativity comes in. Cause it draws us in, it makes a space to come together and create something bigger and better than any of us could on our own.

I might be the ‘professional’ in a school songwriting session, but that doesn’t mean I’m more important than anyone else… when we’re being creative together, we’re all equal. Because everyone has a story. You might be 10 years old, or 40 or 80, but no matter how old you are, you have your own story. We’ve all experience success, we’ve all experienced failure. We’ve all had people say mean things to us and other people who have said really encouraging and inspiring things. We know what that feels like and age does not qualify or disqualify anyone. Everyone’s story is important. Certainly, your story is important for you, but it’s also important for those around you. Because it informs your perspective. The best lyrics in a song about bullying are going to come from a student who has been bullied. Someone who is vulnerable enough to channel their experience and their story into the creation of a song is going to find a confidence and a strength. They will inspire themselves and those around them.

Roots of Empathy

In almost every school I go into, I see a sign in the hall that says, Roots of Empathy. In my humble opinion (and experience) there is almost nothing better for teaching the roots of empathy, than a creative project like this. Because we all need a safe place to take a creative risk and try to do or be or say something we’ve never done before. I don’t care who you are, if you take that risk, you know that  scary feeling. Offering a lyric. Trying to sing a melody. Suggesting a phrase or maybe a different groove or an action for the song. Whatever it is, being creative requires vulnerability, and that teaches the roots of empathy and compassion. It’s the perfect training ground to treat others the way we want to be treated and be the change we want to see in the world.

Songs From Schools

Fair Play is one of the most recent songs that has come out of a school songwriting session. If you’re interested, you can listen/download to a brand new album of Songs From Schools that has just been released called, Listen to our Story/Ecoutez Notre Histoire. It features English, French and First Nations students from across Canada.

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet, and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests, and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Students Describe Songwriting Experience appeared first on Rik Leaf Creative Resources.

Songs By Students Features First Nations, French & English

Children’s Album Features Songs Written With First Nations, English, French Students From Across Canada

Something amazing happened when I wasn’t paying attention. I don’t know if you ever have this experience. It seems like every day I have to remind myself of the difference between things that are important, and things that are urgent. It’s so easy to get distracted by the things that seem urgent that I keep missing what’s truly important. Which is the only excuse I have for not realizing that the songwriting sessions I’ve been hosting in schools had produced a ton of incredible songs by students that would make an amazing children’s album featuring French, English and First Nations cultures from across Canada. 

Brief Back Story 

A lot of the work I’ve done for the last few years in schools has involved songwriting. Throughout the course of the week, I work with all the students in the school to write, record and perform an original song. Some of the songs are about school pride or anti-bullying, acceptance; playing fair, friendship, making a difference…basically anything the students and teachers want to write about. One principal told me the school plays the song we wrote over the intercom whenever they have an assembly so that all the students walking through the halls can sing their song together. He said it’s been a great way for students to stay focused on their goals throughout the year. It’s great when these sessions produce a good song, but there are some really significant benefits to the process as well, both for students individually as well as the school as a whole.

The Roots of Empathy

Working together to write a song involves taking creative risks. If we want students, or anyone for that matter, to take a risk, we need to create a safe place. And creating a safe place involves empathy. If someone suggests a lyric idea, and someone else mutters, “that’s stupid” it shuts everyone down, because no one wants to be told they’re stupid.

Team Building

But if someone offers an idea, and they are encouraged and supported, it encourages everyone around them to do the same. Songwriting allows us an opportunity to create something together where our different ideas are not in competition with each other. We all bring our best and brightest ideas together to serve the song and create something better than any of us could on our own.

Developing Creative Capacity & Understanding

For these projects, the creative process is honestly more important than the finished product. Of course, we hope we’ll end up with an amazing song that millions of people want to sing, (this is the dream of pretty much every artist that ever wrote a song!) but that’s not the criterion that determines the value of the process. Learning how to collaborate creatively and support and encourage one another has a lasting benefit for each class, and for developing an inclusive supportive culture in the school.

Anyway, back to the amazing thing that happened when I wasn’t paying attention. A couple of months ago I realized I had a collection of really great songs written with students from across Canada. Some were written in First Nation communities and included traditional language. Some were written in French Immersion schools with students who taught me how to sing, ‘en français’ and there were a bunch of songs written with students from Winnipeg to Victoria. I realized these songs would make an amazing children’s album, and not just any children’s album, but one written BY students FOR students. Which is when this amazing journey of creative collaboration took an unexpected turn.

Recording an album involves a considerable investment of time and money…and you need children to sing on a children’s album! So I threw out a request online to see if anyone would like to be involved in making this project happen.

Viva Voices, a youth choir from Victoria, B.C. responded immediately to say they’d love to be involved. We had a couple of rehearsals together before recording live in two different locations in the city.

I had a similar experience with the Northern Lights Youth Choir and a host of Francophone students from Ecole Central Elementary in Fort St John, B.C. We all met after school in the common area where we set up some portable recording equipment and sang our hearts out for a couple hours.

The process from beginning to end was creative collaboration at it’s finest, and produced this fantastic album,

Songs From Schools – Listen To Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire

The 10 songs represent students from Kátł’odeeche First Nation, NWT, Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario, Francophone students at École Central in Fort St John, B.C. and English schools in Winnipeg, MB, Fort St John and Victoria, B.C.

You can LISTEN or DOWNLOAD the album HERE for FREE!

If you want to donate something you are welcome to do so, but you are under absolutely no obligation. Just click the BUY NOW button and enter $0 if you’d like. Any money raised goes to supporting the Songs From Schools songwriting project.

The project was an absolute labour of love, and it is my privilege and honour to offer it to you as a gift.

There is a button on the page that lets you send the album as a gift. Please feel free to pass the songs on to any students, schools, parents or teachers that you know would be interested.

Most importantly…Enjoy!

 

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet, and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests, and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

The post Songs By Students Features First Nations, French & English appeared first on Rik Leaf * Creativity in Education.

The Value of Culture & Creative Risk Taking

Multi Cultural Children’s Album Featuring English, French & First Nation Students

I don’t know if you have this experience too, but it seems like every day I have to remind myself of the difference between things that are important, and things that are urgent. It’s so easy to get distracted by the things that seem urgent, which is why I didn’t even realize that a series of creative writing sessions in schools had produced a multi cultural children’s album featuring French, English and First Nations students from across Canada.

Brief Back Story 

A lot of the work I’ve done for the last few years in schools has involved songwriting. Throughout the course of the week, I work with all the students in the school to write, record and perform an original song. Some of the songs are about school pride or anti bullying, acceptance; playing fair, friendship, making a difference…basically anything the students and teachers want to write about. One principal told me their school plays their song over the intercom when they have an assembly, so that all the students walking through the halls can sing their song together. He said it’s been a great way for students to stay focused on their goals throughout the year. It’s great when these sessions produce a good song, but there are some really significant benefits to the process as well, both for students individually as well as the school as a whole.

The Roots of Empathy

Working together to write a song involves taking creative risks. If we want students, or anyone for that matter, to take a risk, we need to create a safe place. And creating a safe place involves empathy. If someone suggests a lyric idea, and someone else mutters, “that’s stupid” it shuts everyone down, because no one wants to be told they’re stupid.

Team Building

But if someone offers an idea, and they are encouraged and supported, it encourages everyone around them to do the same. Songwriting allows us an opportunity to create something together where our different ideas are not in competition with each other. We all bring our best and brightest ideas together to serve the song and create something better than any of us could on our own.

Developing Creative Capacity & Understanding

For these projects, the creative process is honestly more important than the finished product. Of course we hope we’ll end up with an amazing song that millions of people want to sing, (the dream of pretty much every artist that ever wrote a song) but that’s not the criterion that determines the value of the process. Learning how to collaborate creatively and support and encourage one another has a lasting benefit for each class, and for developing an inclusive supportive culture in the school.

Anyway, back to the amazing thing that happened when I wasn’t paying attention. A couple of months ago I realized I had a collection of really great songs written with students from across Canada. Some were written in First Nation communities and included traditional language. Some were written in French Immersion schools with students who taught me how to sing, ‘en français’ and there were a bunch of songs written with students from Winnipeg to Victoria. I realized these songs would make an amazing children’s album, and not just any children’s album, but one written BY students FOR students. Which is when this amazing journey of creative collaboration took an unexpected turn.

Recording an album involves a considerable investment of time and money…and you need children to sing on a children’s album! So I threw out a request online to see if anyone would like to be involved in making this project happen.

Viva Voices, a youth choir from Victoria, B.C. responded immediately to say they’d love to be involved. We had a couple of rehearsals together, before recording live in two different locations in the city.

I had a similar experience with the Northern Lights Youth Choir and a host of Francophone students from Ecole Central Elementary in Fort St John, B.C. We all met after school in the common area where we set up some portable recording equipment and sang our hearts out for a couple hours.

The process from beginning to end was creative collaboration at it’s finest, and produced this fantastic album,

Songs From Schools – Listen To Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire

The 10 songs represent students from Kátł’odeeche First Nation, NWT, Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario, Francophone students at École Central in Fort St John, B.C. and English schools in Winnipeg, MB, Fort St John and Victoria, B.C.

You can LISTEN or DOWNLOAD the album HERE for FREE!

If you want to donate something you are welcome to do so, but you are under absolutely no obligation. Just click the BUY NOW button and enter $0 if you’d like. Any money raised goes to supporting the Songs From Schools songwriting project.

The project was an absolute labour of love, and it is my privilege and honour to offer it to you as a gift.

There is a button on the page that lets you send the album as a gift. Please feel free to pass the songs on to any students, schools, parents or teachers that you know would be interested.

Most importantly…Enjoy!

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

The post The Value of Culture & Creative Risk Taking appeared first on Rik Leaf.

The Shared Experience of Youthful Hopes & Dreams

Featuring First Nations, French & English Students From Across Canada

After 18 years as a Canadian artist writing and recording music, I have to be honest…this album featuring songs written with students across Canada is one of the most exciting I’ve ever been part of. 

Songs From Schools is a songwriting series I have been producing in schools across Canada for the last few years. Songwriting offers students a unique opportunity to work together creatively and discover the value of diversity and being gifted differently. I typically spend a week in a school and by Friday we have a finished song and accompanying video that serve as a lasting reminder of the student’s investment. The video and the song are both great resources to help focus students throughout the year on the values and vision they wrote about. 

Listen to Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire features 10 songs written with students from Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT, Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario, Francophone students at École Central in Fort St John, B.C. and English schools in Winnipeg, MB, Fort St John and Victoria, B.C. This album captures not only the energy and excitement of Canadian youth, it is an amazing display of cultural diversity and the shared experience of youthful hopes and dreams.

What Goes Into A Project Like This

Songs From Schools is a week-long Artist in Residence project. Students spend a week with a professional songwriter writing, recording and performing an original song together. They also incorporate a wide variety of artistic disciplines like visual art installations, acting and stop animation to develop their story and to document the creative process for a video. The video is uploaded to YouTube and Facebook, making it convenient for students to share their song and story with their families, friends, relatives, and members of their community. These videos are also great for schools to celebrate their staff and students and what makes their school such a great place. 

In their first session on Monday, students are swept up into the ambition of the project, when they discover that there will be an assembly on Friday afternoon, where every student in their school will perform and record their song. A song that on Monday doesn’t even exist yet…because they haven’t written it yet. This sets the tone and captures the excitement of the creative challenge.

For most students, this is the first time they have ever been part of a creative project like this. Writing and rehearsing an original song in their classroom, recording in hallways, common areas and gymnasiums allow students to experience live music in ways that many have never known.

The Songs From Schools project requires a lot from all of the students. It starts with brainstorming sessions to find common themes and elements for their song. Who are they? How would they describe their school to someone who has never been there before? What do they like best about their school? Do they have a motto? A mascot? Once we have some of these building blocks, then we need to figure out how these elements can fit together in a song and what we want that song to say and sound like. Creativity is not a linear process, it often comes in flashes of inspiration that spark wildfires of imagination. And there is no such thing as failure when you’re being creative, mistakes are just opportunities to learn. It’s very important to create a safe place for students to take creative risks. These songwriting sessions are excellent opportunities to teach the practical value of the roots of empathy.

The Sets’ani Project

Sometimes schools are interested in writing about a specific theme. Chief Sunrise School from the Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT wanted to write an anti bullying song. When I arrived they knew that they wanted to call it, Sets’ani, which means, ‘Be a Friend’ in their South Slavey traditional language. So that’s what we did. You can WATCH THE VIDEO HERE if you’d like to be inspired by the sweetest little anti bullying dudes ever! Writing and creating the song was just part of the project. We also came up with an anti bullying game that identified the power of words to hurt or to encourage.

For th, game we designed a series of cards with words on them. Most of the words were encouraging like, beautiful, smart and helpful. The traditional language teacher worked with the students to translate each of these words into South Slavey. We would place an equal number of cards face down on the floor to match the number of students playing at any given time. Students would all pick up a card without looking at it, and then when everyone had a card, they would turn them over the reveal the word. Most students would have cards with nice encouraging words on them. One student would have a bad word written in black, things like ugly or stupid. And one student would have the word, Sets’ani, written in green. It was the responsibility of the student who got the sets’ani card, to take the bad word away and replace it with a good word.

The game worked really well for these students who were JK-G1. Even if a student didn’t read yet or know the word, they knew that the word written in black ink was the bad one, and if they got the sets’ani card in green, they knew it was up to them to do something to make it better. The song, the game and the video all supported the story the students wanted to tell. At the end of the project they had an official media release in their community, where the Chief and Council came out, members of the RCMP and the media were there, filming interviews with the little project creators. It was adorable! 

The Buddy Bench

Students at Bert Ambrose Elementary in Fort St John, B.C. wanted to write about the Buddy Bench that they had just got for their playground. The Buddy Bench is a great invention. It’s usually a brightly coloured bench that has special significance on a playground. If you don’t have anyone to play with, or you’re feeling lonely or sad, all you have to do is go sit on the Buddy Bench. It’s the responsibility of each student on the playground to keep an eye on the bench, and if they see a buddy in need, it’s up to them to run over and invite them to play.

The Buddy Bench is an idea that’s catching on in schools around the world. So about six months later, I found myself at another school in Hudson’s Hope, B.C. and part of the project was filming the creation and installation of the Buddy Bench on their playground. We used this song for that project as well. Hudson’s Hope is a small community, and there is one school with students from K-G 12. I enlisted some of the high school students to give a rousing speech in the middle of the school performance, because I knew if the oldest students in the school endorsed the Buddy Bench, it would make it that much more powerful for the younger grades. Watch the Hudson’s Hope Buddy Bench VIDEO HERE.

Multi Media Storytelling & Songwriting

Producing a video provides an opportunity for students gifted in many different ways to participate in the project in a way that plays to their strengths. Documenting the creative process as they work together, creates awesome visual elements that reinforce the story behind the song. It’s also great for students to have a way to share their song and experience with friends and families. Many schools use the assembly as an opportunity to invite moms and dads, grannies and grandpas come out to celebrate the creativity of their students.

These Students Showcase Canadian Cultures

The songs on, Listen to Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire, all come with a great back story. Best Day Ever and Sets’ani, were written during sessions with JK-Grade 1 students at Chief Sunrise Education Centre, Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT. ONYAT’A:KA, Shekoli and Christmas Town were written during sessions with students from Standing Stone School at Oneida Nation of the Thames, ON. We were incredibly blessed in both communities to have elders help us incorporate traditional language into the songs.

Change le Monde and Écoutez Notre Histoire were written during sessions with students from École Central Elementary, the French Immersion school in Fort St John, B.C. Central books these creative sessions at the beginning of each year and use the creative process throughout the week and the song and video we create to set the tone for the entire year. Broyden Bennett, the principal at Central told me they play the songs over the intercom throughout the year whenever they have a general assembly, so that as the classes are walking through the halls to the gym they are all singing the song they wrote together. He said it works great to focus their attention, and remind them of who they are.

The Awesome Song and Fill My Bucket were written during sessions with students from Grosvenor School in Winnipeg, MB. The Awesome Song benefits from some awesome actions that has made it a favourite song all across the country.

Canadian Youth Experience Professional Recording Sessions

Recording Songs From Schools was a story in itself and involved setting up portable recording equipment in schools and churches…basically anywhere we could find a space. Students from The Northern Lights Youth Choir in Fort St John came out and sang on Sets’ani, Christmas Town, Best Day Ever and ONYAT’A:KA. 

An awesomely loud group of kids from Ecole Central met in the common area right after school to record, The Awesome Song, Change le Monde and Écoutez Notre Histoire. (and to mock me for my poor pronunciation of French. Don’t worry, it’s OK though, we’re friends!) And students from Viva Youth Voices in Victoria, B.C. gave up weekends and a Pro D day to record Fill My Bucket, The Buddy Bench and Shekoli. Having an opportunity to do a live recording on location, with a professional recording artist in front of an audience, was an experience the students will never forget. 

The Lasting Value Of This Student Songwriting Series

Songwriting is a process of creative vulnerability. It requires everyone involved to offer their best ideas and not get mad or sad if their ideas are not immediately embraced. It involves empathy and energetic support for those around us. Because if someone offers an idea, and someone else says, “that’s stupid” it shuts everyone down, no one is going to want to put their hand up and have that said about them. So we really focus on creating an environment that supports creative risk taking, and most importantly, ensures we’re all having fun.

Songwriting is an opportunity to bring our talents, gifts and ideas together to serve the song and create something bigger and better than any of us could on our own. From talking to teachers, I know that this creative process can have lasting effects on the dynamic of a classroom for an entire school year. Writing, recording and performing a song together can be a great team building experience.

What I Want From You

I hope you take the time to listen to these songs, especially if you are a parent or a teacher or someone who works with youth. This is such a unique collection of songs written with such a wide diversity of students from communities across Canada, I’m making it available to you for FREE! You can CLICK HERE to get your copy. When the music page opens just click on the BUY NOW button and feel free to enter 0 and you’ll be able to download all the songs. You can leave a tip if you want, all the money raised goes back into making Songs From Schools happen. But seriously…you are absolutely encouraged to enjoy this album for free. I’m certain your students will love it.

Feel free to leave comments, ask questions or contact me at 250-896-2572 or info@rikleaf.com if you would like information on booking a songwriting series in your school. 

Enjoy!

 

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet, and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can help students discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

 

The post The Shared Experience of Youthful Hopes & Dreams appeared first on Creative Resources That Transform Schools.

Songs From Schools is Canadian Cultural Creativity

Songs From Schools Features First Nations, French and English Students From Across Canada

After 18 years as a Canadian artist writing and recording music, I have to be honest…this album featuring songs written with students across Canada is one of the most exciting I’ve ever been part of. 

Songs From Schools is a songwriting series I have been producing in schools across Canada for the last few years. Songwriting offers students a very unique opportunity to work together creatively and discover the value of diversity and being gifted differently. I typically spend a week in a school and by Friday we have a finished song and accompanying video that serve as a lasting reminder of the student’s investment. The video and the song are both great resources to help focus students throughout the year on the values and vision they wrote about. 

Listen to Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire features 10 songs written with students from Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT, Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario, Francophone students at École Central in Fort St John, B.C. and English schools in Winnipeg, MB, Fort St John and Victoria, B.C. This album captures not only the energy and excitement of Canadian youth, it is an amazing display of cultural diversity and the shared experience of youthful hopes and dreams.

What Goes Into A Project Like This

Songs From Schools is a week-long Artist in Residence project. Students spend a week with a professional songwriter writing, recording and performing an original song together. They also incorporate a wide variety of artistic disciplines like visual art installations, acting and stop animation to develop their story and to document the creative process for a video. The video is uploaded to YouTube and Facebook, making it convenient for students to share their song and story with their families, friends, relatives and members of their community. These videos are also great for schools to celebrate their staff and students and what makes their school such a great place. 

In their first session on Monday, students are swept up into the ambition of the project, when they discover that there will be an assembly on Friday afternoon, where every student in their school will perform and record their song. A song that on Monday doesn’t even exist yet…because they haven’t written it yet. This sets the tone and captures the excitement of the creative challenge.

For most students this is the first time they have ever been part of a creative project like this. Writing and rehearsing an original song in their classroom, recording in hallways, common areas and gymnasiums allows students to experience live music in ways that many have never known.

The Songs From Schools project requires a lot from all of the students. It starts with brainstorming sessions to find common themes and elements for their song. Who are they? How would they describe their school to someone who has never been there before? What do they like best about their school? Do they have a motto? A mascot? Once we have some of these building blocks, then we need to figure out how these elements can fit together in a song and what we want that song to say and sound like. Creativity is not a liner process, it often comes in flashes of inspiration that spark wildfires of imagination. And there is no such thing as failure when you’re being creative, mistakes are just opportunities to learn. It’s very important to create a safe place for students to take creative risks. These songwriting sessions are excellent opportunities to teach the practical value of the roots of empathy.

The Sets’ani Project

Sometimes schools are interested in writing about a specific theme. Chief Sunrise School from the Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT wanted to write an anti bullying song. When I arrived they knew that they wanted to call it, Sets’ani, which means, ‘Be a Friend’ in their South Slavey traditional language. So that’s what we did. You can WATCH THE VIDEO HERE if you’d like to be inspired by the sweetest lil anti bullying dudes ever! Writing and creating the song was just part of the project. We also came up with an anti bullying game that identified the power of words to hurt or to encourage.

For the game we designed a series of cards with words on them. Most of the words were encouraging like, beautiful, smart and helpful. The traditional language teacher worked with the students to translate each of these words into South Slavey. We would place an equal number of cards face down on the floor to match the number of students playing at any given time. Students would all pick up a card without looking at it, and then when everyone had a card, they would turn them over the reveal the word. Most students would have cards with nice encouraging words on them. One student would have a bad word written in black, things like ugly or stupid. And one student would have the word, Sets’ani, written in green. It was the responsibility of the student who got the sets’ani card, to take the bad word away and replace it with a good word.

The game worked really well for these students who were JK-G1. Even if a student didn’t read yet or know the word, they knew that the word written in black ink was the bad one, and if they got the sets’ani card in green, they knew it was up to them to do something to make it better. The song, the game and the video all supported the story the students wanted to tell. At the end of the project they had an official media release in their community, where the Chief and Council came out, members of the RCMP and the media were there, filming interviews with the little project creators. It was adorable! 

The Buddy Bench

Students at Bert Ambrose Elementary in Fort St John, B.C. wanted to write about the Buddy Bench that they had just got for their playground. The Buddy Bench is a great invention. It’s usually a brightly coloured bench that has special significance on a playground. If you don’t have anyone to play with, or you’re feeling lonely or sad, all you have to do is go sit on the Buddy Bench. It’s the responsibility of each student on the playground to keep an eye on the bench, and if they see a buddy in need, it’s up to them to run over and invite them to play.

The Buddy Bench is an idea that’s catching on in schools around the world. So about six months later, I found myself at another school in Hudson’s Hope, B.C. and part of the project was filming the creation and installation of the Buddy Bench on their playground. We used this song for that project as well. Hudson’s Hope is a small community, and there is one school with students from K-G 12. I enlisted some of the high school students to give a rousing speech in the middle of the school performance, because I knew if the oldest students in the school endorsed the Buddy Bench, it would make it that much more powerful for the younger grades. Watch the Hudson’s Hope Buddy Bench VIDEO HERE.

Multi Media Storytelling & Songwriting

Producing a video provides an opportunity for students gifted in many different ways to participate in the project in a way that plays to their strengths. Documenting the creative process as they work together, creates awesome visual elements that reinforce the story behind the song. It’s also great for students to have a way to share their song and experience with friends and families. Many schools use the assembly as an opportunity to invite moms and dads, grannies and grandpas come out to celebrate the creativity of their students.

These Students Showcase Canadian Cultures

The songs on, Listen to Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire, all come with a great back story. Best Day Ever and Sets’ani, were written during sessions with JK-Grade 1 students at Chief Sunrise Education Centre, Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT. ONYAT’A:KA, Shekoli and Christmas Town were written during sessions with students from Standing Stone School at Oneida Nation of the Thames, ON. We were incredibly blessed in both communities to have elders help us incorporate traditional language into the songs.

Change le Monde and Écoutez Notre Histoire were written during sessions with students from École Central Elementary, the French Immersion school in Fort St John, B.C. Central books these creative sessions at the beginning of each year and use the creative process throughout the week and the song and video we create to set the tone for the entire year. Broyden Bennett, the principal at Central told me they play the songs over the intercom throughout the year whenever they have a general assembly, so that as the classes are walking through the halls to the gym they are all singing the song they wrote together. He said it works great to focus their attention, and remind them of who they are.

The Awesome Song and Fill My Bucket were written during sessions with students from Grosvenor School in Winnipeg, MB. The Awesome Song benefits from some awesome actions that has made it a favourite song all across the country.

Canadian Youth Experience Professional Recording Sessions

Recording Songs From Schools was a story in itself and involved setting up portable recording equipment in schools and churches…basically anywhere we could find a space. Students from The Northern Lights Youth Choir in Fort St John came out and sang on Sets’ani, Christmas Town, Best Day Ever and ONYAT’A:KA. 

An awesomely loud group of kids from Ecole Central met in the common area right after school to record, The Awesome Song, Change le Monde and Écoutez Notre Histoire. (and to mock me for my poor pronunciation of French. Don’t worry, it’s OK though, we’re friends!) And students from Viva Youth Voices in Victoria, B.C. gave up weekends and a Pro D day to record Fill My Bucket, The Buddy Bench and Shekoli. Having an opportunity to do a live recording on location, with a professional recording artist in front of an audience, was an experience the students will never forget. 

The Lasting Value Of This Student Songwriting Series

Songwriting is a process of creative vulnerability. It requires everyone involved to offer their best ideas and not get mad or sad if their ideas are not immediately embraced. It involves empathy and energetic support for those around us. Because if someone offers an idea, and someone else says, “that’s stupid” it shuts everyone down, no one is going to want to put their hand up and have that said about them. So we really focus on creating an environment that supports creative risk taking, and most importantly, ensures we’re all having fun.

Songwriting is an opportunity to bring our talents, gifts and ideas together to serve the song and create something bigger and better than any of us could on our own. From talking to teachers, I know that this creative process can have lasting effects on the dynamic of a classroom for an entire school year. Writing, recording and performing a song together can be a great team building experience.

What I Want From You

I hope you take the time to listen to these songs, especially if you are a parent or a teacher or someone who works with youth. This is such a unique collection of songs written with such a wide diversity of students from communities across Canada, I’m making it available to you for FREE! You can CLICK HERE to get your copy. When the music page opens just click on the BUY NOW button and feel free to enter 0 and you’ll be able to download all the songs. You can leave a tip if you want, all the money raised goes back into making Songs From Schools happen. But seriously…you are absolutely encouraged to enjoy this album for free. I’m certain your students will love it.

Feel free to leave comments, ask questions or contact me at 250-896-2572 or info@rikleaf.com if you would like information on booking a songwriting series in your school. 

Enjoy!

 

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

 

The post Songs From Schools is Canadian Cultural Creativity appeared first on Rik Leaf * Creativity in Education.

Songs From Schools is Canadian Creativity

Songs From Schools Features First Nations, French and English Students From Across Canada

I’m so excited to tell you about this project. Songs From Schools is a songwriting series I have been producing in schools across Canada for the last few years. Listen to Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire features 10 songs that come from time I spent with students from Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT, Oneida Nation of the Thames in Ontario, Francophone students at École Central in Fort St John, B.C. and English schools in Winnipeg, MB, Fort St John and Victoria, B.C.

When I come to a school I spend a week with students writing, recording and performing original songs together. On Monday, when I describe the project and what we’re going to do, I tell them, “on Friday the entire school is going to be in the gym where we will perform and record our song…a song that doesn’t exist yet, because we haven’t written it yet.” For most students this is the first time they have ever been part of a creative project like this. Writing and rehearsing an original song in their classroom, recording in hallways, common areas and gymnasiums allows students to experience live music in ways that many have never known.

The Songs From Schools project requires a lot from everyone involved. It starts with brainstorming sessions and trying to find common themes and elements of their story. Who are they? How would they describe their school to someone who has never been there before? What do they like best about their school? Do they have a motto? A mascot? Sometimes schools are interested in writing about a specific theme. Chief Sunrise School from the Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT wanted to write an anti bullying song. When I arrived they knew that they wanted to call it, Sets’ani, which means, ‘be a friend’ in their South Slavey traditional language. So that’s what we did. You can WATCH THE VIDEO HERE if you’d like to be inspired by the sweetest lil anti bullying dudes ever!

Students at Bert Ambrose Elementary in Fort St John, B.C. wanted to write about the Buddy Bench that they had just got for their playground. The Buddy Bench is a great invention. It’s usually a brightly coloured bench that has special significance. If you don’t have anyone to play with, or you’re feeling lonely or sad, all you have to do is go sit on the Buddy Bench. It’s the responsibility of each student on the playground to keep an eye on the bench, and if they see a buddy in need, it’s up to them to run over and ask them to play.

I draw on my background in TV and film, to video the creative process as the school works together to create visual elements to accompany the song. This makes space for as many students to be involved creatively as possible and gives us a fun product at the end that students can share with their families. Many schools use the assembly as an opportunity to invite moms and dads, grannies and grandpas come out to celebrate the creativity of their kids.

The songs on, Listen to Our Story/Écoutez Notre Histoire, all come with a great back story. Best Day Ever and Sets’ani, were written during sessions with JK-Grade 1 students at Chief Sunrise Education Centre, Kátł’odeeche First Nation in NWT. ONYAT’A:KA, Shekoli and Christmas Town were written during sessions with students from Standing Stone School at Oneida Nation of the Thames, ON. We were incredibly blessed in both communities to have elders help us incorporate traditional language into the songs.

Change le Monde and Écoutez Notre Histoire were written during sessions with students from École Central Elementary, the French Immersion school in Fort St John, B.C. Central books these creative sessions at the beginning of each year and use the creative process throughout the week and the song and video we create to set the tone for the entire year. The principal told me they play the songs over the intercom throughout the year whenever they have a general assembly in the gym, so that as the classes are walking through the halls to the gym they are all singing the song they wrote together. He said it works great to focus their attention, and remind them of who they are.

The Awesome Song and Fill My Bucket were written during sessions with students from Grosvenor School in Winnipeg, MB. The Awesome Song benefits from some awesome actions that has made it a favourite song all across the country.

Recording Songs From Schools was a story in itself and involved portable recording set ups in schools and churches…basically anywhere we could find a space. Students from The Northern Lights Youth Choir in Fort St John came out and sang on Sets’ani, Christmas Town, Best Day Ever and ONYAT’A:KA. An awesomely loud group of kids from Ecole Central met in the common area right after school to record, The Awesome Song, Change le Monde and Écoutez Notre Histoire. (and to mock me for my poor pronunciation of French) And I was very fortunate to discover Viva Youth Voices in Victoria, B.C. who recorded Fill My Bucket, The Buddy Bench and Shekoli.

Songwriting is a process of creative vulnerability. It requires everyone involved to offer their best ideas and not get mad or sad if their ideas are not immediately embraced. It demands empathy and energetic support for those around us. Because if someone offers an idea, and someone else says, “that’s stupid” it shuts everyone down, no one is going to want to put their hand up and have that said about them. So we really focus on creating an environment that supports creative risk taking, and most importantly ensures we’re having fun.

Songwriting is an opportunity to bring our talents, gifts and ideas together to serve the song and create something bigger and better than any of us could on our own. From talking to teachers, I know that this creative process can have lasting effects on the dynamic of a classroom for the rest of the year. Writing, recording and performing a song together can be a great team building experience. I hope you take a few minutes and listen to some of the songs. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions…and by all means feel free to BUY A COPY! Proceeds from this project help fund this songwriting project.

 

Hi, my name is Rik Leaf. I love everything I get to do as a recording artist, producer, slam poet and writer. But I particularly enjoy working with schools and communities where I can empower and encourage students by helping them discover the unique opportunities their talents, interests and abilities can provide. Songs From Schools is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been part of!

 

The post Songs From Schools is Canadian Creativity appeared first on Rik Leaf.