Extraordinary music with extraordinary children

Unique little characters

Our conversation takes place in the classroom where Hilde and Katrien daily take a group of eight children along. The room is colorful, with green as the dominant color. Yet it never looks busy at any moment. Katrien: “The layout has been well thought out. Everything is always in the same place: a basic requirement for our kids!”

The only noise today is the sound of drilling and knocking coming from workmen hanging new screens. It is the perfect day for it: the teachers have a pedagogical study day. Katrien: “On a normal school day, these works could not take place. Not one child reacts the same, but all are very sensitive to stimuli.”

The children in Hilde and Katrien’s class are all blind or visually
impaired. In addition, they also have another motor or mental disability
or struggle with behavioral difficulties. They have diverse
developmental ages, regardless of their actual ages. Hilde: “They are one by one special children, each with unique little characters and their own needs and points of attention.”

Access gates

Katrien: “Our children do not talk or talk little, but they do communicate, with their whole body. We are always attentively looking for ‘access gates’ to reach each child. Every subtle signal they send out can be important.” Hilde: “Each child requires a different approach. Even though there are only eight, we are continuously busy observing them and understanding them better.”

To stimulate the children maximally in their developmental process, to make their lives more pleasant, to do good: these are important drivers for kindergarten teacher Katrien. Katrien: “Step by step we want to teach them new knowledge and skills. This is a process of long breath in which we have maximum attention for each child.”

Hilde, in turn, cherished from a young age the dream to work with blind and visually impaired children. That dream came true when she started working as a child carer at Kasterlinden a few years ago. Hilde: “Still, it is, both physically and mentally, a challenging group to work with. Our kids require a lot of care and can themselves find it difficult to indicate what is going on within them.”

Nina, an intern in Orthopedagogy, joins us. She talks enthusiastically about her instructive journey at Kasterlinden. Hilde and Katrien are also very pleased with her presence. In principle, they should have three teachers for the class, but the teacher shortage is also felt here.

An artist in the classroom

Katrien: “Onze kinderen hebben allemaal hun eigen willetje. Als iets hen niet aanstaat, durven ze wel eens te roepen, of ons de rug toe te keren. We zoeken voortdurend naar een goed evenwicht tussen inspanning en ontspanning. Tussen nieuwe prikkels en nieuwe ervaringen, en de kinderen de tijd geven om die te verwerken. Routine en structuur zijn daarin erg belangrijk.”

Collaborating with an external artist or facilitator is therefore always a bit exciting, Hilde and Katrien agree. Yet they did not hesitate for a second when Lasso proposed organizing an artistic project in the class. They co-wrote the call, then Lasso looked for a suitable artist. And one was found: shortly after, musical artist Zoë De Bock started for six hours of artistic workshops, spread over six weeks.

First, there was an introduction with the teachers and the children: “That was important. It gave us the opportunity to determine the theme of the workshops together with Zoë: kitchen and kitchen utensils. We also discussed the most important points of attention per child. For an external person, it is anything but easy to ‘read’ this group of children.” Hilde: “We also reassured Zoë: ‘It is okay if certain children do not immediately participate, react sadly, or suddenly leave and do something else. By being present in the room, they are involved in their own way.’”

Katrien: “If you force these children to participate, you usually get an adverse effect. They need time to get used to new people and new experiences: give them that time. Once they take the step themselves to participate, you have their attention.” Hilde: “Also after the workshops, we gave our children the time and space to process the stimuli they received. We saw that there was a lot in their little heads that needed to fall back into place.”

Attention for every child

Hilde: “From the first workshop, Zoë had an eye for the uniqueness of each
child. She was fully present, took time for each child, and even let the children run their hands through her hair. She truly let them in completely, that was very beautiful to see.”

Katrien: “For Zoë it was also quite exciting: this was the first time she was
working with this target group. We therefore evaluated briefly after each workshop.” Hilde: “In one of the workshops, we used a snoezel room, but this did not work: the children became overstimulated. Then we decided to change course.”

Katrien: “It is important to test things and have an eye for what works or not. One day is not the other. Just like us, the children do not react the same way every day.” Hilde: “Zoë wondered what the end result of the workshops should be. We emphasized that there was no need to work towards something specific. A quality process of each workshop is what counts.”

Katrien: “Zoë worked with simple materials, such as plastic film, aluminum foil, bottles filled with rice, balloons with couscous, rubber bands, tin cans. Materials that immediately caught the attention of each child.” Hilde: “First Zoë made sounds with the material herself. The next workshop she brought a microphone and mixing panel and recorded the sounds the children made.” Katrien: “Her ideas were surprising and her auditory-sensory approach made it very accessible for the children. Even though the whole group was not immediately on board, eventually each child let themselves be carried away by the sounds Zoë produced.”

Like a fish in water

Katrien pulls out her smartphone and shows a video of one of the workshops. Zoë sits on the floor with the children. With her warm soft voice, she
sings to sounds she recorded during a previous workshop. She vocalizes the names of each child. That does not miss its effect.

Two children are also visible. Both are completely blind, Katrien says. The boy is sitting on his knees, almost on Zoë’s lap. He moves his whole body, his arms and legs go back and forth to the rhythm of the music. The girl lies on her stomach, her head towards Zoë, with her nose flat on the ground. She also makes small movements, like a little fish in the water. Each in their own way, they get lost in the music. The event is almost a performance in itself. The image moves me.

Katrien and Hilde are also moved by the workshops. The further the conversation progresses, the more their eyes shine. “Yes, this whets the appetite for more,” they say in unison. Katrien: “Zoë has inspired us greatly.”
Hilde: “One of our children keeps repeating Zoë’s name when we make music. She is missed!”

Our children deserve this extra

How a follow-up could look like, I ask. Hilde: “Music is and remains an important medium to engage with our children. It works to connect. One child wiggles, another dances, yet another listens quietly, but all enjoy in their own way. The tactile aspect is also important: children must be able to touch things.”

Hilde: “We ourselves also do not miss any opportunity to get creative. We have already visited the petting zoo, which was only possible thanks to many helping hands, and a musician once came to play the djembe.” Katrien: “We also go swimming weekly and once a week someone comes with therapy dog Barney.” Hilde: “Last week, we also fully took advantage of the winter weather: Katrien pulled the children on a sled across the snowy lawn. They shrieked with joy!”

Hilde: “The possibilities to work artistically with these children are not very extensive. Yet it is possible, as long as we work from the children and their rhythm.” Katrien: “The offerings from cultural institutions and artists should focus even more on our children. ‘Don’t hesitate, just do it: our children are treasures, each with their own characteristics and talents. They deserve this extra. They deserve their place in society.’”