Week of November 27th, 2012

THE OPERA!

Today, our students learned about the opera!

The kids were entertained by me demonstrating the idea that you "sing everything" in opera by pretending to go about a normal day at Joyful Noise using nothing but a singing voice. They really thought that was hilarious!

I also told them I was going to show them a picture of several famous opera singers, and I brought this out: 

Students were very suprised to discover that one of their favorite children's shows (Wonder Pets on Nickelodeon) is actually an "opera" in cartoon form!

You won't believe how well our two year old class knew and sang this show's theme song with me, the first time around!

CHECK OUT THE MP3 HERE (TWO'S CLASS SINGING "WONDER PETS")

I also introduced our friends to the famous opera singer, Luciano Pavarotti. Each classroom has a picture of him on their wall today so students will remember learning about him and also watching his brilliant performance of "Ave Maria" (see the youtube video below!) 

Along with learning about this famous operatic voice, 
we also learned that: 

--Bel Canto is an Italian term for "beautiful singing"

--Operas can be serious or funny!

--Opera singers sing very loudly with strong vocal and diaphragm muscles

Our younger students also used shakers and did our usual favorite movement songs: bouncing songs, Knees Up Mother Brown, and Elevator/Escalator!

Through repetitive movement songs we are not only experiencing the music, but also learning to control our bodies and predict what comes next.  They just never seem to get tired of some of these fun tunes. There's always something new to learn!

We also had a ton of fun "freeze dancing" to the beats on the keyboard. 

Check it out!

Week of November 20th, 2012

Our classes enjoyed singing songs today about being grateful and polite (see songs and lyrics below) and dancing with the keyboard, but a real highlight for each class was the music from classic musical, Oliver! I brought in an image of the original Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist" text cover and explained a bit of the storyline to the children, along with the definition of a "musical play" and also the musical term "accelerando" . Accelerando means to increase speed throughout a musical piece. If you listen carefully to the video we watched in class today ("Food, Glorious Food" which is posted below) you will hear this increased speed from beginning to end!  The children were very fascinated by the story itself and greatly enjoyed the video, and learning about "gruel" (Yuck!).  We discussed how very lucky we are to have such wonderful food to eat both at home and school, and expressed our gratitude for the other things in our life that we are lucky to have! Check out the video below and don't forget to ask your child some of the prompts below to engage in their learning here at Joyful Noise music classes! :)

I'd also like to remind parents that next week on Thursday, November 29th, an opera singer Miss Molly Alman will be visiting the sanctuary at First Presbyterian from 3:45-4:15 p.m. to share her singing voice with us. We are so excited to learn about opera that week and get a chance to hear some performed live!

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MANNERS IN SPANISH

If you want to say please, say por favor! 

If you want to say please, say por favor! 

If you’d like to have some more

garlic bread or milk to pour

If you want to say please, say por favor! 

If you want to say thanks, say gracias! 

If you want to say thanks, say gracias! 

If you want to say thanks 

For the mac n’ cheese and franks 

If you want to say thanks, say gracias!

If you want to say you’re welcome, say de nada! 

If you want to say you’re welcome, say de nada! 

If you’re happy just to share

Your yummy dinner and a prayer  

If you want to say you’re welcome, say de nada!

Click here to hear our JN Toddler Class 

singing this song! (Mp3 Download)

PROMPTS: Questions to ask your child this week about music!

1.  What was Oliver singing about in the video you watched today? (For ages three and up).

2.  Do you know how to say "please" in Spanish? Or "Thank You"? Or "You're Welcome"?

3, What are you grateful for?

Week of November 13th, 2012

IT'S NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER LOVERS MONTH!

We enjoyed singing about peanut butter in music class today! In case you are wondering, our normal schedule was "flip flopped"; "Opera Week" has been moved to the week of the 27th to accomodate a schedule change for our special guest and opera singer, Miss Molly Alman! Miss Molly will be singing and talking to the children about the opera on Thursday, November 29th, at 3:45 p.m. in the sanctuary here at First Presbyterian! Parents are welcome to attend if they wish! Due to change in her visit time, we have moved our scheduled lessons so that we can learn about the opera on our Tuesday class right before she arrives later in the week. That way, our new knowledge is fresh!

Back to the peanut butter at hand...

As you likely know, we are a peanut free center! Therefore, we only serve soy butter at Joyful Noise! However, with a minimal amount of peanut allergies, most of our students have a healthy appreciation for the beloved treat. The first task on the agenda was to complete the graph I had each classroom participate in: Crunchy vs. Smooth. What did students prefer? Ask your child where they put their sticker or mark. The charts are displayed in classrooms this afternoon!

We also sang the traditional "Peanut Butter and Jelly Song" with movements and also "A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track" with our Remo lollipop drum and the recorder/triangle. Students practiced resting and playing on cue for the sound effects, and older students also watched a short movie on the making of peanut butter! (See the Youtube video below). We even moved our body with "PB+J stretches".

They also really enjoyed singing and dancing with the new keyboard that Miss Sally provided the music program with! Thank you, Miss Sally!

Are you craving peanut butter yet? I know I sure am! :) Check out our adorable students below singing, moving and graphing.

QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT MUSIC TODAY TO FACILITATE THEIR LEARNING AND RECALL

1. What type of peanut butter did you vote for on the chart? What were the choices?

2.  What types of foods do you like to eat peanut butter with?

3. What does it mean to "rest" when you are playing music?

4. What instruments did you see today in music class?

5. What happened to the peanut who sat on the railroad track?

The four year old room's graph!

Week of November 6th, 2012

THE CLARINET!

I am a woodwind. I have  REED. Blow air through me and press the keys!

The kids very much enjoyed learning about the clarinet, exploring the pieces and their names, and also enjoying the wonderful and famous music of Benny Goodman, a famous clarinet player!

We started out by taking a look at the elements of the clarinet (from the top to bottom): the mouth piece, the reed, the ligature (metal "gasket" that holds the reed in place on the mouthpiece), the barrel joint, the upper joint, the lower joint, and the bell! I did play a few tunes! (Not my best instrument, but I can play simple lullabies!)

I told the children about the clarinet being a reeded woodwind instrument, and demonstrated how to grease the cork that lines the end of each barrel piece as I put it together. Older children learned about the diaphragm muscle in their chest and how it relates to breathing and woodwind playing. I also showed them how to properly clean the clarinet after using!

We then listened to some of the fabulous big band music of Benny Goodman and his orchestra! Check out the pictures and videos below! (Be sure not to miss our "montage" of fabulous dance moves--no one could sit still during the big band today, not even teachers!!!)

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BENNY GOODMAN DANCE OFF!

Benny Goodman "Stardust"