Week of October 28th, 2013

BANJO WITH PASTOR TOM!

Today we really enjoyed having a banjo assembly with Pastor Tom in the Sanctuary at First Presbyterian church!

Pastor Tom taught us a little about the banjo, it's origins, and showed us some fun tunes! The children enjoyed listening to the banjo and got to touch the strings and do a little dancing. We also had a fun banjo coloring sheet that was sent to classrooms after the assembly! 

Did you know that there are banjos made from dried pumpkins and other large gourds?  It is believed that the banjo originated in West Africa, and was made popular here by African Americans in slavery. In modern times, it is found in many different types of music, but bluegrass and country have made the banjo a staple instrument! 

Check out the pictures and video below!

Week of October 21st, 2013

EXPLORING GOURD SHAKERS!

Today we took a look at gourd shakers and instruments of all kinds, including maracas, banjos, sitars and other musical items made with things like pumpkins and gourds!

Here are a few highlights you can ask your child about:

1. Can you draw the shape of a gourd? 

(We did this on the dry erase boards today--we drew a few different types!)

2. Is a gourd a fruit? 

YES! It is! Why? Because it has seeds! Yes, all things with seeds are considered fruit!

All of our students explored gourd instruments today, and our younger classes also enjoyed songs with butterfly puppets, peekaboo songs, and other movement melodies.

Our older classes had more in depth discussion of the gourds, what they looked like inside, how gourd instruments made sound, and what varieties there are.  They also got a neat opportunity to watch a woman playing a pumpkin banjo and also a fun clip of a foreign film, "The Magic Gourd". (See below for the Youtube clip!) The film is Chinese, and it is a tale of a boy who finds a magic gourd while fishing one day, that grants his wishes.  View this short film on youtube! (click here).

I thought it was a fun, multicultural "cherry on top"! :)

Week of October 14th, 2013

DIWALI: Festival of Lights and

The ancient art of snake charming!

Today we enjoyed learning all about the Hindu festival of Diwali (several places around the world have already celebrated, and India is due to celebrate the first week of November)! Thought to traditionally be a harvest festival and expression of light towards darkness (good towards evil) it is also speculated that the millions of lights, lamps and fireworks serve a very useful purpose as well. The rainy season and flooding in India brings many insects and bugs, and the smoke from snuffed ceramic pot lamps, candles and firecrackers are thought to help alleviate the pests!

We also explored the ancient art of snake charming today in music (also thought to have originated in India). I showed the kids several videos of snake charmers using circular breathing and flutes to "hypnotize" cobra snakes in baskets, and we mimicked this motion as I played a recorder and I encouraged the children to sway in the same direction I was moving.

I explained to the children that cobras aren't actually able to hear the music, but are mimicking the snake charmer's movements with the flute as a means of their own protection, anticipating the threat of danger. We also talked about the snake's posture, and what it means when the "hood" appears on the cobra. Find questions below to ask your child about class today to encourage an extending conversation at home! :)

Speaking of questions, our older children worked on asking questions at the end of today's class. Quite often, when you ask a young child if they have questions, they will raise their hand in anticipation and offer a statement. (And many times, it is a statement that doesn't relate to the conversation at hand! HAHA!)

Today, we worked on staying on the relevant topic (snakes, snakecharming, India) and we focused on the beginning statements of questions:

"WHY...?"
"WHO...?"
"HOW...?"
"WHERE...?"

This kept the kids on task and they were congratulated when they were able to think of a relevant question! Speaking of questions, see today's "Extension Conversation" questions below!

The infants Listen to "Thumri", a traditional Indian love song, while exploring
wooden instruments!

1. What was the festival of lights called? Diwali Festival of Lights

2. Where does it take place? India

3. What do they do for festival of lights? Harvest, sing, dance, light candles, clay pot lights, fireworks, etc.

4. When it floods in India, what happens to the insects? There are too many of them! (The smoke helps keep them away!)

5. What animal does the charmer keep in the basket? A snake! Specifically--a cobra. Extra points: when the sides of the cobra's neck stand out, they are showing their "hood". And that is when they feel threatened!

6. Why does the snake move when the snake charmer plays? The snake is following the movement of the flute. The snake can not actually hear music, but can feel vibrations.

Week of October 7th, 2013

SLIDE WHISTLE FUN!!

Today we enjoyed using slide whistles to learn about pitch, learning about the musical term "glissando", meaning to "glide" from one pitch to another, and moving our bodies in fun ways to the sounds of the sliding tones!

Check out the fun pictures and video below, 

and ask your child about music class today!

Listen to the four year old class say the word "glissando" and play one on their slide whistles! GLISSANDO MP3

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT MUSIC CLASS TODAY:

1.  How do you play a slide whistle? By blowing air in it and moving the slider up and down!

2. Was it hard or easy to play?

3. How are the slide whistles cleaned? Today I showed the children how I sanitize the instruments in between each use in a bucket of strong sanitizing solution. I place the slide whistle  mouthpiece down with the slider up, into the strong solution, and allow it to soak and swish for about five minutes. The slidewhistle is then rinsed and wiped off and air dries in the tub!

4. Do you remember what the slide is called? A "glissando"!

The infants experience the slide whistle. =}

Week of September 30th, 2013

SPOKEN WORD AND POETRY!

We really enjoyed watching and listening to some neat spoken word and poetry performances today! We learned how sound effects and words can be like instruments (the "boom" of a drum spoken aloud, the "sss" of the maraca or shaker beads, the "click" of a castanet) and we also learned how rhythm, tone and storytelling create powerful linguistic "music"!

Check out the pictures and video below to get a better idea of how we experienced spoken word and poetry today!

A relaxed pose while listening to poetry!

We looked at some awesome examples from one of my favorite spoken word performers and poets, Tom Waits! Since 1973, Tom's gruff voice and mesmorizing "beatnik" style have been an impressive poetic element in my own life as much as many others.

We took a very close look at this wonderful poem by Jamaican children's poet, Valerie Bloom, and her wonderful work "Granny Is".     

  

Click the video above to hear her read the poem, and see the text below:

The infants being read the poem "Dog Train" aloud!

Some peekaboo fun!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOU CHILD ABOUT 

MUSIC CLASS TODAY:

1. Did you hear a poem about a "Granny" today? 

2. What foods did "Granny" make? (Coconut drops, "grater" cake, coffee)

3.  What animal did Granny ride to the market? (A donkey)

4. Where did she wash her clothes? (The river).

And some deeper questions to ask:

5. Do you think the granny in the poem is nice? Do you have a grandma?

6. What things that you smell make you think of your grandma? Does your grandma have animals? What food does your grandma like to cook?

Keep the conversation going and don't forget to try reading some poetry to your family tonight--it's especially powerful when paired to music or a beat!