Week of July 25th, 2016

Bells in the Water Table! 

(And parachute fun)

This week in music class, we had a lot of fun warming up with the parachute and some movement songs, and learning about bells in the water!

Did you know that water is a great conductor of sound? This is because the molecules of water are dense--more dense than, say, air--and therefore, the molecules/particles vibrate together well to carry sound. Steel is an example of a material with even more density--and therefore, great capability to conduct sound!

The children learned that by striking the metal floating bowls (our bells for today), a sound would be produced that traveled through the water. We used a few different sized bowls and also a small metal pitcher for this experiment!

It was neat to hear the church-bells-like sound that was produced by the floating bells, and it's ALWAYS fun to play in the water! =)

PS--Miss Holly Steward helped to instruct class today, and she did a great job!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1. What did you hit the metal bowl with to make sound? A mallet!

2. What color was the water in music class? Blue!

Week of July 18th, 2016

Happy Independence Day, Argentina!

Ok--we're a little late. =) Officially, Argentina's Independence Day is celebrated on July 9th, though, like Americans, they adjust holidays for school and business closings so that they can enjoy and celebrate with their families.

It marks their independence from Spain in the early 1800's, and families in Argentina celebrate by listening to speeches, visiting memorials, and enjoying one of their all-time favorite foods, "pasada" (BBQ!)

To learn about Argentina, we took a look at their flag, their location on the map, pictures of people in indigenous dress (such as Gaucho or traditional cowboy dress) and also learned about a popular form of music and dance that originated from Argentina--the Tango!

Tango music traditionally uses violins, a double bass, and a bandoneon, which looks a lot like an accordion and is from the same family of concertina. It is marked by its particular sound and the dance involves very intimate, attitudinal moves--some of which are a little too "saucy" for watching in music class, haha! ;)

Beyond learning all about the tango music and checking out the pictures, older children also enjoyed coloring an Argentinian flag with the colors blue and yellow. Check out the questions below to keep the conversation going at home!

Harper pointed to the sun when asked where it was! =)

Warming up our voices and rhythms with a little classic "Five Little Monkeys!"

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1) What colors are in the flag of Argentina? Blue, white and yellow!

2) Do you remember what kind of food the people from Argentina like to eat during Independence Day? BBQ!

3) What instruments are in tango music? The violin, double bass, and bandoneon (like an accordion)

Week of July 11th, 2016

Tambourines and Quarter Notes!

This week in music class, we learned all about quarter notes and their rhythm values. Quarter notes recieve one beat each. In a 4/4 time signature, there can be four quarter notes in one measure. When counting this rhythm, we might say "one-two-three-four" repeatedly, or "tah-tah-tah-tah!"

We took a look at the quarter note symbol, and also practiced finding them on a coloring sheet. We also "tapped" them on our tambourines. Along with quarter notes, we learned the different sounds a tambourine can make (tapping/shaking) and practiced starting and stopping rhythm sounds together. Check out the pictures and video below!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1) What color tambourine did you play today?

2) What does the quarter note say? "Tah!"