Week of March 14, 2017

The children were pretty excited to have a combined music class in the Rec Room. Mr. Dan Stewart came in to play the Bodhran for them. He showed them how it is played, what it is made of, and then had them come up for a chance to play it. 

The Bodhran is a drum played in Irish Celtic Music. The head of the drum is made of animal skin (goat skin). The Bodhran is played with a "Tipper", which looks like a double-sided mallet.

Week of March 6, 2017

This last week in music, the children did some dancing with scarves. They also did movement to a story about spring weather and to a poem about making a pancake. The older children practiced mirroring each other and showing their creativity. In the younger classes, we played peak-a-boo and danced, the laughter was very contagious and great to hear.

Questions to ask your child this week

1. What kind of weather do we get in the spring? rain, storms, sunshine

2. What is mirroring? When you do the same thing someone else does. 

Week of February 27, 2017

This week the children played and learned about the Kalimba. We also watched a video and listened to some music.

The Kalimba is an African instrument that originated from Africa. Its cousin instrument is the Xylophone. The other name for a Kalimba is a Mbira or "thumb piano" because you play it with the ends of your thumbs. Most times you will see people playing it inside a hollowed out gourd. The reason is so that the sound will vibrate and increase in volume.

A couple of questions to ask your children this week are;

1. What is the name of the instrument you played in music this week? The Kalimba

2. What country is the Kalimba from? Africa