Week of May 26th, 2014

It's Asian Pacific American 

Heritage Month!

To honor this tremendous cultural heritage, today we learned about the "ipu" drum gourd and traditional Hawaiian chants and dances! 

I think it is important for students to understand what traditional "mele" or Hawaiian storytelling chant looks like. The stereotypical "hula" dance we see is quite Americanized and much more importance is placed on the physical aspect of dancers rather than the story being told itself. 

In music class, we have chosen to focus on the true heritage of mele and storytelling chants, using shakers and drum instruments made with natural materials, such as the "ipu" drum, which is made from a hollowed gourd and an important ceremonial aspect of Hawaiian chanting!

I showed the children some traditional Hawaiian chants on video today (look below for one of them) but we also talked about how gourds are hollowed, and I shared a small pie pumpkin that I had hollowed and taped myself this year, which produces a neat sound. 

We also took a look at shakers and discussed "wearing" rhythm elements such as whale bone anklets. I don't have any bone shakers, unfortunately, but I did bring in some nut, seed and even goat-nail shakers to illustrate that point.

Worth mentioning: goats are NOT native to Hawaii and their unfortunate introduction as a species by British naval caption James Cook (in the late 1700's) has actually been very damaging for natural plant life and terrain.

Ask your child the questions below to engage them in music class conversation!

Mahalo nui loa na ho'olaule'a me la kaua!

(Thank you for celebrating with us!)

A fun and quick bumblebee chant in the two's room today! ;)

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD TODAY

1. What is the dried gourd drum in Hawaiian chanting called? An ipu.

2. Where is Hawaii? In the Pacific Ocean...you have to take a boat or a plane there!

3.  Did you see a rhythm shaker today that was made with an animal's nails? What kind of shaker was it? A goat nail anklet (or bracelet).

Week of May 6th, 2013

Hula Dancing!

It's Asian Pacific American Heritage month, and today in music class we learned all about hula dancing and Hawaiian tradition! (My apologies for any confusion this may cause as we "flip-flopped" lesson plans for the first two weeks of May).

The image of hula dancing and the ideals behind it have changed much as missionary, "American" and tourist influence entered Hawaii over the years. Even the clip art image that I used on the calendar to signify what we were learning about today was, honestly, cliche when it comes to the true rich heritage of hula dancing and the true sacred ritual it represents to Hawaii and the Polynesian islands.

When asked about hula dancing, I received a few comments from older students--both male and female--"That's the dance the pretty girls do". :) They were surprised to discover that, unlike the somewhat Westernized image of hula that they have seen over the years, the dances involved unique instruments like the hollowed gourd drum (ipu), and both men AND women, in mixed and separated roles. The costumes and traditional dress worn were also unlike what many people are accustomed to here in the states. Rather than coconut tops and grass skirts, you see drape-y linens on both men and female, grass crowns, and anklets/bracelets made with whale bone and dog teeth.

We also learned "hello" (Aloha) and "thank you" (mahalo). I showed children on the map where Hawaii is located in the Pacific island, and we talked about the purpose for the dance being a method of both storytelling and prayer (worship) for the Hawaiian people. I demonstrated the power of storytelling through motions to the children by pantomiming different actions for them and having them guess what I was doing. I shared with them that telling a story with dance was a powerful way for families and generations to remember important stories without being able to write them down or record them.

Check out the four's room below, greeting you in today's blog with a Hawaiian "hello!" Also see videos below of traditional Hula rituals/chants/dances, and our pictures from today's fun!  Keep scrolling for some extras from the infant and toddler classes, who also enjoyed the parachute today!

*Pretending to surf a wave while we did body movements to a chant about Hawaii!