Week of October 13th, 2014

This week in music class, we learned all about stringed instruments! We talked about the zither (or psaltry), the banjo, the ukulele, the guitar, and also took a fun field trip to the chapel so that we could look inside of the piano, where the kids were surprised to find...you guessed it...STRINGS!

We also had a lot of fun singing the song "Strum, Strum, Strum"--click the media player icon below

to take a listen to this neat "strumming" song! Make sure to check your child's cubby for a coloring sheet outlining some of what we learned. =)

Strum Strum Strum MP3

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD TODAY:

1) What instruments have strings? Guitars, banjos, ukeleles, zithers or psaltries, harps, violins, pianos...what else?

2. Were you surprised to see the strings on the piano?

3.) Where were the strings on the piano? On the inside!

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"! :)