Week of February 17th, 2014

KEEP THE BEAT!

Students worked on keeping a steady beat today in several ways; by using the Remo Lollipop drum above to recite names with syllables as beats, by reading one bar rhythms with quarter notes and quarter rests using soft blocks (hit together to make the beat) and also with Boomwhackers! 

We also had a great time with a movement song, "A Smooth Road". See the movement/lyrics below! Older children worked with partners for fun and younger children enjoyed this song as a "lap" or "bouncing" song. Check out the video to find out how!

A SMOOTH ROAD

A smooth road, a smooth road, a smooth road, a smooth road (gently sway with child on your lap)

A bumpy road, a bumpy road, a bumpy road, a bumpy road (gently bounce up and down)

A rough road! A rough road! A rough road! A rough road! (Vigorously bounce up and down)

A HOLE! (Lift child to floor in a jumping motion or drop them between your knees as you hold them!)

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT 

MUSIC TODAY

1. In the song "A Smooth Road" today in music class, what happened to the road? It was smooth and then what? (It was bumpy, then rough, and then BOOM...you fall into a hole!)

2. Can you clap the rhythm of your name with your hands? 

3. Did you dance with a partner today?

Week of November 28th, 2011

Measuring Up!!!

We had so much fun today measuring instruments and height in music class! Before using "Boom Whackers", "Tap-a-tunes" and xylophones, we measured both younger students and the length of instruments to determine their pitch!

The children repeated the mantra "longer is lower" and "shorter is higher", and I demonstrated this by playing several instruments and comparing their length and pitch.

The first of these instruments was the slidewhistle. I showed children the slidewhistle with the slider all the way inside the instrument,which measured at nine inches, and then with it all the way pulled out, which measured around 16. The shorter the slide whistle was, the higher the pitch! The longer it was, the lower!

We also sang a favorite tune while tapping our boomwhackers that requires the children to "rest", or wait to play, on a particular beat.

You can practice this song at home to encourage your child's waiting, listening and rhythm skills!

Though it is sung to an original tune, you could even try it as a chant!

WHO'S THAT TAPPING AT MY WINDOW?

Who's that tapping at my window? (Tap-tap)

Who's that tapping at my door? (Tap-tap)

Who's that tapping on the ceiling? (Tap-tap)

Who's that tapping on the floor? (Tap-tap)

Thanks for reading the blog and have a fantastic Tuesday!

Please note that December's music calendar is now available for viewing and download at the website in it's usual location at: http://www.joyfulnoisekids.com/pdfs/musiccalendar.pdf

Also, I'd like to apologize for a video that I sent last week of the JN Four's class performing at the community center. The video accidentally had no sound and I'm in the process of correcting that right now. I will send a new link when it is finished! Thanks!

Miss Chantal

Week of July 12th, 2010

BOOMWHACKER WEEK!!!

INFANT THROUGH SCHOOL AGE
What a blast it was playing with the boomwhackers this week! The boomwhacker is a simple concept: a plastic tube, cut to different lengths to produce specific pitches! The Joyful Noise set is diaotonic--the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B and C. The students also know these notes as Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti and Do! We lined the tubes up to make a scale that resembled what a pipe organ looks like. The children--everyone from infants to school agers--had a great time "whacking" them against tables, carpet, and even hands and legs to produce a neat sound. Older children played pitch games and we also played a fun game in the school age room called "human desk bells". One or two students walked down a line of sitting students holding boomwhackers and tapped the top of their head to "play" their friends, who then in turn hit the boomwhacker!

We had a blast and will look forward to experimenting with this fun instrument again soon in the future! :)


Additional School Age Classes
You guessed it--our week also included choral and cadence practice for the upcoming Coast Guard Kid's parade and also rhythm reviews on paper and with our Remo veggie shakers.

Have a blessed weekend!

______________________________________________________
MOM AND DAD CONNECT: Want to learn more about our lessons this week?

Interested in buying boomwhackers for use at home?
Boomwhackers on Amazon.com