Week of October 16th, 2017

"I am a Pizza" and fun with gourds!

This week in music class, we explored a fun gourd instrument and talked about how gourds dry, and what's inside (the stringy pulp and seeds like a pumpkin!)

We passed the instrument around and took a look at the little beads on netting that created a "ch-ch-ch" sound when the gourd was shaken. We noticed that it was empty inside for vibration, essential for the acoustic projection of sound.

We also sang the call-and-response, or "echo" song, "I am a Pizza!" This fun song always makes the kiddos laugh--it's all about a pizza that is made with fresh tomato sauce, oregano, pepperoni, cheese, peppers on the top, and then taken out to the car for delivery.

But--OH NO! The pizza gets turned upside down and turns into a big cheesy mess. Lots of giggles and pizza talk were on the menu as we pretended to make our own pies out of felt and laminated toppings!

Make sure to view the extender questions below to keep your child talking about the learning at home! =)

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD AT HOME

1) What do you like on your pizza?

2) What happened to the pizza that you sang about in music class?

Week of February 23rd, 2015

THE KALIMBA!

The following is an excerpt from a fact sheet about the kalimba found at KalimbaMagic.com:

The Kalimba, or African thumb piano, is a modern member of a family of ancient African instruments called lamellaphones. In Africa, each cultural group has their own type of kalimba, and their own name. The instrument shown to the right is called an mbira, and is played by the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It is usually played inside a gourd which acts as an amplifier. The mbira has between 21 and 25 different notes and is considered the most developed type of traditional African lamellaphone. It is used in a ceremony called a bira in which people play the favorite songs of a partciular ancestor to lure the spirit of that ancestor to the ceremony in order to communicate with them. Because the Shona people believe that it is very important to be on good terms with their ancestors, the mbira is central to Shona society. 

We loved trying out the kalimba!

I told the children all of the different names the kalimba has, and we were challenged by the new vocabulary: kalimba, lamellaphone, mbira and African thumb piano!

It also proved to be very challenging to play for our younger students! Check out this adorable video of the toddler class trying the kalimba for the first time:

Students also got to match up some neat kalimba puzzle pieces that I made. There are many different shapes and sizes of kalimbas! Often they are housed inside of gourds to amplify, and so we took a peek at some examples of different style instruments.

We also enjoyed this beautiful song by South African Kalimba player and vocalist, Valanga Khoza. Watch the video below!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD:

1.) Where does the kalimba come from? From Africa!

2) How do you play the kalimba? With your thumbs!

3) Do you know any of the other names for the kalimba? Thumb piano, mbira, llamelaphone