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 August 5th, 2013

MOVEMENT SONGS AND GUITAR CREATIVITY!

Students enjoyed movement songs, the "Jack and Jill" puppets, and learning about the guitar today!

See a video of the puppets below!

Today we took a look at the inner workings of the guitar and some examples of non-traditional body styles. The kids couldn't believe some of the funky and unique guitars that are out there! Once we had discussed the options and also experimented with and learned about the digital tuner I use each day, I had older students create their own unique guitar design on paper. Ideas were so creative and wonderful and ranged from a bicycle guitar (the pedals strummed the strings), a "sock" guitar that was soft, ninja guitar, watermelon guitar and even a pizza guitar (show below).

What a fun day!

Week of February 11th, 2013

This member of our two's classroom stopped me to show off his progress on the harp coloring sheet...look at how he was holding the paper!! HAH! Too cute. ;)

THE HARP

It only seemed appropriate with Valentine's Day right around the corner that we explore the gorgeous, celestial qualities of Cupid's favorite instrument, the harp! I started today by showing the children a picture of the harp (check cubbies for the coloring sheet that went home).

We talked about this stringed instrument and how it is often very heavy (up to 90 lbs) and very tall (up to 6 ft. tall!). We also discussed that it takes very strong fingers to pluck and strum the strings, and that harpists do not use their pinky fingers, because the pinky finger is too weak!

Children pretended to strum and pluck the harp and also watched for the red string ("C") and the black string ("F") in the video we watched (see below).

I was excited to share one of my favorite modern singers with students today!  Bjork's Valentine appropriate love song "Like Someone In Love" features a talented harpist. I showed this performance to the children in class and infants through four year olds very much enjoyed listening to the harp playing and the singing!