Joyful Noise Music

Week of September 22nd, 2014

AND THE WALLS CAME TUMBLIN' DOWN!

Today and Monday in music we sang "Joshua Fought The Battle of Jericho" (look below for lyrics!) and had fun building our very own walls of Jericho using Jenga blocks (and other building blocks for our younger children). What a blast!

As we sang, children marched around the rug in a circle, pretending to be the priests who blew the trumpets for 7 days in Jericho. After blowing our pretend trumpets (older children had small plastic cups with the bottoms cut off) and shouting, we had fun knocking our block towers down and starting all over again!

Check out the video below to hear the song being sung to infants and don't forget to ask your child some of the questions I've posted below to extend this week's lesson!

JOSHUA FOUGHT THE BATTLE OF JERICHO

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho,

Jericho, Jericho,

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho,

And the walls came tumbling down!

You may talk about your men of Gideon,

You may talk about your men of Saul,

But there's none like good old Joshua

And the battle of Jericho!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1. Who fought the battle of Jericho? Joshua!

2. What happened when the priests blew their horns on the 7th day, and the people yelled loudly? The walls fell down!

3. Did you build a tower in music class? How tall was it? How many blocks did you use?

Week of September 15th, 2014

FELIZ dia de la INDEPENDENCIA!

It's Mexico's Independence Day today! In honor of their culture, we learned some Mexican folk songs (see the video below for an explanation and tune from yours truly) including "Acitron de un Fandango" and "Arroz con Leche", or "Rice with Milk"! Not only did we get to sing traditional children's songs from Mexico, but we also got to eat some Mexican foods today--quesidillas and "Arroz con Leche", or rice with milk (better known as rice pudding). See the pics below for some shots of the kids enjoying this treat, looking at the Mexican flag, and playing a fun game with Acitron de un Fandango that is explained in the video below. As always, check the questions below for some conversations

starters relating to class. Thanks for reading and

¡HASTA PRONTO! (See you soon!)

Check out this interesting story about the history behind Mexico's flag!

The Citron Fruit

The infants-twos also enjoyed singing this Raffi story book today! (Click on the image if you are interested in ordering this book for your child.)

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD:

1.) Do you remember the citron fruit that tastes like lemon? What did you think of the picture?

2.) In the song, "Arroz con Leche" or "Rice with Milk", the person wants to marry someone who can _____? Sing!

3.) What colors are in Mexico's flag? Red, green, white, and more! Do you remember what animal is on the flag? An eagle--who is sitting on a cactus with a snake in its mouth!

Week of September 8th, 2014

HAND DRUMS, JAMAICA AND CALYPSO!

Today and Monday in music class, we learned a little about the beautiful island of Jamaica (from native hairstyles to flag colors), and the wonderful Calpyso music that is played there! Using the hand drums, we explore their parts (drum heads made from animal skin, hollowed shells and vibrating sound) as we sang "Mango Walk". Check out the basic melody here (though our version was slightly different!) The children practiced hitting the drum with their hands while I sang certain syllables, and we also explored a few different drums including congas and bongos!

I also played the children an example of Calypso music with Frank Leto's "We are Fine Musicians".

Don't forget to sneak a quick peek at the adorable video of one of our infants below enjoying "The Windmill Song" in class today! =)