Week of May 24th, 2010

PARACHUTE FUN

All classes had a blast using the parachute to play fun musical games such as "Roll that ball right down to town" and "There was a man in our town who went for a walk one day". We had fun exploring pitch and tempo as it relates to movement around the parachute. Ask your child about it! :)

INFANT THROUGH TWOS

We had a very fun week in music class exploring more of our new songs, including "Riding on My Teacher Pony", "Walk all Around", "Elevator and Escalator" and more! Next week a zip file will be made available here at the blogsite that contains lyric sheets for all of the songs we are singing. As part of a fundraiser for the JN Music Program, we will also be selling CDs at a very reasonable price with our music curriculum!

THREES, FOURS

This week concluded a week of review for three and four year old students! I am very pleased with the learning that our friends have done! Everyone seems very capable of identifiying a quarter note, quarter rest, and the rhythms that can be created using these two values! We used rhythm instruments as well as clapping, snapping and tapping to play different combinations of quarter note "tahs" and quarter rests..."Shhh!". We also sang a few new songs from our songbooks including "Grattitude Attitude" and more!

SCHOOL AGE

We had alot of fun this week learning about half notes, as well as watching clips from "The Sound of Music". We watched the musical number "Do Re Mi" and also learned the song! We are using solfege and Curwen hand symbols to learn Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do and we are also doing alot of other fun vocal warm ups in music class. We can't wait to show you some of our singing skills!

PARENT RESOURCES THIS WEEK:

Interested in buying a small parachute for home play? Here is a link!

Buy a Parachute on Google Shopping"

The Sound Of Music, "Do Re Mi" on YouTube:
The Sound Of Music: "Do Re Mi"

Week of May 10th, 2012

Infants, Toddlers and Twos
Welcome to music class! We had fun greeting eachother, learning hello and goodbye songs, and moving to music with the guitar! This week in music class we are reading a fun book called "There are Ten in the Bed".

This is a fun song about ten puppies in the bed! You can do a simple movement by making a "rolling motion" when the words say "all rolled over" or "roll over, roll over"! We had fun using a dog puppet. It's easy to sing this song! Give it a try with your child!

TEN IN THE BED

There were ten in a bed
and the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over and one fell out.

There were nine in a bed
and the little one said
"Roll over, roll over"
So they all rolled over and one fell out.
(Continue counting down)

Listen to a sound clip of this song here!
Ten In The Bed.



Threes and Fours


Welcome to music class! We had fun learning eachother's name and singing hello and goodbye songs with the guitar this week. We also were introduced to our very first musical concept in music classs, the quarter note! We call these "tah"! Students read four quarter notes and played rhythm sticks to the rhythm "Tah - Tah - Tah- Tah". Ask your child what a quarter note looks like! We practiced distinguishing them from other notes by coloring a worksheet called "Quarter Note Carrots".

Part of our music class consists of worksheets that are kept in folders in the three's room! This marks our progress and keeps materials for each child together. Feel free to ask to see your child's folder or look through it with them! Folders will stay in the classroom until the end of the year, or transitioning time, when they will be sent home.

More information on the quarter note can be found online! Here is a great drum tutorial on how to count them: Counting Quarter Notes.

School Age

JAZZ DAY!

This week in music class we are learning about different jazz artists, the instruments they play, and the way the music makes us feel! We will be focusing on artists and singers like Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and more! Look in the hallway at the end of the week to see a neat bulletin board about our experiences.

ALSO IN MUSIC CLASS THIS WEEK:

Choral and xylophone practice! We will be practicing the choral songs we have learned so far, and also using our xylophones to play our sheet music with the accompaniment for the first time!

Week of April 29th

SCHOOL AGE MUSIC CLASS




This week we are having fun reviewing our rhythms!





We broke up into three small groups. The groups got to name themselves, which was very fun! They also were given a selection of rhythm index cards, which they arranged to make two measures of music with four beats in each measure! The available not choices were quarter notes, quarter rests, and whole notes. Each measure began with a treble clef card and a four/four time signature notation. The results were some very creative two measure songs with neat names! I've shared the music by group below, and we also took a video of our performance, which each group got to do in front of the class!

Ask your child what group they were in today, and what they learned!

GROUP ONE: DOGGIES












GROUP TWO: PUPPIES












GROUP THREE: BEETLEHAWK3












PERFORMANCE VIDEO:





We also played a fun game of "hide and seek bell". We hid the bell and groups of kids held hands and tried to search for the bell in the Recreation Room. The twist was that, rather than say "hot" or "cool" as teams approached the hidden item, the rest of the group sang piano or forte to the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat". Everyone had a blast!

ALSO ON THE AGENDA THIS WEEK:

SWEET RHYTHMS



We will be using M&M candies to make rhthyms this week. The colors will represent different values and the kids will need to come up with the correct combo in order to earn their M&Ms. The fun part about this project is that we get to EAT it when we are done!!! :)

Week of April 19th

SCHOOL AGE MUSIC CLASS


Today in music class we played a fun listening game, "Find the bell". All friends took turns wearing a blindfold and crawling on their hands or knees while another friend stood somewhere in the room, gently playing the xylophone. Using only their sense of hearing, the kids were instructed to crawl towards the sounds that they heard. They thought this was hilarious and fun!

We also did a worksheet today that helped us review all some of the terms we have been learning so far: quarter rests, quarter notes, treble clef and repeat symbol. I've made the worksheet available for download on our website, here:

WORKSHEET 1.





Learning about Whole Notes:



We are learning about whole notes this week. Whole notes are notes that take up the entire measure. When they are played, they are held the whole measure. Whole notes equal four beats. In a 4/4 time signature, whole notes are the "whole pie", if you think of it in terms of fractions!






MOM AND DAD CONNECT:

Here is a great video showing you how to count whole notes, and explaining a bit about them!


Counting Whole Notes

Week of April 12th, 2010

SCHOOL AGE MUSIC CLASS


Hello everyone! Great to see everyone after being gone on vacation! :)
_______________________

This week in music class we had a great time playing fun listening games and learning new songs!

Listening Game

Using only our ears to listen, we turned off the lights and used our xylophones while reading a book. The book was about butterflies. Each time students heard the word "butterfly", they were instructed to strike the xylophone. They did not look at pictures or words, but used only their sense of hearing. It was really fun! :)

THE CRESCENDO

Today we also discussed what the crescendo means, and did several physical activities to relate the idea of it. What does crescendo mean?
It means "gradually increasing in volume". Usually, we move from piano or mezzopiano (soft to medium soft) to forte (or a full volume). On occasion it is more subtle and might move from mp to mf. Just a slight difference! We practiced this technique on a new peice of music, shown below!


MELTING ICE CREAM

This is our newest peice of xylophone music, which incorporates all of the terms we have learned so far! Click on the picture to view the full size.

MATCHING TERMS GAME

Please feel free to download and print this pdf at home so that you can play the matching game we did! Try printing on thicker paper or cardstock for best results, so that cards are not see-through from the back!

Matching Cards

MOM AND DAD CONNECT:
Read about the crescendo here!
Crescendo

Week of March 29th, 2010

SCHOOL AGE MUSIC CLASS


Love, Love
In lieu of Good Friday tomorrow and Easter on Sunday, we took an opportunity to learn a new song this afternoon that had an interesting sound to it. Often when we sing bible songs, worship and hymns to children they have a major overtone. This song, though it has a bright message, has minor sounds within the chord structure that make for an almost "sad" sound at times. I thought it was an interesting and appropriate selection for this instrospective holiday!

FUN WARM UPS: Today we did a fun exercise to warm up our vocal chords at the start of class. I took a basket of scarves and each child chose one. We then tossed them up in the air and laughed until they hit the ground. It was hard to stop giggling!

We also played physical games today and again, reiterated the concepts we've learned with boomwhackers and xylophones. See past blog entries for music concepts and how you can learn about them and review them at home with your child!

Week of March 22nd

SCHOOL AGE MUSIC CLASS


SCHOOL AGE MUSIC CLASS

Today in music class we revisited the note values we have learned so far (quarter note, quarter rest, repeat symbol, treble clef, and music staff) through some quizzing and also a fun game where we jumped, clapped, and nodded our heads for certain values. It's so much fun to learn about rhythm and music while moving your body!

We also practiced our xylophones and learned about two dynamics (volume) terms:

p = piano ----- Play softly

f = forte ------ Play at a full volume

You can practice these skills at home with anything from a maraca to a coffee can with beans inside. Don't forget to quiz your child on the things we've learned from music class and take opportunities to embrace teachable moments! :)

Mom and Dad Connect:
You can learn about piano and forte here:


Piano, Forte and other dynamics explained.