Week of November 25th, 2013

GRATITUDE ATTITUDE!

We had a great time today singing songs about turkeys, eating meals together, and of course, thankfulness!

Scroll down to see cute pictures of our friends doing turkey fingerplays, and watch a video of the songs from class, too! 

Also don't miss the adorable mp3s below of the four year old class talking about what they are thankful for, as well as singing the call and response Thanksgiving song that we did with triangles! As always, questions to ask your child about today are included as well.

   Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck
Start with hands behind back, to the tune of "A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track"

Mr. Turkey went out one day 
(one hand is turkey, and comes out to front)

In bright sunshiny weather

He met Mr Duck along the way 
(other hand is duck, and comes out )

They stopped to talk together

Gobble, gobble, gobble, quack, quack, quack

Gobble, gobble, gobble, quack, quack, quack

And then they both went back 
(hands go back behind back)

THE FOUR YEAR OLD CLASS

Gratitude Attititude MP3

THE FOUR YEAR OLD CLASS

On Thanksgiving (Call and Response) MP3

____________________

LESSON EXTENDERS: Questions to ask your child today about music class!

1. What would you like to eat for Thanksgiving? 

2. What are you thankful for?

3. Do you remember what "call and response" means? (It means to copy, or echo!)

Week of November 18th, 2013

TRIANGLES!

What a fun day we had today learning about triangles and "idiophones"! 

What in the world is an idiophone? Well, it is an instrument that produces sound through vibration alone when it is struck by a mallot, striker or another method. Well, all instruments produce vibrations, correct? Yes, that is right! But idiophones do not use strings or a membrane (i.e., drum head) to conduct the vibration in a chamber.  Instead, the body of the instrument itself conducts the sounds!

Examples of idiophones we looked at today: marimbas, kalimbas, bells, chimes, xylophones and of course, the triangle!

Scrolll down for some fun pics, videos and questions that you can ask you child about our day! (And don't miss the fun videos from the infant and fours class below!)

The infants enjoyed "The Grand Old Duke of York" today, along with some other fun animal bouncing songs! Check back soon for more videos and lyrics!



QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD TODAY:

1. What instrument did you use today in music class? The triangle
2. What are some ways you can use the triangle? It vibrates, so you need to hold the string to hear the sound well. We used the striker or the metal rod to hit the triangle to produce sound. We also tried touching or muting the triangle to stop the vibration, and rang the striker in a circular motion inside the instrument, similar to what you might associate with a "dinner time call" like the one below! :)

3. Do you remember the word "idiophone"?

Week of November 4th, 2013

FUN WITH THE PARACHUTE!

We had a very fun time exploring the 

parachute today!

We started our class by singing melodies in thirds on the xylophone  I sang, "Hel-lo, (child's name)" using songs with one diatonic step in between them. This pattern of "melodic thirds" is exactly what would happen if you sang the white notes on the keyboard, skipping every other key.

Listen to our "hello" tune here! (MP3)

We also listened to examples of piano (soft volume) and forte (full or loud volume) and tried to move the parachute accordingly. The kids had a great time moving both the parachute and their bodies to my drum while paying attention to piano and forte volumes.

We also practiced counting with the parachute to a fun tune called "Five Little Birdies". Download the PDF of sheet music here, or click below to hear us singing it with the parachute! 

Fours class using the parachute to "Five Little Birdies" (MP3)

QUESTIONS TO ASK TODAY:

1. What does the sound "piano" mean? (It means at a quiet volume!)

2. What does "forte" mean? (It means at a loud, or full, volume!)

3. What was your favorite part of the parachute today?

4. (For three and four year olds only) Were you an apple, banana or strawberry today? (We played a fun parachute game called "Fruit Salad"!)

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 October 21st, 2013

EXPLORING GOURD SHAKERS!

Today we took a look at gourd shakers and instruments of all kinds, including maracas, banjos, sitars and other musical items made with things like pumpkins and gourds!

Here are a few highlights you can ask your child about:

1. Can you draw the shape of a gourd? 

(We did this on the dry erase boards today--we drew a few different types!)

2. Is a gourd a fruit? 

YES! It is! Why? Because it has seeds! Yes, all things with seeds are considered fruit!

All of our students explored gourd instruments today, and our younger classes also enjoyed songs with butterfly puppets, peekaboo songs, and other movement melodies.

Our older classes had more in depth discussion of the gourds, what they looked like inside, how gourd instruments made sound, and what varieties there are.  They also got a neat opportunity to watch a woman playing a pumpkin banjo and also a fun clip of a foreign film, "The Magic Gourd". (See below for the Youtube clip!) The film is Chinese, and it is a tale of a boy who finds a magic gourd while fishing one day, that grants his wishes.  View this short film on youtube! (click here).

I thought it was a fun, multicultural "cherry on top"! :)

Week of October 14th, 2013

DIWALI: Festival of Lights and

The ancient art of snake charming!

Today we enjoyed learning all about the Hindu festival of Diwali (several places around the world have already celebrated, and India is due to celebrate the first week of November)! Thought to traditionally be a harvest festival and expression of light towards darkness (good towards evil) it is also speculated that the millions of lights, lamps and fireworks serve a very useful purpose as well. The rainy season and flooding in India brings many insects and bugs, and the smoke from snuffed ceramic pot lamps, candles and firecrackers are thought to help alleviate the pests!

We also explored the ancient art of snake charming today in music (also thought to have originated in India). I showed the kids several videos of snake charmers using circular breathing and flutes to "hypnotize" cobra snakes in baskets, and we mimicked this motion as I played a recorder and I encouraged the children to sway in the same direction I was moving.

I explained to the children that cobras aren't actually able to hear the music, but are mimicking the snake charmer's movements with the flute as a means of their own protection, anticipating the threat of danger. We also talked about the snake's posture, and what it means when the "hood" appears on the cobra. Find questions below to ask your child about class today to encourage an extending conversation at home! :)

Speaking of questions, our older children worked on asking questions at the end of today's class. Quite often, when you ask a young child if they have questions, they will raise their hand in anticipation and offer a statement. (And many times, it is a statement that doesn't relate to the conversation at hand! HAHA!)

Today, we worked on staying on the relevant topic (snakes, snakecharming, India) and we focused on the beginning statements of questions:

"WHY...?"
"WHO...?"
"HOW...?"
"WHERE...?"

This kept the kids on task and they were congratulated when they were able to think of a relevant question! Speaking of questions, see today's "Extension Conversation" questions below!

The infants Listen to "Thumri", a traditional Indian love song, while exploring
wooden instruments!

1. What was the festival of lights called? Diwali Festival of Lights

2. Where does it take place? India

3. What do they do for festival of lights? Harvest, sing, dance, light candles, clay pot lights, fireworks, etc.

4. When it floods in India, what happens to the insects? There are too many of them! (The smoke helps keep them away!)

5. What animal does the charmer keep in the basket? A snake! Specifically--a cobra. Extra points: when the sides of the cobra's neck stand out, they are showing their "hood". And that is when they feel threatened!

6. Why does the snake move when the snake charmer plays? The snake is following the movement of the flute. The snake can not actually hear music, but can feel vibrations.

Week of October 7th, 2013

SLIDE WHISTLE FUN!!

Today we enjoyed using slide whistles to learn about pitch, learning about the musical term "glissando", meaning to "glide" from one pitch to another, and moving our bodies in fun ways to the sounds of the sliding tones!

Check out the fun pictures and video below, 

and ask your child about music class today!

Listen to the four year old class say the word "glissando" and play one on their slide whistles! GLISSANDO MP3

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD ABOUT MUSIC CLASS TODAY:

1.  How do you play a slide whistle? By blowing air in it and moving the slider up and down!

2. Was it hard or easy to play?

3. How are the slide whistles cleaned? Today I showed the children how I sanitize the instruments in between each use in a bucket of strong sanitizing solution. I place the slide whistle  mouthpiece down with the slider up, into the strong solution, and allow it to soak and swish for about five minutes. The slidewhistle is then rinsed and wiped off and air dries in the tub!

4. Do you remember what the slide is called? A "glissando"!

The infants experience the slide whistle. =}