Kindergarten students are welcoming 2014 with a familiar song - but we've changed the words to "It's a Brand New Year!" We used this song to allow opportunities for solo singing, as each child offered what they did over winter break. It was great to hear all the fun things our students did, especially with those two extra days! January brings lots of opportunity for creative expression. Children are exploring the concept of high and low sounds through many pieces. First they move their hands to indicate the sounds they are hearing, then they move their bodies, then they pair up with partners to create shapes. I love snow, and so do our children, so January is the perfect time to explore this concept musically. We begin with some poetry that awakens our imagination - 'hush, hush, hush, hush, don't make a sound. be a little snowflake that falls to the ground.' This poem opens a magical world of children and white feathers...they are so gentle and quiet as they pretend to hold snowflakes(feathers). It also further explores high and low. This leads to a reading of "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats - another favorite of mine. The children will be acting out the story, which is always a wonderful experience. We will continue the idea of creative expression with another poem, "The Robin." Through the month of January we will continue to explore high and low, and melodic contour with bodies, voices and manipulatives. It is so fun!
First Grade students welcome 2014 with another great work study. Last month it was the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. January brings "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens. This is such a fabulous piece of music, with many short pieces representing different animals. We began last week by exploring several of the pieces - trying to guess which animal fits which piece. This week the children will learn a bit about Saint-Saens, and continue to hear (and move to) more of the short pieces. Terms they will be learning include composer, staccato - short, legato - smooth and marcato - marked. These terms will be the basis for some wonderful creative movement using BODYSOX. I will post pictures of this activity when we get to it. The other big idea students will be focused on is instrumentation. Saint-Saens selects different instruments for the different animals, so as we study the children will be learning many different instruments of the orchestra. We end the unit with a composition project, where teams of children create a short song to represent an animal - then the class gets to guess! Don't forget LAMP night!!! That's when first grade students and their special grown-up or two come to school at night to explore the 'specials' classes. We would love to invite your whole family, but there simply is not enough space for that many. It's a great night and we hope to see you on the 23rd or 30th. Check the schedule on the home page.
Second Grade students are off to 2014 with scientific experiments exploring the concept of SOUND. What is sound? How can sounds be changed? These are two questions we investigate in January. The students began using tuning forks. It is very telling to strike and hold a tuning fork, listen to it, and then see what happens when placed in a bowl of water. They can see the vibrations! More experiments will follow to help the children understand the concept of vibration, including more activities with tuning forks, balloons, constructing megaphones, and using classroom instruments. BrainPop videos help fill in some further information regarding hearing and ears that is hard for us to see. Right now, after one experiment, children should remember that sound is vibration, and it takes energy to make vibration. Martin Luther King, Jr. day is also in January, and 2nd graders will learn a piece using xylophones, glockenspiels and drums. This great piece allows for improvisation, and helps reinforce why we celebrate this holiday. Whew! Lots to do!
First Grade students welcome 2014 with another great work study. Last month it was the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. January brings "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens. This is such a fabulous piece of music, with many short pieces representing different animals. We began last week by exploring several of the pieces - trying to guess which animal fits which piece. This week the children will learn a bit about Saint-Saens, and continue to hear (and move to) more of the short pieces. Terms they will be learning include composer, staccato - short, legato - smooth and marcato - marked. These terms will be the basis for some wonderful creative movement using BODYSOX. I will post pictures of this activity when we get to it. The other big idea students will be focused on is instrumentation. Saint-Saens selects different instruments for the different animals, so as we study the children will be learning many different instruments of the orchestra. We end the unit with a composition project, where teams of children create a short song to represent an animal - then the class gets to guess! Don't forget LAMP night!!! That's when first grade students and their special grown-up or two come to school at night to explore the 'specials' classes. We would love to invite your whole family, but there simply is not enough space for that many. It's a great night and we hope to see you on the 23rd or 30th. Check the schedule on the home page.
Second Grade students are off to 2014 with scientific experiments exploring the concept of SOUND. What is sound? How can sounds be changed? These are two questions we investigate in January. The students began using tuning forks. It is very telling to strike and hold a tuning fork, listen to it, and then see what happens when placed in a bowl of water. They can see the vibrations! More experiments will follow to help the children understand the concept of vibration, including more activities with tuning forks, balloons, constructing megaphones, and using classroom instruments. BrainPop videos help fill in some further information regarding hearing and ears that is hard for us to see. Right now, after one experiment, children should remember that sound is vibration, and it takes energy to make vibration. Martin Luther King, Jr. day is also in January, and 2nd graders will learn a piece using xylophones, glockenspiels and drums. This great piece allows for improvisation, and helps reinforce why we celebrate this holiday. Whew! Lots to do!