Kindergarten Music
March brings a great celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday to kindergarten. We celebrate this event in music class, too. Using "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss, of course, we explore creative expression. The children use different colored scarves to act out the story. It's wonderful to have a chance to freely move! Then, in addition to the scarves we add instruments. The children choose instruments that they think express the same mood as their part of the story. After we perform it, we change parts and try it again. It's great to see the 'purple' days 'drag their tail' or the 'red' days kick their heels! March also brings a discussion of our school's namesake - Laura B. Sprague. It's fun to sing and play games that Laura B. Sprague may have sung with her students, like "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Farmer in the Dell," and "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush." It's also interesting to hear Thomas Edison give his first recording on his gramophone in 1833 - because he recites "Mary Had a LIttle Lamb." Lots of singing games and dances are part of class, too, as we continue to practice using our singing voices and remembering sequences and patterns. Kindergarten students will share some of their music class activities with you on Thursday, May 9. This is portfolio day! Mark your calendars.
First Grade Music
The month of March brings art and music together. Throughout the year, Mrs. Feld, the art teacher, and myself have been in 'cahoots'. We have been working to build connections between art and music, from common vocabulary - such as line (visual or a melody), texture (literally the feeling or thickness of sound) to color (actual color or tone color of various instruments) to how both art forms express feeling and emotion. This month I introduced the children to "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky. This great work is based on artwork of a friend of his. That exhibition inspired Mussorgsky to create a piece of music for each work. In that same vein, the first graders will be presenting their own "Pictures at an Exhibition" for their portfolio share performance on Thursday, May 23. In addition to learning all about what your first grader is doing in their classroom, you will get to see your child on stage! Photos of artwork from Mrs. Feld's art class serve as the inspiration behind each song they will perform - including "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" (on the bridge at Avignon) which ties into a beautiful art project of Monet's garden bridge. Mark your calendars! If you would like to see the 'show' from onstage, please let me know and I will sign you up to help at the two rehearsals that week as well as the performance. I'm also looking for inspiration to decorate the backstage panels.
Second Grade Music
March brought our "Peter and The Wolf" unit to a close. The students really have a great understanding of the story, and recognize the seven characters by their musical themes. Prokofiev's music has stood the test of time! The kids still love it. Their final activity involved grouping the class into the seven characters. Each character-team was able to use scarves and streamers to distinguish themselves from the others. Then, we listened to a recording of the music with Leonard Bernstein as the narrator. Acting out the story was great fun, and some of our students definitely have a career on the stage in their future! I do enjoy their rendition of the Grandfather:) The wonderful thing about this unit is that the children are learning to listen carefully to music, and trying to identify the various instruments of the orchestra. They are also learning to distinguish the four families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. As March continues, students are adding to their repertoire of music from other countries. The year began with the kids singing, "We All SIng With the Same Voice." Now we are adding songs from Japan, Holland, Israel, and Spain. The songsheets will be coming home so they can work on the words anytime. The kids will be sharing this music with you at Portfolio Day - Thursday, May 2. If you'd like to volunteer to help out at the rehearsals and the performance, drop me a note! I also need a few people to decorate the backstage panels. Please let me know if you can help out with this - you can do the work anytime convenient for you.
March brings a great celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday to kindergarten. We celebrate this event in music class, too. Using "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss, of course, we explore creative expression. The children use different colored scarves to act out the story. It's wonderful to have a chance to freely move! Then, in addition to the scarves we add instruments. The children choose instruments that they think express the same mood as their part of the story. After we perform it, we change parts and try it again. It's great to see the 'purple' days 'drag their tail' or the 'red' days kick their heels! March also brings a discussion of our school's namesake - Laura B. Sprague. It's fun to sing and play games that Laura B. Sprague may have sung with her students, like "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Farmer in the Dell," and "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush." It's also interesting to hear Thomas Edison give his first recording on his gramophone in 1833 - because he recites "Mary Had a LIttle Lamb." Lots of singing games and dances are part of class, too, as we continue to practice using our singing voices and remembering sequences and patterns. Kindergarten students will share some of their music class activities with you on Thursday, May 9. This is portfolio day! Mark your calendars.
First Grade Music
The month of March brings art and music together. Throughout the year, Mrs. Feld, the art teacher, and myself have been in 'cahoots'. We have been working to build connections between art and music, from common vocabulary - such as line (visual or a melody), texture (literally the feeling or thickness of sound) to color (actual color or tone color of various instruments) to how both art forms express feeling and emotion. This month I introduced the children to "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky. This great work is based on artwork of a friend of his. That exhibition inspired Mussorgsky to create a piece of music for each work. In that same vein, the first graders will be presenting their own "Pictures at an Exhibition" for their portfolio share performance on Thursday, May 23. In addition to learning all about what your first grader is doing in their classroom, you will get to see your child on stage! Photos of artwork from Mrs. Feld's art class serve as the inspiration behind each song they will perform - including "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" (on the bridge at Avignon) which ties into a beautiful art project of Monet's garden bridge. Mark your calendars! If you would like to see the 'show' from onstage, please let me know and I will sign you up to help at the two rehearsals that week as well as the performance. I'm also looking for inspiration to decorate the backstage panels.
Second Grade Music
March brought our "Peter and The Wolf" unit to a close. The students really have a great understanding of the story, and recognize the seven characters by their musical themes. Prokofiev's music has stood the test of time! The kids still love it. Their final activity involved grouping the class into the seven characters. Each character-team was able to use scarves and streamers to distinguish themselves from the others. Then, we listened to a recording of the music with Leonard Bernstein as the narrator. Acting out the story was great fun, and some of our students definitely have a career on the stage in their future! I do enjoy their rendition of the Grandfather:) The wonderful thing about this unit is that the children are learning to listen carefully to music, and trying to identify the various instruments of the orchestra. They are also learning to distinguish the four families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. As March continues, students are adding to their repertoire of music from other countries. The year began with the kids singing, "We All SIng With the Same Voice." Now we are adding songs from Japan, Holland, Israel, and Spain. The songsheets will be coming home so they can work on the words anytime. The kids will be sharing this music with you at Portfolio Day - Thursday, May 2. If you'd like to volunteer to help out at the rehearsals and the performance, drop me a note! I also need a few people to decorate the backstage panels. Please let me know if you can help out with this - you can do the work anytime convenient for you.