April is a busy time for Kindergarten music classes. Spring is filled with great things to sing about and after spring break, kindergarten students are really ready to work! They are just that much older and have school 'under their belt' so to speak, so we make great progress. "Pussy Willow" is a cute riddle that the kids have to figure out. The tune climbs up a scale, and once they have had a chance to feel and see what pussy willows are, they love singing and playing the song on the xylophones. It's a great exercise in what up and down is on xylophones, and in their bodies and voices. "Mr. Sun" is our standard plea for sunshine this grey time of year, and we continue to explore "Chicken Soup with Rice" now learning about the month of April. It's such a fun tune by Carole King and the kids love learning the months this way. "Cuckoo" is a wonderful chance for the kids to become a cuckoo hiding in a tree, and they naturally use their head voices to make that cuckoo sound - which encourages good singing technique. We are preparing to share music with you on Portfolio Day, which is Thursday, May 9th. We will share some of our favorite activities with you! We hope to see you all here!
1st Graders are working hard during April to prepare for their Portfolio Day share on Thursday, May 23. I can still use one or two more parents to help with the children on stage for the rehearsals and performance. Please drop me a note and I will sign you up - for the best seat in the house!!! The children are doing such great work as they continue to learn the French text to "Sur le Pont D'Avignon" and the other songs that correspond with their artwork. "I Bought Me A Cat" has been such a fun cumulative song for the kids. They have listened to it performed by different artists, including a children's choir and William Warfield (he was the voice of Old Man River in Showboat) and they explain the differences nicely! Just wait until you see the kids with our funny posters and masks. Students continue to develop singing skills through various exercises to promote using their 'head voice' and are getting more comfortable sharing their voices independently. Ask your child to trace some string and make the sound that matches with their voice.
2nd Graders are definitely at GO time. The 2nd Grade Portfolio Share is Thursday, May 2 - just around the corner. I can still use 3 parents to help out on stage. Please drop me a note if you can spare some time! The 2nd graders are working with our props and learning how things will work in the gym when they perform. Presenting music for an audience involves much preparation and repetition. The children are mastering how to properly get on and off choral risers on the stage, where and when to move to their places for different songs, how to watch a conductor so we all stay together, how to watch a narrator to direct an audience's focus, and soon they will discover which special part their class will perform. All the kids learn all the activities and then I surprise them the week before so they know when to move. It's all quite complicated and I'm confident they will rise to the occasion. As many of the songs are in languages other English (Hebrew, Spanish, Japanese) please encourage your child to practice the words at home. They each have a songsheet so they can sing the songs at home....maybe they can sing their own lullaby:) See you in May!
1st Graders are working hard during April to prepare for their Portfolio Day share on Thursday, May 23. I can still use one or two more parents to help with the children on stage for the rehearsals and performance. Please drop me a note and I will sign you up - for the best seat in the house!!! The children are doing such great work as they continue to learn the French text to "Sur le Pont D'Avignon" and the other songs that correspond with their artwork. "I Bought Me A Cat" has been such a fun cumulative song for the kids. They have listened to it performed by different artists, including a children's choir and William Warfield (he was the voice of Old Man River in Showboat) and they explain the differences nicely! Just wait until you see the kids with our funny posters and masks. Students continue to develop singing skills through various exercises to promote using their 'head voice' and are getting more comfortable sharing their voices independently. Ask your child to trace some string and make the sound that matches with their voice.
2nd Graders are definitely at GO time. The 2nd Grade Portfolio Share is Thursday, May 2 - just around the corner. I can still use 3 parents to help out on stage. Please drop me a note if you can spare some time! The 2nd graders are working with our props and learning how things will work in the gym when they perform. Presenting music for an audience involves much preparation and repetition. The children are mastering how to properly get on and off choral risers on the stage, where and when to move to their places for different songs, how to watch a conductor so we all stay together, how to watch a narrator to direct an audience's focus, and soon they will discover which special part their class will perform. All the kids learn all the activities and then I surprise them the week before so they know when to move. It's all quite complicated and I'm confident they will rise to the occasion. As many of the songs are in languages other English (Hebrew, Spanish, Japanese) please encourage your child to practice the words at home. They each have a songsheet so they can sing the songs at home....maybe they can sing their own lullaby:) See you in May!