KINDERGARTEN
The second half of the month has brought us to Halloween. The students are experimenting with many different ways to use their voices. A favorite so far has been "With My Little Broom." This rhyme begins, "with my little broom I sweep, sweep, sweep" which is fun to act out but really becomes fun when we use our witch voices. The children do a great job, and hopefully they weren't scared too much by my witchy voice! Then, it offers us the opportunity to discuss the difference between our witch voice and our regular voice.....it's higher, squeakier. That's what we are looking for - high and low. Then, it's great fun to try the poem like a giant and discuss how the giant's voice is.....lower! "Pumpkin, Pumpkin" is another fun rhyme that clears up the difference between pumpkin and jack o'lantern. We continue to explore creative movement through our color game (a non-verbal game where children move in different ways depending on the color card held up in the air), "This is Halloween" where the children act out various characters, and "Rake the Leaves." Based on the movements I see, many of our children are ready to help raking their yards! 'Mouse's First Halloween" is a story we use to further creative movements, as the children act out the story, and then we will add instruments for more variety. Throughout these activities, lots of opportunities for good singing are emphasized. Echoing provides children with a chance to hear good singing and try to emulate the sound. Copying the sounds of other students is especially effective and also allows strong singers to lead and build their confidence. It's a win-win!
FIRST GRADE
The weeks approaching Halloween are special for first graders. That's when we explore the expressive qualities of music. This may not seem exciting, but reading a poem quietly and then reading the same poem with a crescendo can be very exciting! Students are learning the Italian words for soft/piano, loud/forte, getting gradually louder/crescendo, getting gradually softer/decrescendo. These qualities can dramatically change the feeling of a piece of music or poem. "Skin and Bones" has a sudden forte at the end (boo) that always surprises and excites, and the children get to use that wonderful singing tone as they sing "oo-oo-oo-ooh." Sliding up or down/glissando is another expressive device that they students use on the xylophones and it helps the children to understand high and low. One of the favorite pieces we explore during October is Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King." This classical piece is full of expressive qualities that make it exciting. The children recognize that the entire piece is one long crescendo!
SECOND GRADE
Student have been working on the difference between xylophones and metallophones and recently took a little quiz to identify which instrument I was playing - I was hidden behind the piano. This exercise proved challenging. We will continue to explore this skill and will retake the quiz later next month and look for improvement. Second graders are also reviewing and exploring expressive qualities as they perform Halloween songs. "Must Be Halloween" is a piece we use to address the different ways eighth notes may be written - barred or flagged. However, the song itself is fun to sing in the style of a witch, zombie, bat, cat, ghost....the children come up with the ideas and then we are able to discuss how they are different - low, high, soft, loud, nasal. They have great ideas. The children also use different instruments to perform the different note values in that piece. "Pumpkin Jack" is always a favorite song and affords more opportunities for great sound effects! As we continue to focus on rhythm reading, the students will be using little toy spider and bat wings to create rhythms on a chart. Spi-der equals two eighth notes (ti-ti) , and Bat equals one quarter note (ta). MEEE-OWWW will represent a half note. "Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Dukas will be the classical piece for second grade as they explore expressive qualities in music, and of course, no Halloween is complete without my favorite - Pumpkin Carols!
The second half of the month has brought us to Halloween. The students are experimenting with many different ways to use their voices. A favorite so far has been "With My Little Broom." This rhyme begins, "with my little broom I sweep, sweep, sweep" which is fun to act out but really becomes fun when we use our witch voices. The children do a great job, and hopefully they weren't scared too much by my witchy voice! Then, it offers us the opportunity to discuss the difference between our witch voice and our regular voice.....it's higher, squeakier. That's what we are looking for - high and low. Then, it's great fun to try the poem like a giant and discuss how the giant's voice is.....lower! "Pumpkin, Pumpkin" is another fun rhyme that clears up the difference between pumpkin and jack o'lantern. We continue to explore creative movement through our color game (a non-verbal game where children move in different ways depending on the color card held up in the air), "This is Halloween" where the children act out various characters, and "Rake the Leaves." Based on the movements I see, many of our children are ready to help raking their yards! 'Mouse's First Halloween" is a story we use to further creative movements, as the children act out the story, and then we will add instruments for more variety. Throughout these activities, lots of opportunities for good singing are emphasized. Echoing provides children with a chance to hear good singing and try to emulate the sound. Copying the sounds of other students is especially effective and also allows strong singers to lead and build their confidence. It's a win-win!
FIRST GRADE
The weeks approaching Halloween are special for first graders. That's when we explore the expressive qualities of music. This may not seem exciting, but reading a poem quietly and then reading the same poem with a crescendo can be very exciting! Students are learning the Italian words for soft/piano, loud/forte, getting gradually louder/crescendo, getting gradually softer/decrescendo. These qualities can dramatically change the feeling of a piece of music or poem. "Skin and Bones" has a sudden forte at the end (boo) that always surprises and excites, and the children get to use that wonderful singing tone as they sing "oo-oo-oo-ooh." Sliding up or down/glissando is another expressive device that they students use on the xylophones and it helps the children to understand high and low. One of the favorite pieces we explore during October is Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King." This classical piece is full of expressive qualities that make it exciting. The children recognize that the entire piece is one long crescendo!
SECOND GRADE
Student have been working on the difference between xylophones and metallophones and recently took a little quiz to identify which instrument I was playing - I was hidden behind the piano. This exercise proved challenging. We will continue to explore this skill and will retake the quiz later next month and look for improvement. Second graders are also reviewing and exploring expressive qualities as they perform Halloween songs. "Must Be Halloween" is a piece we use to address the different ways eighth notes may be written - barred or flagged. However, the song itself is fun to sing in the style of a witch, zombie, bat, cat, ghost....the children come up with the ideas and then we are able to discuss how they are different - low, high, soft, loud, nasal. They have great ideas. The children also use different instruments to perform the different note values in that piece. "Pumpkin Jack" is always a favorite song and affords more opportunities for great sound effects! As we continue to focus on rhythm reading, the students will be using little toy spider and bat wings to create rhythms on a chart. Spi-der equals two eighth notes (ti-ti) , and Bat equals one quarter note (ta). MEEE-OWWW will represent a half note. "Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Dukas will be the classical piece for second grade as they explore expressive qualities in music, and of course, no Halloween is complete without my favorite - Pumpkin Carols!