September Successes!
Everyone has been working diligently and having a great time in the music room these last few weeks. We are still practicing our expectations and using lots of games and different lessons to apply our expectations to. I'm so proud of how quickly they are catching on to the new routines and and diving head first with joy into their learning.
Kinder has been working on steady beat with our steady beat spiders, learning to dance with partners, and enjoying some classic nursery rhymes. Last week they met my friend Johnny and learned all about his dad's workshop and how he builds things with "Johnny Works with One Hammer" then we added rhythm sticks and movement to go along. We've also enjoyed singing our nursery rhymes with Iza Trapani's beautiful picture books.
1st grade continues to work on steady beat and using partner songs to move through our room. They learned their first circle game, Doggie Doggie, and are loving being the puppy. This week we are introducing different tempos and using our drum to find the steady beat even when tempo is changing.
2nd grade is loving Floofy, our yarn ball, to play Acka Backa. It's a great way to reinforce steady beat while practicing how to be responsible with materials. Using our piano they're learning aural cues for up, down, jump, wiggle, and march. It's so much fun watching their creativity come alive through movement. Second grade has also learned the rhythms ti-ti and ta and are showing rhythm patterns through body percussion.
3rd grade worked in instrument groups with tambourines, egg shakers, and castanets with our play-along videos. Turns out having instructions from a chicken conductor makes the day so much better! They did a great job following along and preparing them to talk about rests in music. We learned the song "Hot Cross Buns" on boomwhackers and body percussion to perform ABA form in class. They all did a fabulous job with our instruments.
4th grade is gearing up for their performance next month on October 25, "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World". They're learning songs from various countries around the world and even in foreign language. You can find more info about this under the performance tab on the menu and select 4th grade. There you'll find the playlist to sing at home with and all lyrics.
5th grade is reviewing skills such as treble clef pitches and rhythmic values. Last week they practiced what it looks like if there is ever a sub so we broke out the card games for some small group work playing Go Fish, UNO, Old Maid, and Memory. The best part is these familiar games all have a music twist so we're still learning through play and that's the best way to learn! They also worked in partners to read treble clef pitches to solve mystery words. This week we're having a bit of a history lesson about how music became a written language with a fantastic book titled "Do Re Mi: If you can read music, thank Guido d'Arezzo". It's a nonfiction that explains how music went from just an oral art to a written language.
I can hardly wait to see what fabulous learning October brings. These kiddos are a treat to teach and I'm so glad they are all in my class. :)