Now that September is upon us, I am truly looking forward to the beautiful autumn palette that the foliage will soon be offering, not to mention the most welcome cooIer temperatures! But down in the music room, things are starting to heat up...
In kindergarten, the children have enjoyed vocal exploration through a delicious story about an ice cream sundae. Yum! They have experienced the steady beat through movement and instruments, and have been learning about vocal timbre (singing, speaking, calling/shouting, and whispering voices). In addition, the children have been exploring movement possibilities through a game where they have to keep an eye on where they're going while also watching for my visual cues. Fun!
1st graders have been 'monkeying around' both vocally and through movement while learning about musical contrasts (up/down and high/low). They have also used their voices expressively to musically enhance poems. Creative and imitative movement opportunities have provided steady beat reinforcement.
2nd grade students have been enjoying the ride as they vocally toodle around with that old tin car while working on their solfege hand signs and pentatonic singing skills. They have also been having fun with a vacation-related song that incorporates rhythmic body percussion patterns as well as locomotor and non-locomotor movement.
3rd grade is presently learning about tempo (speed of music) and dynamics (volume level). They are finding that, mama mia! while in the process of expanding their musical vocabulary, they are also picking up a bit of the Italian language. Quello e buono! The children are also experiencing several activities that will lead into the concept of form, which of course means that there actually was a reason for their trip Down to the Baker's Shop!
4th graders have been rendered breathless in a singing game which challenged their ability to maintain a steady beat at a pace that grew ever faster with each non-stop repetition! And the Chee Chee Cha had some of the children fondly recalling their kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Nichols, and her ever-popular Tooty Tot. The children have also been working on their singing skills through several other songs, and each class is about to create their own version of a hand drum piece that they have recently learned. After evaluating the outcome, we will be incorporating ideas and suggestions offered by the students.
In 5th grade, the children became comfortable with the speech and hand drum piece that was begun in August, and are now playing the accompanying movement game. They will be evaluating their performance, offering suggestions for improvement, trying out their suggestions, and discussing what they learned as a result of this game.
