This week (12/1-12/5)

This week in....

Kindergarten- we learned about loud and soft sounds! We made lists of loud and soft things we know (lion, fire alarm, sirens, and thunder were some loud examples....whispering, breeze, mouse, and stream were some soft examples) and pretending to act out those things by moving around the room. We also learned a song and game called "Grizzly Bear" that uses loud and soft singing voices.

Mrs. Levy's class exploring some movements

1st grade- we are, of course, preparing our lovely winter concert for you! We will perform on Tuesday, December 9th at 5:30pm. Don't miss it! Students need to be in their classrooms by 5:15pm to line up. Students should dress nicely for this fun performance.

2nd grade- we are also preparing our winter concert music! We will perform on Tuesday, December 9th at 6:30pm. Don't miss it! Students need to be in their classrooms by 6:15pm to line up. Students should dress nicely for this fun performance.

3rd grade- we got to show and tell our found sound instruments! It was so fun to see what the students created and to hear all the different sounds the many instruments made! We also had some guest musicians come in from a group called the Denver Playground Ensemble to show us their very cool and complex homemade instruments. We also got to take out our found sounds and the guest musicians led us in some cool music making.

4th grade- we have been learning about another jazz great, Dizzy Gillespie, who was quite the impressive trumpet player. We are also learning new songs on recorder and becoming better at reading music. We are really good at identifying the notes B, A, and G on the staff and we have started this music theory activity called "Mad Minutes." The students have 1 minute to identify as many notes as possible on their paper, and they will always try to beat their previous score. It's a fun way to challenge ourselves to become better music readers.

5th grade- we have been working hard at learning to play "Tue, Tue", an African song, on our recorders as well as xylophones. It's fun to take a song we have learned to sing and challenge our brains to put it on an instrument. We even read the song on sheet music and labeled the letter names of the notes. 5th grade students also had a special treat this week; I had a guest musician come in to share some African songs, drumming, and dancing with the kids. She is affectionately called 'The Percussion Lady', and we had a lot of fun watching her drum, trying some tricky rhythm patterns called 'clave' patterns, and learning a new African song.

This week (11/17-11/21)

Happy Thanksgiving break!

This week in...

Kindergarten- we did some fun Thanksgiving activities, including a fun movement game that went with this poem:
Mr. Turkey's on the go and he can keep the beat
Can you guess which way he'll move and put it in your feet?
We also did a fun singing game with a song about pumpkin pie where the student sitting in the middle of the circle would have to close their eyes and then guess which students from the circle was singing the solo at the end of the song.

1st grade- we are in full on concert mode! We are rockin' and rollin' getting ready for the winter concert on Tuesday, December 9th. We have some very special music prepared to share with you. :) Students need to be in their classrooms but 5:15 pm on the night of the concert. Students should dress nicely for the performance. Can't wait!

2nd grade- we are also in full on concert mode! We are pumped for our performance on Tuesday, December 9th. Students must be in their classrooms by 6:15 pm on that night. Students should dress nicely for the performance. Woohoo!

3rd grade- students turned in their found sounds projects this week. It has been so fun to see what instruments they created at home! We are going to have lots of fun with those instruments after Thanksgiving break. :) This week, we learned a poem called "Bow Wow Wow" and learned 3 speaking parts to go with it. We divided into 4 groups, each group saying their own part. It was crazy!

4th grade- we continued learning about Charlie Parker, the great alto saxophonist. We also learned a new song on recorders called "Closet Key" and learned a really fun game to go with it. Ask your child to explain the game to you. :)

5th grade- we learned how to play the song "Tue, Tue" on xylophones! We have been having fun with this song from Ghana recently. We learned a cup part to go with the song, and we also made up our own cup parts/passing games in groups to go with the song. The xylophone part was definitely challenging, but fun to work on. After break, we will try to put it all together with some students playing xylophones, some playing recorders, and some playing drums. Tons of fun! Below are a couple of photos from 5th grade this week.

This week (11/12-11/14)

It was a short but great week!

I'll post more details about what we are up to next Friday since it was such a short week, but here are a few reminders:

1st Grade Winter Concert: Tuesday, December 9th, 5:30pm, meet in classroom by 5:15pm

2nd Grade Winter Concert: Tuesday, December 9th, 6:30pm, meet in classroom by 6:15pm

• 2nd graders should be practicing the "Leaves, Leaves" poem with body percussion at home please! 

3rd Grade Found Sounds Projects: due Thursday, November 20!

This week (11/3-11/7)

5th Graders see below for homework info...

This week in...

Kindergarten- we kept a steady beat! We did lots of steady beat movements, and each student got a chance to be the leader and show the class what steady beat move to do while everyone said the poem"Apple Pie." We also learned about high and low sounds, and put leaves on a tree to show how high the sounds we hear were.

1st grade- we worked on a new song for our concert (Tuesday, December 9th!) called "Celebramos Juntos", which means "celebrate together" in Spanish. We also worked on lots of our other concert pieces, including "Winter Wiggles" and "I Have a Little Snowman."

2nd grade- we are hard at work on our concert music for Tuesday, December 9th! We made up our own body percussion pattern to go with "Leaves, Leaves" that we will continue practicing at home. We also worked on a cool rhythm piece called "Gingerbread Breakdown" and sang a song called "Hip Hop Elves."

3rd grade- we learned a fun folk song/dance called "Wind Up the Apple Tree." We also talked a lot about the percussion family of instruments and learned to categorize the instruments by how they are played (tap, shake, and scrape) and by instrument type (drums, woods, metals, shakers/scrapers.) We played a fun and crazy game with hula hoops that challenges us to watch the conductor (leader of the music.) Don't forget- the found sounds project is due soon! Hodges and Riley instruments are due November 20, and Schleifer instruments are due November 21. See the "Founds Sounds Project" link under 'Pages' for more info if your child has not discussed this with you.

4th grade- we are learning about the life and music of Charlie Parker, the great alto saxophone player. We are also playing and reading the music of a couple of songs, hooray! We use the 'Recorder Music' page to access this music. Students who ordered recorders can expect to receive them before Thanksgiving break.

5th grade- we are learning about a new song from Ghana called "Tue, Tue" which means "Sorry, sorry." We sang and played instruments to go with it. Some of the instruments are being borrowed from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science- they are real, genuine instruments from Africa and they are so cool! There are rattles, drums, a thumb piano, and some crazy dancing rattles and dancing belts too. They were fun to examine and explore this week. We are also learning a cup part to go with this song. It's pretty challenging, but fun.

Homework
1. Sing the song "Tue, Tue" with the real words and snaps.
Tue tue, barima tue tue X2
Abofraba ama dowa dowa tue tue X2 (the end goes up the first time, down the second time)
Barima tue tue

2. Sing the song "Tue, Tue" using solfege syllables and snaps.
So so so so, so la so mi mi mi mi X2
Do mi so so, la so mi mi re re so so so so, do mi so so la so mi mi re re do do do do
Do re la do do do do

3. Practice "Tue, Tue" with the cup part.
Clap clap pat a pat clap up down
Clap up slap down right left over
*Always pick up the cup with your right hand except at the end on the word left

This week and talent show

Congrats to all who participated in the talent show! I am so proud of all of you. You did an amazing job!!! Photos and videos to come!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

This week in....

Kindergarten- we played a bunch of Halloween games! We made our voices fly like ghosts and drew our own ghost pattern to sing. We also read the story "Five Little Pumpkins" and had turns to speak solos in the story. :)

1st grade- we worked on another song for our winter concert called "Winter Wiggles." It's so much fun! We are also working on some other poems and songs to share with our audience.

2nd grade- we worked on lots of music for our winter concert! I don't want to give away all the secrets.....it's going to be a great show!

3rd grade- we learned a fun Halloween song called "Hey Jack!" about a silly jack-o-lantern. We also started talking in more detail about percussion instruments and how to categorize them and make different sounds on them.

4th grade- we wrote some Halloween rhythms using quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes! We also learned a fun body percussion pattern to go with part of the story "Shake Dem Halloween Bones." Super fun!

5th grade- we learned a short poem from Shakespeare's "Macbeth" for a spooky Halloween lesson. The text goes: Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble. We learned to speak this text at this speeds, speak it in canon, and perform the text several times using our voices in interesting ways and mixing up the order of the tempo of the text. We got into groups and created our own mini-performances too.

This week (10/13-10/17)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we met our last animal on the farm, the horse! We learned a song about the horse and added wood blocks to go with it. We also learned a poem about the horse that we galloped with. We played a fun pony game with two ponies named "Macaroni" and "Rotini" and had tons of fun galloping around the circle and singing together. :)

1st grade- we are learning about quarter notes and eighth notes! We are hard at work preparing for the winter concert (Tuesday, December 9), including the song "Mittens and Gloves" and also the poem "Leaves" that we have been working on this fall.

2nd grade- gingerbread rhythms! We have been clapping, snapping, patting, and stomping rhythms that have fun gingerbread words that go with them. We are singing, speaking, and playing. We just started to learn a new, really sweet song for our concert called "Go in Peace." It's a tear jerker!

3rd grade- found sounds!!!!! Please see "Found Sounds Project" under the PAGES section. You should also be getting a golden colored sheet with all of the details of the project. Students will make their own instrument from scratch at home and bring it in to show and tell the week before Thanksgiving break (November 17-21.)

4th grade- we had some fun learning a Halloween poem and added body percussion to go with it. We clapped lots of rhythms with the words "pumpkin" and "Jack-o-lantern" and made up our own rhythms, too. We got into groups and had to learn how to speak part of a new Halloween poem together with a steady beat and expressive voices. We then transferred this entire performance onto recorders! We now know how to play the notes B, A, and G.

5th grade- this week, we are finally sharing our "Tree of Life" performances. I am so proud of what the kids have created. Ask your child about the piece they performed with their group. Each group had to choose a source of inspiration from the book we read in class and use that inspiration to guide them in the creation of their music. I'll be reviewing the videos of each performance this weekend and I'll give students feedback next week. I will also try to edit some of these videos together to post on the blog for you to enjoy.

This week (10/6-10/10)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we met a new animal on our farm, the pig! We learned a song about the pig and added wood blocks to play along with it. We learned a silly poem about the pig and added fun movements: This little pig his ears go flop, this little pig his tail goes pop! This little pig shows up his snout, this little pig is running all about! We also read a cute story called Piggies.

1st grade- we started working on music for our winter concert, which will be Tuesday, December 9th at 5:30pm. We will be performing some songs and poems learned in class. This week, we got to perform the leaf patterns we made last week with partners on the rhythm sticks.

2nd grade- we started working on music for our winter concert, which will be Tuesday, December 9th at 6:30pm. We are learning a song called "Let's Build a Gingerbread House." In preparation for this song, we looked at pictures of some crazy cool gingerbread houses and we also pretended to build our own giant gingerbread houses. We learned some fun gingerbread rhythms, too. Each student created their own gingerbread rhythm to perform during a musical question and answer activity.

3rd grade- we have started to explore the lovely world of found sounds! In groups of four, we learned to confidently and independently perform "jam rhythms", which is a group of 4 rhythms that sound good together and allow the students to have a jam session. Students then assigned their rhythms to found sounds in the room, for example tapping a whiteboard marker on a chair, or scraping a piece of paper along the floor.

4th grade- we got really good at playing the notes B and A this week on our recorders. We finished our unit about Ella Fitzgerald, an amazing jazz scat singer. We learned a new poem to play on our recorders called "Gee oh gee" which is really fun and silly.

5th grade- we are hard at work on our "Tree of Life" compositions. Students are creating their own pieces in groups of 5 based on a book we read in class called the "Tree of Life." Students are almost ready to perform! They will share their pieces with the class next week on Wednesday (Mills), Thursday (Ash), and Friday (Shockley). I can't wait to see what they have come up with!!!!

Talent show- I'm working on coaching each act of the show so that they are fully prepared for this fun performance. The show will be on Thursday, October 30 at 5:30pm. Hope to see you there!

This week (9/29-10/3)

This week in...

Kindergarten- we met a new friend on our farm, the cow! We sang, played instruments, and spoke poems that involve the cow. We got to hold and make sounds on cowbells (how perfect is that?!), wiggle our bodies, and keep a steady beat.

1st grade- we colored in 4 beautiful fall leaves with a partner. We then learned to speak and clap the pattern of our leaves, for example: "red lead, yellow lead, green leaf, orange leaf." We also learned a fun poem for fall: "Leaves, leaves, floating down. Red, yellow, orange and brown."

2nd grade- we had fun making patterns of different colored fall leaves. We learned how to speak and clap these patterns, and we even put them on instruments too. For an extra challenge, we split into groups. Each group was in charge of speaking and playing their instrument to go with their color leaf. In other words, we were making "real music" by having everyone follow along with the music but only play their part on their turn.

3rd grade- we played a fun steady beat game with a football bean bag with the following chant: "Football, football, that's our game. Punting and passing it's not so tame. Miss the ball and without a doubt, along comes the coach and says you're out!" We then learned to play the RHYTHM of that chant (as opposed to the steady beat) and read some rhythms on flash cards.

4th grade- we are continuing to learn about super star Ella Fitzgerald and her amazing jazz singing. We have also been working hard to make more beautiful sounds on our recorders. We learned to play the rhythm of a nursery rhyme on our recorders called "Deedle deedle Dumpling", and we also learned a body percussion part to go with the words. We made up our own rhythms to play on recorders as well.

5th grade- the madness has begun. I'm making use of my 5th grade classes for the final project of my Masters thesis for my Masters in music education degree. For the project, students are divided into groups of about 5 or 6. In their groups, their task is to take the book "The Tree of Life", which we have examined in class, and choose a part of the book as their inspiration. Then, the group creates a piece of music around that inspiration using whatever instruments, voices, and techniques they choose. It's very open-ended. I can't wait to see how their pieces develop!

Talent show- auditions were this week and I was so pleased. Students were well prepared and fun to watch. Every person that auditioned made it into the show. :) The actual show will be Thursday, October 30th. I'm looking forward to working with each act to help them be even better prepared for this special performance.

This week (9/15-9/19)

This week in....

Kindergarten- we are continuing to learn about our singing voices with lots of short songs about farm animals. We had fun doing the Chicken Dance this week, too. :) We have also learned some rhymes to say with our speaking voices that have challenged us! So far we have played rhythm sticks, drums, and next will be egg shakers!

1st grade- we are learning all about the notes so and mi. We have been singing songs and playing games with these two notes. We played one game involving to cups and a small stuff birdie- the teacher (or a student) hides the birdie under one of the cups and the class must figure out which cup he is under by listening to the teacher sing a pattern on the notes so and mi. The birdie is always underneath the cup of the LAST note we sing. Fun times!

2nd grade- we have been working hard at playing, saying, and reading rhythms that use quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, and half notes. We even got to write some rhythms on white boards!

3rd grade- we have been learning to play special patterns on the xylophone called "borduns" and also to play the melody of part of the song "Willowbee." We know how to hold the mallet correctly, and how to play the xylophone and sing at the same time.

4th grade- we have been learning about the famous jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald! Search her name on youtube to see great videos of her scat singing! We created our own scat solos to perform with groups and recorded our final performance in class. We also started recorders this week! Woohoo! Students are each assigned their own recorder which only they will use throughout the year. Students will also have an opportunity to buy a recorder from me in a few weeks if they want to have one to keep at home.

5th grade- we are having fun learning to play "Funga Alafia" on the drums and the xylophones, too! Now we can put it all together with singing, drumming, and xylos! We are rockin' out.

9/2-9/5

Happy week 2!!!!!!

Here's what we've been up to.....

Kinder- we have been learning how to be good audience members by sitting criss cross applesauce, hands in our laps, eyes up! :) We have also been learning about using our voice to speak and sing. We learned a song that will start each music class called "Hello, Everybody" and we've been moving lots to the steady beat. We have also taken a trip to the farm and met Mr. Duck! We learned a poem and a song about the duck, too.

1st Grade- we have been reviewing some important things from kindergarten like steady beat. We learned a song called "Rig a Jig Jig" and created our own movements to go with it with a partner. We are going to start learning about the notes so and mi soon!

2nd Grade- we have been reunited with our favorite friend from last year, Birdie. Ask your child to explain the birdie game to you! We have reviewed the notes la, so, mi, and do from pitch hill with our birdie game. We have also reviewed a fun beat passing game called "Acka Backa." We are learning now about how to play question and answer phrases on rhythm sticks.

3rd Grade- we got to have some fun playing with the birdie while reviewing the notes la, so, mi, re, and do from pitch hill. We learned that any song with 5 notes in it is called a pentatonic song. We learned a new pentatonic song called "Willowbee" that has a fun dance to go with it! We made up our own awesome moves to go with the dance this week and got to perform them in class. :)

4th Grade- Jazz music! We have been listening to, moving to, and starting to make some jazz music in class. We are learning about scat words, which are made up non-sense words that singers use to create solos in jazz music (think of Ella Fitzgerald.) We reviewed what time signatures and call and responses are.

5th Grade- Drumming! We have already had some fun on the hand drums creating our own compositions in small groups. We also learned how to hold and play the larger djembe and tubano African drums this week. We are experimenting with some call and response on the drums as we get comfortable with how to play them.

WELCOME BACK!

Hi!

Another new school year is here!

Please type your email address into the white bar at the top of the page and hit "submit." You will then get an email each time I write a new post so that you can stay up to date. Also, please add my blog to your favorites or bookmarks!

I'm coming into the 2014-2015 school year full of inspiration from another summer of graduate school studies. Please see a presentation I created below about the value of music in our schools. It only takes a few minutes to watch. 

Music in our Schools

Please visit this page often and encourage your students to do the same! (And kids, get your parents on the blog!) This will be the best resource for information regarding music class, concerts, and fun ways for your kids to become better musicians at home, too!

Thanks!

4th Grade Concert and 5th Grade Links

The 4th grade concert was AMAZING! Thanks to all students and families for your hard work and support. A video will be forthcoming containing clips from the concert, so stay tuned. :)

5th grade:
Below are links to the youtube videos for the original song/remake project. Enjoy!

Coldplay's "Viva La Vida"
The Wanted remake

Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'"
Glee remake

Beyonce's "Halo"
Mike Posner's remake

Dave Brubeck's "Take Five"
Sachal Studios' remake

Auditions for "Kindergarten Wall" solos will be Friday, May 16 during recess.
The video below shows the lyrics and has the recording, but it is DIFFERENT than the version we heard in class. I would like to stay truer to that version, but do your best to prepare using this recording. I will have a few practice sessions in my room next week so that you can come in to hear the recording and sing along to prepare.
"Kindergarten Wall"

Spring Break!

It's spring break, wahooooo!

Kindergarten- this week we worked on learning how many sounds are in our first names. We also learned a new song "Mr. Sun", that we will perform at kindergarten graduation. We learned a poem about the sun, and we also learned sign language to go with the song "This Little Light of Mine."

1st/2nd grade- we worked on the song "Rain, Rain Go Away"- we patted the beat, clapped the rhythm, wrote out the rhythm, and read the melody on the music staff!

3rd grade- we are hard at work on music for our spring concert, which will be on Thursday May 8th. We learned to play the melody of "Rocky Mountain" on xylophones, which was a fun challenge for us. I sent home a copy of the lyrics for several of our songs for students to practice, if they wish, over break. Below is a link to a video of "King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O", one of our concert songs. It isn't the exact version we'll be doing, but it's close.

http://youtu.be/dTMTucKXags

4th grade- we are working on lots of music for our upcoming concert on Thursday, April 24. A few students auditioned for solos and will be performing those on their recorders with the song "Slick Cat Blues." Students can also audition for a solo for the song "Pizza Boogie" when we get back from spring break. See the link below if you wish to purchase the song and practice with it at home. See last week's post for a link to the video for "Happy."

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/pizza-boogie/id315245357

5th grade- we took our instrument unit quiz! We learned so much during this unit, and the students really showed off their solid listening skills by identifying instruments on this quiz by sound only, not by sight. Way to go! Below is a list of students that got a perfect score on the quiz:

Sean G.
Brad K.
Kendra L.
Jerry W.
Ronan G.
David C.
Joaquin C.
Zeyta W.D.
Gretchen B.
Jadyn M.

Congrats!

This week (3/17-3/21)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Kindergarten- we celebrated St. Patty's day in style with some Irish music and a lucky penny game. We also had fun adding instruments to the traditional song "This Old Man."

1st/2nd grade- we all sang solos in the song "Wee Willie Winkie" and played a game to go with it. In the game, we got to make houses in groups and have one group member live inside! We also played a game with the notes so and mi and we're getting really good at reading and singing so/mi patterns on the music staff. We learned a new song, "Rain, Rain Go Away", and even created our own rain storm with body percussion sounds.

3rd grade- we've been working hard on music for our concert on Thursday, May 8th! We are learning to play the song "Rocky Mountain" on xylophones- it's kind of fast, but super fun. We are also singing "Sitting Around the Campfire" and working on the book Mountain Dance.

4th grade- we are continuing to learn to play 12 bar blues solos on recorders! Students may audition next week on Tuesday (3/25) or Wednesday (3/26) at lunch recess or Tuesday (3/25) after school if they would like to have a solo for "Slick Cat Blues" at the concert. Purchase the song here if you wish to play along at home!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jazz-for-all-lead-instruments/id286016267

Notes for 12 bar blues solo with hometone of E:

E     E     E     E
A     A    E     E
B     A    E     E

Link to "Happy" video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce3o-laUiwU&feature=share&list=PLEAB867A9D48528D0&index=17

5th grade- we focused on the string family for our instrument unit this week. Next week we will be reviewing and testing on info learned in this unit! Our goal is to be able to identify most of the main instruments of the orchestra by sound only. :) See links under "Music Games and Quizzes" under 'Pages' to practice on your own! You can do it!

5th graders also will enjoy a special music presentation put on by Community Resources, Inc. today, Friday (3/21) in the auditorium to go with our instrument unit. It should be a fun day!

This week

It's been a crazy week at Park Hill with TCAP testing going on, but we've still been busy in music class.

Kindergarten- we are learning about long and short sounds. We have been moving to, listening to, and making long and short sounds. We have learned and played a game called "Doggie, Doggie" and we all got to sing solos about where we hid the doggie's bone.

1st/2nd grade- we have been learning about a new note from pitch hill called "la." We learned a new song called "Wee Willie Winkie" and learned a fun game to go with it.

3rd grade- we got to finally perform our Mountain Dance projects for the class! It was really fun to see the movements that went with the story for each group of students. We also continued to work on some music for our concert (which will be May 8), including the folk song "Rocky Mountain."

4th grade- we have been working hard on our improvising over 12 bar blues! Some students will even perform recorder solos at our upcoming concert on April 24. We have also been learning some concert songs, including "I Like to Sing/Scat" (lyrics are written below for students who have asked for them), and also "Pizza Boogie."

I like to sing
I like to sing
I like to sing, sing, sing
Oh I like to sing!

La la    la la la la
La la    la la la la la
La la    la la la la
How I like to sing a ling a ling!

I like to sing
I like to sing
I like to sing, sing, sing
Oh I like to sing

I like to scat like mini mop mop moop moop me
I like to scat like wah wah nyuk nyuk nyuk
I like to scat like oowee mommy mommy
I like to scat like that dat dabba dabba dat dat dat

Be bop doo wee bop
O bo baby o bo
Zoo zoo loo yup yup yup yup
Me yoo wee yoo, yoo hoo!
I yi yi yi yi yi shimmy shimmy
Louie hooie dooie
La la la scooby doo bop

I like to scat like mini mop mop moop moop me
I like to scat like wah wah nyuk nyuk nyuk
I like to scat like oowee mommy mommy
I like to scat like that dat dabba dabba dat dat dat

5th grade- we have begun our instrument unit! We have spent one day learning about the percussion family, one day with the brass, and one day with the woodwinds. Next week we will learn about the string family and begin to review the four instrument families.

Clips from 5th Grade Concert

Enjoy some clips from the 5th grade concert! It was such a great performance, and I couldn't be happier with what the kids accomplished. Very proud teacher! Way to go!!!!!

CONCERT THIS WEEK

Remember: the 5th grade concert is THIS Thursday, February 27, at 6pm in the auditorium. 5th grade students must be in their classrooms at 5:40pm, dressed nicely.

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you there!

Long overdue update

Hi, all!

Do I have any readers out there? If so, please leave comments! :)

We've been pretty busy around Park Hill! Here's a little review of what we've been up to....

Kindergarten- we have finished our unit on loud and soft and begun our new unit on fast and slow! We have learned some songs to sing along with the old tale of "The Tortoise and the Hare" and we have enjoyed moving around the room to fast and slow music. We have played some egg shakers, said some rhymes, and played some singing games recently, including one called "Who Has the Nickel?"

1st/2nd grade- we have been having fun with a 2 line rhyme about breakfast sausage! We've been moving around the room, playing sticks and drums, and making up 8-beat word chains. Prior to that, we read the story In the Small, Small Pond and added movements as well as instrument parts to each page of the story. Super fun!

3rd grade- we have been getting a little silly with the poem "Rotten Mood." We learned the words of this poem as well as two ostinato (an ostinato is a repeating musical pattern) patterns to go with it. We then transferred these 3 speaking parts (the poem and the two ostinato patterns) to percussion instruments like drums and sand paper blocks. To top it all off, we then transferred the speaking parts onto the mallet instruments!

4th grade- we have been working on a couple of songs for our spring concert, which will be on April 24. One of those songs, "The Goal", is a fun canon that we have been singing in groups with a leader and follower part. We have also been working on our improvising skills on recorders! We have done some call and response rhythms as solos and in small groups.

5th grade- we are hard at work in preparation for our concert which is in 3 weeks! Thursday, February 27th!!! I cannot wait for this performance. Each class has been diligently working on their individual class pieces (each 5th grade class is performing two of their own pieces separately from the other classes) as well as the whole group 5th grade songs. Their creativity and work ethic has been impressive and fun to watch. Come see them perform so that you can enjoy, too!