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.