 Once again, we had a great week. I just love my 1st year students! They are smart and so fun. Just a reminder parents come next week! The kids are very used to me by now and I hope, feel quite comfortable. I am starting to watch them more closely and can see that you parents are doing such a great job helping them. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for making their education a priority. If your child isn’t quite singing on pitch yet, don’t despair, it will come. One of the best ways to get them to hear it is to have them sing. That is why in class I keep telling them to sing with me. Even if they aren’t right on they should sing, sing, sing. As nonsensical as it sounds, singing out loud is one of the keys to hearing it inside. Homework: pp. 4–5 Students outline the solfege boxes with the specified color.  Bug Rhythms The song “Can’t Bug Me” is the foundational song for counting our rhythms. We'll be using these bugs for the rest of the curriculum. This will become second nature very quickly  Meet the Blue Bugs....enjoy reading about why we use rhythm syllables in Let's Play Music.
What a fun lesson we had! Thanks parents for coming. The kids love it when you are here! Next week only students and homework comes. Here are a few classroom reminders… 1. Be on time: If a student is consistently late, they will miss important exercises that will affect their musical training. (The key word is consistent, we are all human with stuff that happens, so just try your very best.) 2. Add your energy to class: Make sure you are participating right alongside your child. I can't do it all by myself. Well, maybe I could, but it's much more fun if everyone is having fun with me! Also, payment is due, so please check your email for your invoice. Homework: pp. 2–3 Students color the solfege hand signs. New Melodic Pattern Today we learned ‘sol la ti do’ hand signs and notated them on the staff! We’ll be hearing, singing and signing this pattern a lot now. Remember singing our cadence patterns over and over again help us to sing in tune and aurally internalize the diatonic scale. New Songs Many new songs were introduced in class. Within the next few weeks we’ll be learning complex skills and concepts from these songs. Things like: identifying rhythms and how to notate them, subdividing a beat, harmony using a round, recognizing a broken chord, playing and reading skips on the staff, and SO much more! Our new songs this week included: Clickety, Clickety Clack, Can’t Bug Me, Old Paint, Rig-a-Jig-Jig, Johnny’s Haircut, How to Skip, and our new puppet show, Triumphant March. Every activity has a music lesson hidden inside and the exciting part is your student just thinks we are just PLAYING!! It's magical! Have fun with reading this blog post on Old Paint! You can download the Triumphant March puppets or the coloring book below. Enjoy coloring together while listening to the music!
 Wow, the semester flew by! I love teaching your kids and am so grateful to work with caregivers that are so involved in their student’s life. You are really giving your children a gift by allowing them to learn the skills and concepts that live in the art form of music. I am excited for Blue Bugs and cannot wait until January! Take a small breather, but right after the holiday start listening to the Blue Bugs audio tracks. Thank you for all of your feedback this week on the parent evaluations. I take all feedback into consideration and strive to come up with the best collective way to make things better. I, the teacher, as well as the Let's Play Music company, collectively appreciate your honesty and frankness in your responses. We take educating your children seriously and we appreciate your insight on things we can improve on. If you know anyone interested in starting Let’s Play Music 1st year classes next fall, or Sound Beginnings, I do have a waiting list. I want to give your family and friends priority on this list, so let me know of anyone interested. Please have them contact me ASAP if they want to sign up this spring. Infusing Music Studios will be offering two Year 1 classes and three Sound Beginnings classes, so encourage those interested to sign up NOW to reserve their spot. Our Blue Bugs class start date is January 19th — same time, same place! You will receive an email from me before class starts in January to remind you that class is starting. Lastly, thanks so much for the Christmas gifts and cards. I loved them all! Your children are just precious.  Primary Chord Song Today we reviewed several different concepts and skills that we’ve learned throughout the semester. You should be very proud of your budding musician. They are doing so very well. We’ll jump into new information again when we return in January!  If you're still looking for a Christmas gift for your child, consider a gift for your student that will help them in their musical journey: the 8 note songbook, 8 note songbook - Christmas edition, Student Magnet Board, 1st Year Magnet Set, our 8 note PlayPipes or a 1st Year Sticker Pack.
Enjoy this rendition of The Waltz of the Flower! Merry Christmas everyone. Also, here is some bell music to print and play! Enjoy the amazing musicianship skills your young children are learning. ThreeBlindMiceBellMusic.pdf TambourineTrainBellMusic.pdf TakingBabyStepsBellMusic.pdf ScotlandsBurningBellMusic.pdf PrimaryChordsSongBellMusic.pdf |
Clara McDonaldAs a music educator of 25 years, my passion is infusing others with music! Archives
January 2023
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