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!
Thank you for a FANTASTIC 1st year! I cannot wait for the next one! Look for a Welcome email in August! And if you have any friends interested, there are two Year 1 classes for the Fall. Share the music love!
We'll have a final recital rehearsal on May 17 during your regular class time. See you then! Let's Play it Again! still has a few openings. Grab them quick! http://www.infusingmusicstudios.com/letsplayitagain.html To help fight off summertime boredom, play the bells, create bell music and read from the staff, play games on your lines and spaces page, listen to music and have fun creating all kinds of BUGS!! Here, here and here. https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2009/07/not-just-for-booboos.html http://pagingfunmums.com/2013/07/07/cute-bug-craft-using-spoons-and-pipe-cleaners/ https://www.freekidscrafts.com/paper-loop-lady-bug/ |
Clara McDonaldAs a music educator of 25 years, my passion is infusing others with music! Archives
January 2023
Categories |