Another great week! We had fun doing songs about SNOW!
THIS WEEK: Reviewed "The More We Get Together" and added scarves to the dance. Learned "All Around the Brickyard" and added instruments. Learned the Snowflake Dance and practiced moving from our home spot to a new spot and then back to home. (A very tricky concept for this age!) Learned "All the Snow is Falling Down" and added scarf movement. Reviewed "I Got a Letter".
AT HOME:
"All the Snow": Practice singing this song with movement at home. Ask kids what happens to their voice when they sing "All the snow is falling down, falling gently to the ground." (It goes down.) Does it go down all at once or a little at a time? (A little at a time...parents, it actually moves down a major scale) What is your movement doing? (It's also moving down a little at a time!) You can have the same discussion about "Now the wind will lift it high, lift it gently to the sky" except of course, this time the melody is moving up.
"All Around the Brickyard": Before we added instruments, we practiced some body percussion to this song. (Stamp, Clap, Snap, Pat) Brainstorm with your child some other movement you could do...it is great for kids to be able to identify and label different ways they move. (Ex. skip, march, climb, jump)
NEXT WEEK:
We're going to talk about being on the farm next week! We're going to do some songs about chickens, pigs, and rabbits. There is a fun partner dance to the chicken song...so be ready to move a lot! We'll also add another part to our snowflake dance. We learned to swirl and twirl and come back to our spots. Next week we're going to add MELTING and POPPING UP.
Parents, thank you for sharing your children with me! They are so fun and I am enjoying teaching them!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
First Week!
WOW! What a fun first week of Music, Mom, and Me!
Thank you to all of our 2,3,4, and 5 year olds participating and their parents. This is a fun, energetic group and I know it's going to be a great session. I believe we will have a few more joining us this week. If you know of any friends with kids this age that still want to join, it's not too late! Please tell them they are welcome to come to class this week.
Each week I will update this blog with a recap, extension activities, and what to look forward to for next week. I will hopefully be more timely than I was this week. I apologize...we have had some computer issues, but all is fixed now. Please check back weekly for the update and feel free to encourage friends and family to read along to find out what we have been up to. This will also be the place where all additional information will be posted such as program info or if there needs to be a class cancellation. (Hopefully we are done with all of the inclimate weather though!)
LAST WEEK: Learned our Hello song. We celebrated Valentine's Day with songs about love, friendship, and hearts. Danced to "The More We Get Together". Played "I Got a Letter" game. Used instruments on "Love Somebody". Then we played a challenging game..."I Like You!". Very challenging to stay in a circle and put that jump in at the end! Ended with reviewing "The More We Get Together".
AT HOME: Encourage kids to sing these songs through the week! Sing with them so they get used to using their singing voice on a daily basis. The ability to sing will serve them throughout their life, and the only way to develop that skill is to practice it! The trick is...you have to be comfortable with it too! If they sense any kind of hesitation or embarrassment on your part, they will pick up on that. Remember...kids don't judge your singing voice! They are just happy you are singing with them!
"I Got A Letter": This is a great song for identifying letters. Extend this lesson by using different letters and finding them throughout the room. For older children, you could give them the capital letter and ask them to find the lower case or vice versa. You could even draw a simple picture and ask them to find the letter that the picture starts with. Be sure to do sounds that have easily identified beginning letters. Example...the letter "C" would need a picture like cake or candy but not chicken or clapping.
"Love Somebody": On this song, we played on the word "Love". You could extend this at home by doing some kind of body percussion (clapping, stamping, patting knees, snapping) on the word "Love". It is a tricky skill to be able to recognize where to place the instrument sound and it needs practice.
Next Week: This will be an exciting week! We will add some scarf movement to the song "The More We Get Together". We're also going to have a week about snow (although we've had some Spring like weather and I'm hoping it stays!). We'll do a snowflake dance and a song about falling snow...using scarves on that as well. We'll also have a chance to use instruments again...including some new handdrums! Looking forward to seeing you Monday night at 5:15!
Please Remember:
*There needs to be one adult with each child that will participate in each class. The participator needs to serve as a model for their child and also just be there to play with them and encourage them to stay on task. :) Other adults (parents/grandparents) are always welcome to watch...they can sit in the sitting section (Sorry about the small chairs!) and watch the class from there.
*Remember your child is young! Their attention span is NOT thirty minutes! :) I understand that and try to keep activities moving very quickly. We will not spend very long on one activity simply because I feel like a fast paced class keeps kids involved and interested.
Some ideas/tips for keeping your kiddos on task...
*If they wander and are not disturbing others or equipment in the room, I would just let them go and come back in their own time. If you keep participating, then they will most likely at some point make the decision to come back. I realize there are distractions in the room and I apologize...it is very difficult to find the "perfect spot" to have this class. Having the conversation that you are there for music, and we need to not play toys WHILE we are in music may help. I will have as much put away as I can; however this room IS a preschool room by day. :) It is important that we are careful with what is in the room...things on the wall, crafts are etc. are very dear to those preschoolers! :)
*If your child starts being noisy to a point that others cannot hear or are bothering others or things in the room, I would just take the to the hallway for a minute and say something simple..."We are here to have fun in Music. If you are not following directions, then we can't play games or instruments." and then bring them back. You have to decide what works best for your child, but I do ask that you understand that if the noise level becomes an issue, you need to remove them for a moment so that others still have the opportunity to participate. Please understand...I have children this age! Everyone in the class does...we understand that they are learning the skills for group work, cooperation, etc. ALL of us will most likely have to work with our kiddos on this, and that is just part of it! Modeling this for your kids is the best way I know to set the example of what is expected.
I am really excited about this group of kids and all that we will experience together over the next four weeks. Thanks for coming!
Thank you to all of our 2,3,4, and 5 year olds participating and their parents. This is a fun, energetic group and I know it's going to be a great session. I believe we will have a few more joining us this week. If you know of any friends with kids this age that still want to join, it's not too late! Please tell them they are welcome to come to class this week.
Each week I will update this blog with a recap, extension activities, and what to look forward to for next week. I will hopefully be more timely than I was this week. I apologize...we have had some computer issues, but all is fixed now. Please check back weekly for the update and feel free to encourage friends and family to read along to find out what we have been up to. This will also be the place where all additional information will be posted such as program info or if there needs to be a class cancellation. (Hopefully we are done with all of the inclimate weather though!)
LAST WEEK: Learned our Hello song. We celebrated Valentine's Day with songs about love, friendship, and hearts. Danced to "The More We Get Together". Played "I Got a Letter" game. Used instruments on "Love Somebody". Then we played a challenging game..."I Like You!". Very challenging to stay in a circle and put that jump in at the end! Ended with reviewing "The More We Get Together".
AT HOME: Encourage kids to sing these songs through the week! Sing with them so they get used to using their singing voice on a daily basis. The ability to sing will serve them throughout their life, and the only way to develop that skill is to practice it! The trick is...you have to be comfortable with it too! If they sense any kind of hesitation or embarrassment on your part, they will pick up on that. Remember...kids don't judge your singing voice! They are just happy you are singing with them!
"I Got A Letter": This is a great song for identifying letters. Extend this lesson by using different letters and finding them throughout the room. For older children, you could give them the capital letter and ask them to find the lower case or vice versa. You could even draw a simple picture and ask them to find the letter that the picture starts with. Be sure to do sounds that have easily identified beginning letters. Example...the letter "C" would need a picture like cake or candy but not chicken or clapping.
"Love Somebody": On this song, we played on the word "Love". You could extend this at home by doing some kind of body percussion (clapping, stamping, patting knees, snapping) on the word "Love". It is a tricky skill to be able to recognize where to place the instrument sound and it needs practice.
Next Week: This will be an exciting week! We will add some scarf movement to the song "The More We Get Together". We're also going to have a week about snow (although we've had some Spring like weather and I'm hoping it stays!). We'll do a snowflake dance and a song about falling snow...using scarves on that as well. We'll also have a chance to use instruments again...including some new handdrums! Looking forward to seeing you Monday night at 5:15!
Please Remember:
*There needs to be one adult with each child that will participate in each class. The participator needs to serve as a model for their child and also just be there to play with them and encourage them to stay on task. :) Other adults (parents/grandparents) are always welcome to watch...they can sit in the sitting section (Sorry about the small chairs!) and watch the class from there.
*Remember your child is young! Their attention span is NOT thirty minutes! :) I understand that and try to keep activities moving very quickly. We will not spend very long on one activity simply because I feel like a fast paced class keeps kids involved and interested.
Some ideas/tips for keeping your kiddos on task...
*If they wander and are not disturbing others or equipment in the room, I would just let them go and come back in their own time. If you keep participating, then they will most likely at some point make the decision to come back. I realize there are distractions in the room and I apologize...it is very difficult to find the "perfect spot" to have this class. Having the conversation that you are there for music, and we need to not play toys WHILE we are in music may help. I will have as much put away as I can; however this room IS a preschool room by day. :) It is important that we are careful with what is in the room...things on the wall, crafts are etc. are very dear to those preschoolers! :)
*If your child starts being noisy to a point that others cannot hear or are bothering others or things in the room, I would just take the to the hallway for a minute and say something simple..."We are here to have fun in Music. If you are not following directions, then we can't play games or instruments." and then bring them back. You have to decide what works best for your child, but I do ask that you understand that if the noise level becomes an issue, you need to remove them for a moment so that others still have the opportunity to participate. Please understand...I have children this age! Everyone in the class does...we understand that they are learning the skills for group work, cooperation, etc. ALL of us will most likely have to work with our kiddos on this, and that is just part of it! Modeling this for your kids is the best way I know to set the example of what is expected.
I am really excited about this group of kids and all that we will experience together over the next four weeks. Thanks for coming!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)