Sleepy Bunnies - Kindergarten

Sleepy Bunnies - Kindergarten

Sleepy Bunnies is always a hit in Kindergarten. (other grades as well.  I had a grade 5/6 class ask to do it the other day!)

In the song, students start out as very quiet sleepy bunnies:

Then the song changes - the music gets louder and they wake up and hop around the carpet. 

This song reinforces Musical Dynamics as they practice the concepts of loud and quiet while singing, moving and playing.

Here is the link if your student would like to show you this activity at home:

https://musicplayonline.com/songs/sleepy-bunnies/?my_access_code=J371630

 

Recorder Karate - Grade 5/6

 Recorder Karate - Grade 5/6

Our Recorder Karate unit is winding down this week.  Students have been working their way through the Recorder songs to earn belts.  

While participating in Recorder Karate, they are learning to play with good tone and are developing the ability to read music.

In order to earn a belt for each song students need to:

-have left hand on top

-play all notes accurately

-play the rhythm as written in the Music

-play at a consistent tempo

-play with good tone ( no squeaks)

-tonguing the notes to separate the sounds

We will be using our recorders for one more project.  Purchased recorders will be sent home in the next few weeks when the project is finished.

Rhythm Band - Kindergarten

Rhythm Band - Kindergarten

The Kindergarten students have been enjoying Rhythm Band.  Each student chooses an instrument and plays at their indicated time to follow the musical score. With each lesson, they are improving their ability to play at the their instrument's time.

Music Outcomes covered in this lesson:

• playing a steady beat
• appreciate a variety of musical instruments
• begin to distinguish among the sounds of various musical instruments
• begin to track a musical score
• explore and experiment with rhythm, sound and music

Ask your Kindergarten student what instruments they played during our Rhythm Band lessons

 

Wild Symphony Grade 1 and 2

 Wild Symphony Grade 1 and 2

The grade 1's and 2's have been enjoying our work with the book "Wild Symphony" by Dan Brown (yes, the author of 'The DaVinci Code').

This is a story book which has several animal characters, and each character is associated with an instrument.  We find the letter clues in the book to find out which instrument each character represents! The students LOVE to solve the clues!  

Dan Brown has also composed a piece of Orchestra Music for each character.  This music helps to tell the story.  We are using the music to focus on Curricular outcomes such as Accents, form, Crescendo, and following listening maps.

Ask your grade 1/2 student what their favourite character is that we have learned about so far.  

Julie Kawchuk

Scott Joplin Listening and Cup Game - Grade 3/4

 Scott Joplin Listening and Cup Game - Grade 3/4

The Grade 3/4's have been learning about Scott Joplin.  As part of our learning, we have been listening to his piece called the Favourite Rag.

While listening critically, we reviewed what instruments we heard, as well as tempo, dynamics and the mood of the music.

Once we were familiar with the music, we participated in a cup game in small groups.  In a future class we will try it as one large group.

History of Jazz - Listening and Playing Orff Instruments Grade 5/6

 
History of Jazz - Listening and Playing Orff Instruments Grade 5/6

The Grade 5/6 students have been learning about the History of Jazz. So far, we have covered the Roots of Jazz, Ragtime, Louis Armstrong and have begun to explore the Blues.

We have been learning to play " When the Saints" on barred instruments.  The students worked with a partner and figured out how to play the song using the music score.

First they practiced with their fingertips, and when they were ready they moved to the mallets.

In this lesson we:

-demonstrated skills on barred instruments

-read instrumental scores for melody instruments

-listened to and recognized music of other time and places

ABC Blues

 ABC Blues - Kindergarten

Kindergarten has been learning the ABC Blues.  This is an echo song.  We are practicing singing, echo-singing, and creating movement while we practice the alphabet and sing the Blues!

In the image above you can see that the first 2 verses are sung as an echo.  In verse 3 students sing on their own.

If you wish to sing along to the music, please see previous post for how to access the song on Musicplayonline.