Spooky Time

I did not get a chance to blog last week because my internet was down here at school, but I'll try my best to fill you in on what has been going on in music class.

At BSLK last week and this week, we have been playing with the egg shakers and singing Halloween songs. We have done the "Spooky Loo," which is a scary version of the "Looby Loo." We also have learned "This is Halloween." In "This is Halloween" we get to be a jumping skeleton, a flying witch, a rolling pumpkin, a scary monster, and trick-or-treaters. We sang and read the book "Five Little Pumpkins." We also did the "Spooky Walk." In the "Spooky Walk" we get to use our imaginations and pretend to walk by patting our hands on our thighs. We get to go through tall grass, swim through a dark river, and visit inside a cave where is cold and slimy. The kiddos also learned a new Kodaly hand sign: do.

At APS last week, we finished up the lesson from the previous week. This week at APS, we are singing a major scale with all of our Kodaly hand signs. We also are reviewing our songs "Blackbird" and "Rockin' Robin." The second graders will be reviewing musical concepts by drawing the correct notation on the dry erase boards. The first graders will be reviewing musical concepts by recognizing them off of the board. The students are also playing the rhythm sticks and remembering rest position and ready position. Then, if time permits, we will be reading "Puff the Magic Dragon."

Dem Bones/Monster Mash

This week at BSLK we sang an exercise using our Kodaly hand signs: so, mi, and la. We sang to Forte, the lion. We went over our Patriotic Songs: "My Country Tis of Thee," "This Land is Your Land," and "Yankee Doodle." Certain classes went over "Your a Grand Ole Flag" and "Three Cheers For The Red, White, And Blue." We then watched a brief video clip of the song "Dem Bones" and then played our rhythm sticks to "Tap Your Sticks." The kiddos are getting really awesome at using Rest Position and Ready Position.

At APS this week and next we are singing a Major Scale with ALL of our Kodaly hand signs. We are then singing to Forte, the lion. We are reviewing music concepts this week by using dry erase boards and markers. I will call out a musical term and the kids will draw it on their board. Then the students will review "Blackbird" and begin to learn "Rockin' Robin." The students will also sing along to "This is Halloween." Then, at the end of the class, we are following along with the book Monster Mash while listening to the song.

What a Wonderful World

What a wonderful world we live in! What a wonderful schools BSLK and APS are! This week at BSLK, the students met a new friend, Forte-the lion. We learned that Forte means: loud. So now, when I say sing Forte, the students know to sing loudly. We also sang our Patriotic songs: "My Country Tis of Thee," "This Land is Your Land," and "Yankee Doodle." Certain classes started learning "Your a Grand Ole Flag" to sing at the November PTO program. The kids favorite part of the lesson was listening to Louis Armstrong sing "What a Wonderful World" and look at the beautiful pictures in the book. The students also played the rhythm sticks to a new song called, "Tap Your Sticks." In this song, the students tap their sticks in the air, on the ground, on their knees, to the left, and to the right, etc.

This week at APS we are still working on musical concepts, rhythm sticks, Pete the Cat and His 4 Groovy Buttons, and "Blackbird."