Starting Something New!

Though change can be jarring, starting something fresh and new can be a welcome change! Many of the grade levels have been finishing their own units in the music classroom, and we are already for something new and exciting.

Kindergarten

These students have been playing many games, reading poems and stories, and playing instruments that will improve our internal pulse and the feeling of steady beat. The steady beat is just like our heart thumping in our chests – something we can all feel! Feeling it on the outside of our body by patting, clapping, passing items, and drumming instruments helps us make that beat audible to us in everyday life. All music is based on steady beat and before we expand to the many worlds of music, steady beat has got to be #1 in our Vocabulary! The students are doing an exceptional job at their steady beat activities – everyday and every week I see large amounts of improvement!! Way to go Kindergarten!!!

1st, 2nd, 3rd Grade

What an accomplishment – READING YOUR OWN MUSIC. It has officially started in all three of these grades and I could not be any more proud of them! After this week, 1st and 2nd grade will have both learned the song and game “Star Light, Star Bright.” This song has the notes Sol and Mi and in it, and uses many different rhythm patterns including Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes! Everyday we put another piece of the puzzle together so that we could learn how to read our rhythms, our notes, and then the words. Fantastic job!
3rd Graders have just finished their first piece of music, “Bounce High, Bounce Low.” The song has Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes, as well as the pitches Sol, Mi, and La. The game we have put with it includes bouncing, tossing, and passing the ball to the beat of the song. Every time we do the game, our beat improves! It is definitely a challenge to really feel that beat and do all those tasks, as well as sing at the same time. Way to go, 3rd Grade!

4th Grade

Every week is a new project with the Madison Symphony Orchestra field trip only weeks away! This week we learned a ton about the Woodwind and Brass Family, and some of us even invented our own Woodwind and/or Brass instrument! I cannot wait to pick up their papers and see what these creative minds have all come up with!
Next we will continue our exploration into the Madison Symphony Orchestra by listening to the music that they will play for us on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009. The theme of the MSO’s concert this year is “Invitation to the Dance.” If you can think of ways that music and dance go together, please feel free to brainstorm over the weekend and remainder of the week so that you can share some of your ideas with the rest of the class! There are a number of great activities that I am excited to do – I cannot wait until we get to conduct our own classes and be the 4th Grade Orchestra! ☺

5th Grade

Boy are we making some GREAT creations in our 5th grade classes at both GLW and NF Elementaries. This past week, the North Freedom 5th Grade class recorded their STMOP! compositions. As I work with the video camera, I will be posting their finished product up on my website under “Musical Videos” – check back to see if they are posted in a week or so! All of the compositions are one of a kind and 100% 5th Grade produced. Their notation and rhythms were worked on for about 3 class periods (1 and a half hours), and recorded/discussed within the groups. I am really proud of each and every group – everybody should walk away feeling great about their composition and their group’s performance of it!
The 5th Graders have also already started some early preparation with their Seasonal Sing-A-Long, which will take place on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 6:00 pm in the Jack Young Middle School Large Gym. We have started stretching in class and doing vocal warm ups to help our bodies be fully prepared to do their best and sing their best! Packets have been made for both NF and GLW, so students may see Ms. Baus on either Friday afternoons (NF students) or Thursday afternoons (GLW students) if they would like to check out a packet and practice on the weekends. I’ve already had students taking advantage of this great opportunity, so thank you for your EXTRA hard work! ☺

Stay tuned for MORE information about the Seasonal Sing-A-Long if you are not a 5th Grade parent. (All 5th Grade parents should have received a GREEN SLIP with information – please contact me if you need additional information!)



Now that these activities have wrapped up, we will all be starting some fun seasonal songs and games! Each grade level will be presenting a Seasonal Program in mid-December. The program for Gordon L. Willson students will be on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 and the program for North Freedom Elementary will be on the following day, Friday, December 18th, 2009. The program will only last for one afternoon, so there will be pairing of a few grades. Kindergarten will perform with 1st grade, 2nd with 3rd, and 4th will be by themselves. (The 5th Grade has started on their fun Seasonal Sing-A-Long project and there will be MUCH more information on that in the upcoming weeks!) Each section of the program will have it’s own theme, but you will have to wait until the day of the show to find out! Maybe you can figure it out by the songs your students will be humming and singing on their way home from school ☺

Stay tuned for more updates as the season progresses and brings us new and exciting things – like below ZERO weather, snow, and blizzards! ☺ Stay warm and healthy!