It's been a busy month! On December 8th, K-5 students presented their winter concerts. They did a fantastic job! After the concert, we watched the video that our superintendent, Mr. Swenson, made for us. We analyzed how we did, finding the great parts of the performances as well as the things we can work on to make the next concert even better. As we always do after concerts, we wrote thank you cards to all of those people who helped but who might not get the recognition that the performers do. It was nice to see the students think of custodians, administrators, other teachers, and collaborative musicians who helped to make their concert a success. After wrapping up the concert, we celebrated Amundson House's first quarter victory with a reward day chosen by house leader Bret Amundson. Students came to music class as their favorite musician and Amundson House members tried to guess who each student was portraying. Students dressed up as their musician, performed one of their musician's songs, or gave facts about their musician. It was interesting to get to see what music the students have been listening to! In the last few days, students have been learning about the music of the upcoming winter holidays. 5th Grade–"Cray, Cray Christmas" Students really enjoyed learning "Cray, Cray Christmas," a hip-hop style Christmas song. In addition to singing, rapping, and dancing to this music, they also played along with a fun Boomwhacker ostinato. 4th Grade–"Christmas Medley" Fourth graders sang a medley of familiar Christmas tunes while noting changes of tempo (speed) and meter (groupings of beats). Some classes had time to add instrument parts to the song. 3rd Grade–"I Have a Little Dreidel" Third graders had fun learning this catchy and popular Hanukkah song that tells about the dreidel game that's often played during that holiday. They sang the song, then added drum and glockenspiel ostinatos. 2nd Grade and 1st Grade–Holiday Celebrations Both second and first graders have been learning about the similarities and differences between three of the major winter holidays–Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. Although each holiday celebrates different things, they have a lot in common. All of them are happy times to celebrate with family by giving gifts, eating special food, lighting candles, decorating, and singing holiday songs. Kindergarten-Ways of Making Music and Ways of Giving Kindergarten has been learning about different styles of music and how there are many different ways to make music. We listened to and identified the styles of several recordings of "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Musicians can play the same songs in very different and interesting ways! Kindergartners also learned about the different ways of giving, which are especially important during this holiday season. We talked about five different ways of giving, including tangible gifts, time, energy, love, smiles. We watched video of the story about a holiday tree that includes several different examples of giving and listened to and sang "O Tannenbaum," a traditional German song about a Christmas tree.
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With the holidays fast approaching, perhaps you're looking for gifts for your elementary music student. If so, I have some ideas!
If you have a child in third grade, get a head start on the post-winter-break recorder unit by getting a recorder early! This Amazon wishlist includes Canto soprano recorders, the same kind that you can order through the school after the break. I've also included a few supplemental books. We will NOT be using these books in class, but they could be fun for ambitious students looking to learn some extra songs! For students in fourth and fifth grade, we will be starting to use ukuleles after the break. Students will be sharing instruments from our classroom set in class, but if your child would like to be able to play at home, a ukulele is an inexpensive and easy-on-the-ears instrument. Check out this Amazon wishlist if you're interested in purchasing the type of ukulele we'll be using in school. Ours are Husker green, but you can choose from a wide variety of colors. I've also included some accessories that could be useful, including a tuner, replacement strings, and a method book. We won't be using the method book in class, but students who are playing at home might want some additional music to work on! |
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