Popsicle Rhythms and More!

Whew! We've been busy in the music room lately! 5th graders are still working hard on learning songs in different languages and folk dances to showcase in their upcoming performance "The Universal Language" on November 16. 4th grade has been reviewing sixteenth notes with the song "Tideo" and adding xylophone parts along with triangle, sleigh bells, and body percussion. 3rd graders have been practicing half note rhythms with circle games like "Here Comes a Bluebird" and "Button You Must Wander".

Both 1st and 2nd grade are sharpening their listening skills by learning how to dictate rhythmic patterns they hear using our heartbeat charts. Why use hearts? Because our hearts provide the steady beat for our bodies and so we use hearts to represent the steady beat in a piece of music! They've also been trying to beat Mrs. McKinnon at SoLaMi - it gets tricky sometimes but if we've got our listening ears really tuned in, we're learning to recognize different melody patterns.

Lastly, Kindergarten has been introduced to a few classroom instruments like egg shakers and sleigh bells. They've also been exploring ways to make our bodies move like the sounds we hear. All our kinder friends have been working super hard to learn about steady beat, exploring our vocal ranges, and respectfully do movement activities with partners! :)