Thursday, October 3, 2024 | Green Turtle Shells Lessons

Lesson #6

I have a personal goal for every student to master the skills taught this semester and parental support is the key to success! Completing their homework book activities is the best way to help them master these skills. Even if they only get it out once a week, that's still better than not at all. If you need to break it up into small chunks and do just a couple minutes of one activity and a different activity another day, that is totally fine. 

Celebrate Connection  
A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Stand on one foot while your parent plays a song, then switch.
• Pretend the keys are hot for one song.
• Play "air piano" style by playing on the piano cover or with the keyboard off.

Bubble Hands

Playing along with the Bubble Hand song on the CD is the perfect opportunity to encourage your child to keep the bubble hand shape while they push down other fingers to play as well as reinforce finger numbers. Once they MASTER finger numbers in order, switch up the finger numbers in the 2nd verse. A fun way to extend this activity is to "write" the finger numbers on their fingers with marker OR “write” the finger numbers on the tops of the fingers on a latex glove which they wear while they play!

Turtle Shells

Speaking of finger numbers, your Turtle Shells discovered that intervals are played with specific finger numbers. A 2nd is played with fingers 1 & 2, a 3rd is played with 1 & 3, and a 4th is played with 1 & 4. Remember “Thumbs are ONES!” The bottom note of every interval is a middle C. It is the most important note because it has its VERY OWN line!!! 

Firetruck

Hurry, Hurry we learned to play a Sol-Fa-Mi-Re-Do! For practice play the song on the CD and let them 'dance' in their seat, then get in C-position and play the ding ding ding part. On each verse alternate between singing the solfege, the finger numbers, ding dings, and even "baby steps go-ing down."

Come on an adventure with Turtle Tom and Turtle Tim as they encounter the sounds of intervals!! (Totally worth looking at this!)

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, October 2, 2024 | Brown Teddy Bears Lessons

Lesson #6

Research has shown that from birth to the age of 9 years is the optimal time to expose children to music, and Sound Beginnings takes advantage of the earliest portion of this music-learning window. Meaningful exposure to music at a young age means musical skills will be more easily learned and internalized.   

Next week we'll sing these in class:

• Weather Bear
• Baby Bumblebee
• Here is the Beehive
• Snowman
• Major Scale
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• Grizzly Bear
• Going to the Zoo
• Old Brass Wagon
• Flight of the Bumblebee
• Lavender's Blue

In music, solfege is a method used to teach pitch and sight singing and can be utilized at every level of music education. The brain connects more easily with pitch relationships if a syllable is attached, and hand signs physically reinforce those relationships. Singing melodies in solfege helps the student develop inner hearing, musical expressiveness, and a feeling for phrasing.

Learning sign language improves a child's vocabulary, spelling proficiency, and fine motor skills.

Rhythm instruments help children increase gross and fine motor skills, reinforce hand-eye coordination, and help develop a sense of beat and rhythm.

Optional home fun activity: Color the Four Seasons on page 4 in your workbook    
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Here's a video about the seasons that just happens to also have a brown bear in it! That one is a little long, so here's a shorter video about the seasons!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Peek into a Sound Beginnings class and you will see skipping, crawling, dancing, and jumping! Full body movement builds large muscle strength, hand-eye coordination, aids brain-hemisphere function, and develops balance in young children.

Have a musical day!  
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, October 2, 2024 | Bridge Lessons

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | Purple Magic Lessons

Lesson #6

Thank you for sending the videos of our Showtime song, "Bounce and Roll"! It really helped to not have to listen to every student during class time. If you didn't send a video of "Bounce and Roll" this time, you can still send it. Also, there's another Showtime coming up for lesson 8.

Please be sure your child is using the correct fingers for the C minor cadence. They don't need to play fast, but the correct fingers are a necessity. Switching between the chords will become much faster the more they practice.

Please be sure your child is listening to and learning the lyrics to "Magic Keys" and "Our Bugs are So Fun". Remember, we use music to teach music and the lyrics are wonderful teachers in these songs!      
   
Celebrate Connection

• See how many times your child can switch between the minor red and minor blue chords in 30 seconds... then see if you can beat that number! 
• Try switching back and forth from major red to minor red with your eyes closed. Then do it with major blue and minor blue with your eyes closed.

Ode to Joy
We practiced hearing downbeats last year, now we’re listening for the  upbeats as well. The downbeat is the first beat of the measure, and the upbeat just precedes that stronger downbeat. This song helps us feel that with our bodies --- and helps us to get to know a little bit about Ludwig van Beethoven along the way!

Halloween Night
This 'spooky' song is a great repertoire piece to give us a little more practice on our C minor cadence. Hands will play together in our new 3/4 time signature, and we will even have an opportunity to try a bit of improvisation as the semester continues. 

Even the Muppets like to have a little fun with the upbeat in Ode to Joy.

  

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 | Red Balloons Lessons

Lesson #6

I sure had a fun week with the kids! They are so much fun to teach! Most of them have been doing homework and "play" practicing. I can tell the kids are listening to their music, as they are singing along with me. Thank you for making listening time a joyful priority because the magic is beginning to happen!
   
I can tell the students are starting to feel somewhat comfortable. This is a great thing when they start to open up and internalize their experience. Keep in mind, when you come to class, they will sometimes behave differently. Just remember to be actively engaged in what I’m doing and don’t force their participation, just encourage. (You can always bribe them before you come to class though!)
   
Keep up the good work and consistency parents! You’ll be happy with the consequences. Remember parents come on all odd lessons, "So I'll see you next week!" (Re, Sol, Do)

(You sang that in your head, didn't you?) ☺

Goin’ on a Lion Hunt
We're learning how to keep a steady beat when we sing this song. We use the varying tempo in this song to demonstrate fast and slow. What fun! Seems simple, but it's a powerful way to teach them to internalize rhythm.

Melodic Patterns
The songs Let’s Play Music, Hickety Pickety, and May There Always Be Me, expose the kids to melodic patterns that have a strong cadence pull to "DO". These patterns help the child to sing in tune and trains the ear to hear how songs should end.

Boom, Boom
We introduced this fun song today. This song helps us recognize a melodic pattern, (SO, DO) and help us keep a consistent steady beat. Very soon we’ll be using it to practice the autoharp and read our chord music!

NEW Melodic pattern
The SOL SOL DO pattern was introduced today! Your student will start to notice this pattern with their ears and then their eyes everywhere... even to the cheerios floating in their cereal. They are little sponges.

May There Always Be Me
Today we reinforced the term ‘lullaby’. This is the type of song that can put babies to sleep. It should feel soft, steady, calm and peaceful.

Click HERE to read more about boosting your child's brain using music.

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)