Good afternoon! Did February even happen? Honestly, that snow storm is still messing with my sense of time... Thank you for being flexible and safely getting your children to and from school. While we didn't have much music time in February, but we did have an awesome experience with some pieces on loan from the Seattle Art Museum and Schack Art Center. I posted about it last week, but in case you missed it I'm posting it here again below the February highlights from the music room. :)
Kindergarten - we are going to be performing at Multicultural Night on March 21st! We will be singing our song "I am a Pizza" with our Shape Pizzas we made in English and in Spanish. Multicultural Night is a fun event for our community and it has become a tradition for Kindergarten and third grade students to perform at this event. We hope you'll be able to come!
1st grade - we are working on reading/composing with our singing notes Mi, Sol, and La (All Around the Circle). This is in preparation for playing tone bells in the future.
2nd grade - we are working on understanding forms in music (how music is organized). We get to use the hand percussion while we do this.
3rd grade - we are going to be performing at Multicultural Night on March 21st! We will be performing the national dance of the Philippines: Tinikling. Students LOVE this dance and are excited to share it with you. Multicultural Night is a fun event for our community and it has become a tradition for Kindergarten and third grade students to perform at this event. We hope you'll be able to come!
4th grade - we are working on making beautiful sounds with our recorders and are starting to read music while playing. Did you know there is a 7 step process we have to go through in order to be able to understand, internalize, and produce music written on a page?? Music is often seen as another language, and this is why! In order to be able to express yourself musically you need to understand all of the different symbols and patterns music notation is capable (much like letters and words in an alphabet). Students are already working hard on this, I'm proud of their dedication :)
5th grade - we are finishing up our work in FLAT and moving onto our Zimbabwean xylophone piece "Tatenda". Students will be learning a 3-part song and taking turns to improvise as they play the instruments.
6th grade - we are finally done with our rhythm review and are going to be learning how to play the cajon. A cajon is a Peruvian instrument that makes sounds like a drum set. It's shaped like a tall box, you sit on the top, and you play the sides of the drum with your hands.
SPECIAL POST ABOUT ART MUSEUM ITEMS WE GOT TO USE IN FEBRUARY:
I'm very excited to announce that the Schack Art Center (in Everett) in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum has loaned us artifacts from 2 different cultures. We have items from the Philippines and items from the NW Coast Native Americans for students to handle and see in the music room! All students will get a chance to learn about the importance of the items from these 2 cultures this week. We hope to continue to receive materials from the Schack Art Center in the future to continue to learn about different cultures. :)
Kindergarten - we are going to be performing at Multicultural Night on March 21st! We will be singing our song "I am a Pizza" with our Shape Pizzas we made in English and in Spanish. Multicultural Night is a fun event for our community and it has become a tradition for Kindergarten and third grade students to perform at this event. We hope you'll be able to come!
1st grade - we are working on reading/composing with our singing notes Mi, Sol, and La (All Around the Circle). This is in preparation for playing tone bells in the future.
2nd grade - we are working on understanding forms in music (how music is organized). We get to use the hand percussion while we do this.
3rd grade - we are going to be performing at Multicultural Night on March 21st! We will be performing the national dance of the Philippines: Tinikling. Students LOVE this dance and are excited to share it with you. Multicultural Night is a fun event for our community and it has become a tradition for Kindergarten and third grade students to perform at this event. We hope you'll be able to come!
4th grade - we are working on making beautiful sounds with our recorders and are starting to read music while playing. Did you know there is a 7 step process we have to go through in order to be able to understand, internalize, and produce music written on a page?? Music is often seen as another language, and this is why! In order to be able to express yourself musically you need to understand all of the different symbols and patterns music notation is capable (much like letters and words in an alphabet). Students are already working hard on this, I'm proud of their dedication :)
5th grade - we are finishing up our work in FLAT and moving onto our Zimbabwean xylophone piece "Tatenda". Students will be learning a 3-part song and taking turns to improvise as they play the instruments.
6th grade - we are finally done with our rhythm review and are going to be learning how to play the cajon. A cajon is a Peruvian instrument that makes sounds like a drum set. It's shaped like a tall box, you sit on the top, and you play the sides of the drum with your hands.
SPECIAL POST ABOUT ART MUSEUM ITEMS WE GOT TO USE IN FEBRUARY:
I'm very excited to announce that the Schack Art Center (in Everett) in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum has loaned us artifacts from 2 different cultures. We have items from the Philippines and items from the NW Coast Native Americans for students to handle and see in the music room! All students will get a chance to learn about the importance of the items from these 2 cultures this week. We hope to continue to receive materials from the Schack Art Center in the future to continue to learn about different cultures. :)
NW Coast Native Art items:
- our own drum by Margie Morris (Tlingit)
- drum by Greg Colfax (Makah)
- Button dance robe by Terri Shinn
- Portrait Mask by Bruce Cook III (Haida)
- Eagle tile by Paul Luwing
All items used with permission from artists for educational purposes.
Items from the Philippines:
Winnowing basket
Woven backpack (inside there is a yo-yo, a bowl, and a flute/whistle)
Filipino Flag (underneath are maps of the Philippines)
Sungka board and stones (similar to the game "Mancala")
Not pictured: posters showing various games, folk dances, and instruments
