Third grade continued learning B, A, and G on the recorder. We learned a song called "Mary's Mambo BAG." Most of the kids got it. Still working on keeping all those holes fully covered with flat fingers and blowing with soft warm air. All in all, they're excited about this new instrument and they're having a great time. Next week, we will continue with BAG, but add some more complex rhythms. We might even compose our own BAG song!
This week had it's challenges. We continued with boomwhackers in kinder, first, and second. We used the orange one called "D". Quiz your kids. Ask, "What color is the "D" boomwhacker?" I also introduced our beanie boo friend, Big D. He sits on the D space on the staff on our rug helping the students remember where the "D" note goes on the treble staff. We also had a little rhythm contest. Big D rewarded our friends in class who really understood quarter notes and quarter rests by sitting in their laps. We now know that a quarter note says "ta" and a quarter rest says "sh." We ended class by playing a singing game or a bean bag toss. Some of us played 'Round the Circle from last week. Some of us tried to toss a bean bag on the D space on our treble staff rug. Second grade had a lot of fun learning a new song called "Icka Backa Soda Cracker." Third grade continued learning B, A, and G on the recorder. We learned a song called "Mary's Mambo BAG." Most of the kids got it. Still working on keeping all those holes fully covered with flat fingers and blowing with soft warm air. All in all, they're excited about this new instrument and they're having a great time. Next week, we will continue with BAG, but add some more complex rhythms. We might even compose our own BAG song! Fourth and fifth grade rocked the house with a fun rendition of "Row, Row, Row your Boat." It was all about the C chord. Ask your child which three notes make up a C chord. They will hopefully say, C, E, and G. We learned the C chord on ukuleles, keyboards, and xylophones. We added drums to keep the steady beat, then played them all together, while singing!!! It was pretty impressive. Next week, we'll add a G7 chord and play a new song.
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What a FUN week! Kindergarten through third grade learned all about the pitch, middle "C". We played boomwhackers to a ta and ti-ti pattern and learned the difference between steady beat and rhythm. We also played a game called "Round the Circle" to get to know our classmates even better. Next week we will be learning the pitch, "D" and we will play another music game. In third grade, we started our recorder unit! The kids are so excited. Most classes learned the notes B, A, and G. Some of us even learned our first song. If you'd like to purchase a recorder for home use, I recommend the $8 version found at either Instrumental Music or Amazon. You can find them at the Dollar Store at times, but you get you pay for and your ears will thank you if you spend a few extra dollars. A recorder purchase isn't required, though. We have plenty of in-class recorders available, which we sanitize and clean after each use. I will be updating the recorder section of my site this week. It will consist of links to recorders for purchase, links to songs the students can try to play and practice, links to fingering charts and other valuable recorder information. Stay tuned. Fourth and fifth grade was probably the most fun this week. We practiced and performed our name ostinatos! Each 4-5 student group used a repeated pattern using their first names and layered them on top of each other. I wanted to upload these awesome videos, but it turns out, I need to pay to have that option on my website. boo. If you'd personally like to see your child's performance, please email me and I will gladly send you the video.
Welcome to a new year and a new room. The K-5 music room is now the furthest room from the gate. Keep walking until you're almost at the playground. Yep! You found us. Here's what we look like...
Phew! We made it! Week one is done and we had a blast. Well, we mostly had a blast. We did have to go over rules and regulations. The kids learned a new quiet signal. Try saying, "Hands in the air" and see what follows. Then say, "Hands in your lap." Well...maybe it only works for me. Here are some other things we did. Third grade laying the "Popcorn Name Game." Watching ostinatos and getting ready to do our own name ostinatos!
Next week, kindergarten, first, and second grades will begin learning the pitch, "C." We will be playing quarter notes and eighth notes on boomwhackers and xylophones. I know they're all really excited about playing instruments, so I hope they enjoy week 2. Third grade will begin their recorder unit. We will be learning how to hold the recorder, how to care for it, and how to properly make sound come out of it. We might even play a song or two. If you'd like to purchase a recorder for play at home, you can find some pretty decent ones on Amazon, at Instrumental Music, some toy stores and Walmart if you're lucky. I'll be sending more information home about our recorder unit next week. Fourth and fifth grade will be continuing their name ostinatos. I hope to get some video and audio clips for my next post. The kids are excited about this project. They should also be discovering what their sign means. Not just the name of the sign they sit on, but the definition. I'll be quizzing them next week.
This is my first blog post for the TCDS music page and I'm happy to announce that this year I will be teaching all grades Kindergarten-5th. I have a lot of fun activities, music, and more in store for this year so check back to see what's going on.
This week is going to be all about introductions. First, let's introduce our brand new elementary music room! The kids may remember it as the old Spanish/Keyboard room, but now it's just Mrs. Bell's music space. Our wonderful maintenance crew (huge props) even put in a thick permanent wall to reduce the noise coming from next door. It's going to be great! This week we will be introducing the kids to each other. I've got some great name games planned. For the younger kids, K-3, we will be playing a game called "The Popcorn Name Game" created by Joann Long Benson. It's a great activity for recognizing high and low pitches, finding the steady beat, performing locomotor and nonlocomotor movements, and of course, learning names! In fourth and fifth grade, we will be attempting something a little more advanced. After watching the video below, we will create and perform our own name ostinatos. I'm hoping to share some of our successful creations in my next blog post. |
Mrs. Bell with Emily and photo bomber Robert.
AuthorHello! I'm Mrs. Bell. I teach K-5 music and Middle School Choir at Tucson Country Day School. I also help with after school clubs like Singers and Drama. Archives
January 2019
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