Week of November 29

We are still looking for family members or friends of Wayne Thomas who would be interested in volunteering to lead an arts related activity for our Arts in Action afternoon in March!  If you know someone who might be interested, please contact Mrs. Crutchfield as soon as possible!  We are looking for volunteers who have special skills in any area of the arts, including music, visual art, theatre, or dance and would be willing to lead an activity.

Kindergarteners in the morning class sang a song called "Walk to School" and discussed fast and slow sounds in music.  They also listened and moved to "Walking Song" from Acadian Songs and Dances.  Students in the afternoon class sang "One Finger, One Thumb," read a story called So-Me at the Pole, and came up with creative ways to play their rhythm sticks.

First graders sang and did movements to "Teddy Bear."  They then talked about the rhyme scheme in the song and wrote new lyrics that fit the same rhyme scheme.  They enjoyed singing "Naughty Kitty Cat" because many kids said they have "naughty kitty cats" at home.  They also learned to read "la" on the five-line staff.

Second graders sang and created movements to "See the Stars."  They then selected a rhythm to accompany the song and played this rhythm on glockenspiels, triangles, and finger cymbals.  They also rhythmically dictated "Icicles" and began working on "Rocky Mountain," a song each student will soon be recorded singing.

Third graders read Barn Dance and talked about how the text was written to sound like the music of a square dance.  They then sang "Square Dance 101," learned several common square dance steps, and performed the dance to "Square Dance 101."  They also viewed a couple video clips of different types of square dances.  They particularly enjoyed the Tractor Square Dance, which can be viewed here: http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k4IL2Z-aWU

Fourth graders played through "It's Raining" on their recorders, which is their green belt song.  This is a difficult song, so they should spend extra time practicing it.  They should pay special attention to the rhythm on the second line of the song, which is a commonly misplayed section.  Many fourth graders are also working on remembering to bring their materials to class.  They can always access their recorder music on this blog using the password they have been given, but if they choose to bring their music folders home, they must be back in class during their next music time.  You can access the music schedule under the "Weekly Music Schedule" section of this blog if you would like to remind your child to bring his/her folder to class on music days!

Fifth graders learned to play "Yankee Doodle" on their recorders.  This is the song they will test with in order to earn their green belts.  Any student who has not yet tested for their yellow belts will be expected to test at the beginning of next week.

Enjoy reading all those books from the Book Fair this weekend!