Music News

By Mrs. Justyna Weirich

Happy 100th day!  We’re into the new year

and we certainly finished off the last in good fashion.  We had some brilliant performances in the Nutcracker.  We traveled to the land of sweets.  There we met the Spanish and Chinese dancers.  We saw the Sugarplum fairy and danced to the Waltz of the Flowers in our costumes.

Later, in January, we took part in many cold weather activities.  We listened to winter sounds.  The winds of a blizzard, footsteps crunching through the snow, a horse driven sleigh gliding along with its bells playing.  We moved to the music “Snowflakes“, gently falling to earth while our hands held scarves to trace our motions.  We even went ice skating, standing on paper plates and gliding around the room while listening to “Skater Song.“  The children were then introduced to the xylophone.  Several of them took turns playing while the rest of the class sang along to  “Five Little Snowmen.”

This month the children will participate in activities with other children by experiencing the joy of ensemble.  While playing in a drum circle they will learn to cooperate in a partner dance.   We will travel to Africa and discover their sounds of music.  We will play African singing games, Che Che Kooley, and listen to different drums; djembe, dun dun, and the conga.  As always we will continue exploring music together.

Did You Know - that listening is different from hearing?  Unlike hearing, listening is intentional and focused - a skill that needs to be practiced.

Our February Composer is Scott Joplin