August 29-September 2
TK & Kindergarten
1st-5th Grade
September 6-9
TK & Kindergarten
1st-5th Grade
September 12-16
TK & Kindergarten
1st-4th Grade
5th Grade
September 20-23
TK & Kindergarten
1st-4th Grade
5th Grade
September 26-30
TK and Kindergarten
1st-4th Grade
5th Grade
October 10-14
TK and Kindergarten
October 17-21
TK & Kindergarten
1st-4th Grade
5th Grade
October 24-28
TK & Kindergarten
1st-4th Grade
TK and Kindergarten
November 7-10
TK and Kindergarten
November 14-18
TK and Kindergarten
November 29-December 2
TK and Kindergarten
December 5-9
TK and Kindergarten
January 3-6
TK and Kindergarten
January 9-13
TK and Kindergarten
5th Grade
January 17-20
TK and Kindergarten
TK & Kindergarten
- Tell your parents the letter of the week. (Mm.)
- Tell them about the instrument you learned about this week. (The maracas!)
- Show a family member how to sign "Five Little Monkeys" in American Sign Language.
1st-5th Grade
- Tell your family three facts that you learned about Brazil.
- Try to sing "Cirandeiro" from memory.
- Show a family member one of these dance steps:
- "The Box Step"
- "The Les Miz Step"
- "The Cha-Cha"
- a "Two-Point Pivot"
September 6-9
TK & Kindergarten
- Tell your parents the letter of the week. (Aa)
- Describe the instrument that you learned about in music this week. (Accordion)
- Sing one of the Color Songs for your family (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, or pink)
1st-5th Grade
- Try to sing Better When I'm Dancin' by Meghan Trainor from memory.
- Practice the choreography you learned in class this week.
- Listen to Better When I'm Dancin' and clap the rhythm in quarter notes and eighth notes.
September 12-16
TK & Kindergarten
- Tell your parents the sounds that Mm and Aa make.
- Describe the instrument you learned about this week and how it is played. (metallophone)
- Sing one of your favorite songs for your family from memory.
1st-4th Grade
- Define the following words: a cappella, cover song, basso profundo, and beatboxing
- What genre of music does Pentatonix sing?
- How many people are in Pentatonix? (hint: What does "penta" mean?)
5th Grade
- Name the lines on the treble clef staff.
- Name the spaces on the treble clef staff.
September 20-23
TK & Kindergarten
- Tell your parents the sound the Ss makes.
- Describe the instrument of the week to your family: the steel drum.
- Sing "Mr. Sun" for a family member.
1st-4th Grade
- Sing the song "Sing," by Pentatonix, from memory.
- Try to sing and do the dance moves we practiced at the same time.
5th Grade
- Find your recorder!
- Practice the first, three songs in your Recorder Karate book. (If you can't find your book, it is online-- do a Google search. I'll make more copies of the book in a couple of weeks.)
September 26-30
TK and Kindergarten
- Tell your parents what sound the Pp makes.
- Describe how to play the instrument of the week: the penny whistle (tin whistle).
- Sing the chorus from "Hello to You!" for your family.
1st-4th Grade
- Tell a family member what timbre means.
- Listen to a song, find and clap to the beat, and try to keep a steady beat throughout the song.
5th Grade
- Practice reading all of the songs in your Recorder Karate book.
- Practice each of these songs on your recorder.
October 10-14
TK and Kindergarten
- Tell your parents the sound the Pp makes and the sound the Ss makes. [review]
- Describe how a piano works. (key--> hammer--> piano string)
- Sing and sign "Five Little Pumpkins"
- Share with someone what you learned about Uganda this week.
- On which continent can you find Uganda?
- What animals can be found in Uganda?
- What are the schools like in Uganda?
- What kinds of instruments do they have there?
- Practice!!!!
- "Nothing but B"
- "Nothing but A"
- "Nothing but G"
- "Hot Cross Buns," "Gently Sleep," "Merrily We Roll Along"
October 17-21
TK & Kindergarten
- Tell your family the letter of the week and the instrument of the week. [tambourine]
- Tell them what family of instruments the tambourine is in and how to play it. [percussion family]
- Sing "Five Little Pumpkins" in English and ASL.
- Sing "Tingalayo"
1st-4th Grade
- Describe what "Swing Music" is to someone in your family.
- Sing the theme song from "Spiderman" from memory.
5th Grade
- Practice "Hot Cross Buns," "Gently Sleep," "Merrily We Roll Along," and "It's Raining."
- BRING YOUR RECORDER TO SCHOOL!!!!
October 24-28
TK & Kindergarten
- Tell your family about the letter of the week (Ii) and the instrument of the week (the Irish Bouzouki).
- How many strings can an Irish Bouzouki have? (4 or 8)
- How does someone play the Irish Bouzouki?
- Teach "Tingalayo" to someone.
1st-4th Grade
- Tell your family about Camille Saint-Saens.
- When was he born? When did he die?
- What country was he from?
- What made him extra-special as a child?
- Tell your parents about "Danse Macabre."
- What was the piece of music based on?
- What is it about?
- Practice "When the Saints Go Marching In."
- Be prepared for a test on "Hot Cross Buns," either Friday, Oct. 28th or Thursday, Nov. 3rd.
TK and Kindergarten
- Describe how a timpani works.
- Show someone the following signs in American Sign Language: little, red, big, bad, wolf, house, see, hear, eat, sleep
- Define the following music terms: fortissimo, forte, mezzo-forte, mezzo-piano, piano, pianissimo
- Practice all of the songs in Recorder Karate from "Hot Cross Buns" to "When the Saints Go Marching In."
November 7-10
TK and Kindergarten
- Tell someone about the nose flute! :-)
- Describe how to play the egg shaker.
- Tell someone the difference between a quarter note and a half-note.
- Practice clapping rhythm ostinatos. You can find some here: www.laytonmusic.com
- Practice, practice, practice! Be ready for a test on "Hot Cross Buns" and "Gently Sleep."
November 14-18
TK and Kindergarten
- Tell your parents the letter of the week. (Cc)
- Describe our instrument of the week: the castanets.
- Sing the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. ("The Aa says, 'AH!' The Bb says, 'B-b-b-b!' The Cc says, 'C!'" etc.)
- Practice clapping rhythm ostinatos. Or... make an instrument and play ostinatos from this website: www.laytonmusic.com
- Practice reading the notes on the treble clef staff.
- Here are some fun games to try:
- Practice Recorder Karate from "Hot Cross Buns" to "When the Saints Go Marching In."
- Be ready for a test on "Gently Sleep" on November 28th.
November 29-December 2
TK and Kindergarten
- Tell your parents about the instrument of the week: the clarinet. (What instrument family does it belong to? How is it played?)
- Sing the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. ("The Aa says, 'AH!' The Bb says, 'B-b-b-b!' The Cc says, 'C!'" etc.)
- Tell a family member three things you have learned about Israel.
- Describe why the Dead Sea has that name.
- Continue practicing reading notes on the treble clef staff.
- Give your recorder letter/order form to your parents.
- Practice "Santa Bag Samba"
- Practice and be ready to test on "Gently Sleep."
December 5-9
TK and Kindergarten
- Tell your parents about the instrument of the week: the oboe. (What instrument family does it belong to? How is it played?)
- Tell a family member about the song "Linus and Lucy."
- What is an ostinato?
- What is a scale?
- What is solfege?
- Sing "Feliz Navidad" for someone.
- Continue practicing reading notes on the treble clef staff.
- Give your recorder letter/order form to your parents--> due December 9th!
- Practice "Santa Bag Samba"
- Practice and be ready to test on "Gently Sleep."
January 3-6
TK and Kindergarten
- Describe a French horn to someone. What instrument family does it belong to?
- Who wrote "Peter and the Wolf" in 1936?
- What characters do the following instruments represent?
- string quartet
- flute
- oboe
- clarinet
- bassoon
- French horn
- timpani (kettle drums)
- UPDATE: the recorders were ordered almost 3 weeks ago, but have not been shipped yet. I contacted the company and they assured me that they will contact me when their vendor ships them. Sorry.
- Continue to practice reading music on the treble clef staff. It'll help when the recorders actually arrive.
- Earn your belts! Practice, practice, practice!!!
- (I'm available after school to help, if you're having trouble, or you want to take a test.)
January 9-13
TK and Kindergarten
- Describe the instrument of the week, the handbells. (What does a typical handbell look like and how does it work?)
- Find out your family's story. Are you Native American? Who in your family is/was an immigrant?
- What are some of your family's traditions?
- Why do we have SO many different styles/genres of music in the United States of America?
- Who was Martin Luther King, Jr?
- Can you sing all four verses of Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around?
- "Ain't gonna let nobody..."
- "Ain't gonna let no hatred..."
- "Ain't gonna let injustice..."
- "Ain't gonna let nobody..."
- UPDATE: The recorders arrived!!! (1/11/17) Expect to receive your recorder on Thursday or Friday.
- If you own a recorder already, please bring it the next time you have Music.
- Practice playing the notes B, A, and G on your recorder once you receive it.
5th Grade
- PRACTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Testing on Thursday and Friday during class and after school.)
January 17-20
TK and Kindergarten
- Describe the double-bass and tell what instrument family it belongs to.
- Try to sing a scale using solfege (do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, do.)
- Try to sing a scale using solfege.
- Sing or play a step and a skip. (For example, "do-re" is a step and "do-mi" is a skip.)
- Master playing a B, A, and G on your recorder without squeaks.
- Practice playing Hot Cross Buns.
- PRACTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Once again, we'll be testing on Thursday and Friday during class and after school.)