Miss White

2nd graders continue their study of music literacy by working on decoding rhythms in duple meter.  They have moved on to decoding unfamiliar songs and rhymes - that is decoding the rhythm after only hearing the rhyme once.  This is more of a challenge because they have not had the chance to internalize the rhyme.  They need to decode on the spot.

Just in time for Halloween, students decoded the unfamiliar rhyme "Miss White."  The silly lyrics are below:

Miss White had a fright

In the middle of the night.

Saw a ghost, eating toast,

Halfway up the lamp post.

Hear Mrs. Curci's class recite this rhyme by clicking the link below.

Miss White

Students decoded the rhyme line by line using our duple meter rhythm syllables. Now that they are able to decode even unfamiliar patterns that they hear, students are ready to see what these rhythms look like! We will begin that step soon!

Here Mrs. Curci's class decode the whole rhyme using rhythm syllables (with only one mistake) by clicking the link below.

Miss White Rhythm

Did your child share "Miss White" with you from their Ask Me sheet? Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form and earn a sticker!

My Hat

1st Graders are working hard to learn the song "My Hat."  This song has been a real challenge for students, but they are starting to catch on!

First, students sing the song with all of the words and no motions.  See the words below and sing with your child.

My hat it has three corners,
Three corners has my hat.
And had it not three corners,
It would not be my hat.

After singing all of the words, we took out the word "my" and replaced it with a motion (point to yourself).  We sang all of the rest of the words, but used inner hearing to only hear, not sing, "my."  Next, we took out the word "hat" and replaced it with a motion, then "three" and then "corners."  By the end, we were singing almost none of the words out loud!  The last time through the song, sing all the words and all the motions.

This song might take some practice.  We spent some time on it in music class, but it is difficult to remember which words are to be sung, and which words are to be silent.  Practice together until you get it! 

Hear Mrs. Larson's 1st grade class sing the song with all of the words by clicking the link below.

My Hat

Did your child sing you this song using their "Ask Me" sheet?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form and your child will get a sticker!

The Leaves Are Green

Kindergartners just learned a new autumn circle game!  Circle games are an important way for children to learn to work together and participate in musical play.

This circle game is called "The Leaves Are Green."  Students walk in a circle, holding hands, until the very end when they all fall down together!  We talked about the way leaves fall from trees and modeled it with our bodies to make sure we were all falling safely and gently like leaves.

The words to this song are:

The leaves are green,
The nuts are brown.
They hang so high,
They won't fall down.
Leave them alone 'til frosty weather
And they'll all fall down together!

Play this game with your child.  We played with the whole class, but you only need two people to play!  Vary the speed every time and try changing directions!

Hear Mrs. Armington's class sing this song by clicking the link below:

The Leaves Are Green

Did your child sing this song to you from their "Ask Me" sheet?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.  Your child will earn a sticker!

Purple Light

2nd Graders are learning a new cowboy echo song called "Purple Light."  See the lyrics below: 

Purple light (purple light) in the canyon (in the canyon)

That’s where I (that’s where I) long to be (long to be)

With my three (with my three) good companions (good companions)

My knapsack, my pony and me.

Whippoorwill (whippoorwill) in the willer (in the willer)

Sings a song (sings a song) a melody (a melody)

For my three (for my three) good companions (good companions)

My knapsack, my pony, and me.

No more cows (no more cows) to be ropin’ (to be ropin’)

No more strays (no more strays) shall I see (shall I see)

Just my three (just my three) good companions (good companions)

My knapsack, my pony, and me.

Gonna hang (gonna hang) my sombrero (my sombrero)

From the limb (from the limb) of a tree (of a tree)

Over my three (over my three) good companions (good companions)

My knapsack, my pony, and me.

Echo songs are important for students to gain independence in singing. They need to memorize only a short piece of a song and sing it back. We start with students all echoing the leader as a group, and then move into solos - each student echoing a line individually. Can your child lead you in the echo song?

We thought a lot about the lyrics of this song, challenging students to infer what the job of the person in the song is (a cowboy/girl). We also talked about some "wh" questions to go with the song: who?, where?, and when?

Hear Mrs. Curci's class sing this echo song with Mrs. Hiltz by clicking the link below.

Purple Light

Did your child sing this song with you from their "Ask Me" sheet? Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form. Your child will earn a sticker!

Five Little Leaves

For this fall fingerplay, preschoolers practiced speaking with expression at the same time as they practiced basic subtraction skills.

Ask your child to share this fingerplay with you, using the lyrics below:

Five little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing about on the tree one day.
A wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

(Practice subtraction... How many leaves are left?)

Four little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing about on the tree one day.
A wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Three little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing about on the tree one day.
A wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Two little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing about on the tree one day.
A wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

One little leaf so bright and gay,
Was dancing about on the tree one day.
A wind came blowing through the town,
And one little leaf came tumbling down.

Hear Mrs. Beaudry's class recite this rhyme with great expression by clicking the link below!

Five Little Leaves

Did your child share this rhyme with you from their "Ask Me" sheet?  Use this form to tell Mrs. Hiltz that your child is singing at home!

Yankee Doodle

2nd Graders are beginning to learn about music literacy - that is learning to read and write music!  We are starting with rhythms in duple meter (groups of two).  One of the songs we are learning to meet this goal is Yankee Doodle.First, students listened to the song.  Using the whole song approach (listening to the whole song multiple times until they could sing it themselves), they were able to gain independence on the song.  They sang it as a whole class, in small groups, and even solo!  Almost all of our brave second graders have sung this song for the class all by themselves and added their star to the "Solo Singing Super Stars" wall!We also did a simple circle folk dance to this song, internalizing the rhythm even further.After many weeks of singing and dancing to this song, students surprised themselves by decoding the rhythm using rhythm syllables.  They were able to hear the rhythm and sing it back.  We will continue this work by next seeing what the rhythm looks like.Hear Ms. McCance's class doing a great job singing and decoding the song here:Yankee DoodleYankee Doodle RhythmDid your child sing this song for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.

Momma, Buy Me a China Doll

2nd Graders are working in their visualization skills in their classrooms.  We decided to also work on these skills in the music room.  We always end class with a songtale, a story that I sing to the students.  Recently, I sang the song "Momma, Buy Me a China Doll" to the students, but I did not show them the pictures in the book.  They needed to imagine their own pictures as they listened.  After a few weeks of just listening, I showed the students the beautiful illustrations by Allyssa Norton.  Hear a recording of the song here: http://www.giamusic.com/mp3/momma-buy-me-a-china-doll.mp3

Did your child sing this song for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.

Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop

We have been making soup in preschool and kindergarten with our first fingerplay, "Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop."  A fingerplay is a song or rhyme with motions.  Fingerplays teach students about the form of the song by adding motions for each section, and teach students about speaking or singing with expression appropriate to the words.

As we chop up the imaginary ingredients, students get to choose what to add to our soup.  We have used some interesting ingredients, including a lot of candy!  At the end, we always remember to taste our creation!

Make some soup with your child while reciting these words:

Chop, chop, chippety chop,
Cut off the bottom and cut off the top,
What there is left, we put in the pot.
Chop, chop, chippety chop.

Hear Mrs. Barlow's kindergarten class recite this rhyme by clicking the link below:

Chop, Chop, Chippety Chop

Did your child say this rhyme for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.

Frog in the Meadow

As part of our First Steps in Music curriculum, preschoolers and kindergarteners have learned the simple song "Frog in the Meadow."  A simple song is a song that students learn through a whole song approach - listening to the song sung to them several times until it is internalized and they can sing it by themselves.

First, students listened while the song was sung to them.  Following the words of the song, students used a "stick" (their finger) to stir the meadow grass around to find the frog.  They got to choose different parts of their body to look for the frog in until he popped out of the tall grass.

After several weeks of only listening to the song, students were given the opportunity to sing the song as a group, accompanied by Mrs. Hiltz on the frog guiro.  This helped to build independence, as students sang without help from the teacher.

After some practice singing the song as a group came the ultimate test of their singing independence: students sang the song solo for the class while playing the frog guiro.  

Ask your child to sing the song for you.  The lyrics are below:

Frog in the meadow
Can't get him out.
Take a little stick and 
Stir him about.

Hear Miss Randell's class sing the song by clicking the link below:

Frog in the Meadow

Did your child sing this song for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.

Hop Old Squirrel

1st Graders just learned a new simple song called "Hop Old Squirrel."  Students learn simple songs through the whole song approach.  They listen to the song several times until they have internalized it and can sing it themselves.  Luckily, we could have the squirrel do all sorts of motions and act them out to keep us busy while we listened.

After a few weeks of just listening, students were able to sing the song independently.  They sang as a whole class, small groups, and then many students sang a solo!  Students who sang a solo got to add a star to our "Solo Singing Super Stars" wall.

Hear Miss Gagnon's class doing a great job singing this song by clicking the link below:

Hop Old Squirrel

Did your child sing this song for you?  Let Mrs. Hiltz know by filling out this form.