Welcome to the Leicester Elementary School Music page. I will use this blog to share curriculum updates, activities, and upcoming events.
Check out grade level tabs in the right sidebar to see what your students are working on in class, or see all posts on the Home page.
Check back often to see what we're working on!
Fourth graders have been learning to play the recorder. We are using the rhythms that we have learned this year, along with the notes B, A, and G to read notation and play songs. We recently read the song Closet Key and played it on our recorders. For only a few weeks of recorder lessons, we are doing pretty well! Click the link below to hear us play! Closet Key
1st Graders learned a fun action song called "One Elephant." This silly song is about an elephant that went out to play on a spider's web. Not only did this song help us practice singing with expression, but once we got up and moved, we worked on moving to the steady beat. The song goes like this: One elephant went out to play On a spider's web one day. He had such enormous fun, He asked another elephant to come. Two elephants went out to play On a spider's web one day. They had such enormous fun, They asked another elephant to come... First, students needed to learn the song. They did this by listening a whole bunch of times. To keep it interesting, students made a spider's web with yarn while they listened to Miss Dagenais sing.
After we had heard the song a whole bunch of times, we were ready to sing it ourselves. From our careful listening, we all knew the song. Hear Mrs. Larson's class sing it by clicking the link: One Elephant
When we could sing the song, then we got to play. We played a game called "Tails and Trunks" while we sang the song. Each elephant had a tail (a scarf) and a trunk (their arm held up to their nose). As an "elephant" walked around our circle, they got to choose another friend to join them. They would grab their "tail" with their "trunk" to make a chain. We played until everyone was involved!
This year's Evening with the Arts will be held Wednesday, April 11th at Leicester High School. See student artwork, performances by the Memorial School Bands and Chorus, and special 20th Anniversary Band and Chorus performances. Memorial School Chorus will be performing at 5:45 in the auditorium and Memorial School White and Maroon Bands will be performing at 6:45 in the gym. Don't miss these awesome performances! See the full schedule below:
We had a wonderful Evening with the Arts rehearsal last night! To commemorate the 20th anniversary of EWTA, we got together a grades 3-12 plus alumni and faculty chorus and a grades 4-12 plus alumni and faculty band. What a great night of music making with Leicester students past and present. Thank you to the families who brought their children to this extra rehearsal. Come see our 20th Anniversary Band and Chorus, as well as all of our schools' band and chorus performances on Wednesday, April 11th at Leicester High School.
Kindergarteners learned a circle game called "Old Bald Eagle." We practiced singing the song and then were able to use it to play the game. Students stood in a circle and the "bald eagle" flew around the outside. At the end of the song, the bald eagle would choose another friend to join them and we'd add to the number in our song. It was really fun to play in class and get everyone involved. Mrs. Armington's class even got to play this game with Officer Murphy from the Leicester Police Department! The words to the song are: Old bald eagle sails around, Daylight is gone. Old bald eagle sails around, Daylight is gone. Two bald eagles sail around, Daylight is gone. Two bald eagles sail around, Daylight is gone. Ms. Jewell's class did a great job singing this song. You can hear a recording of them singing by clicking the link at the bottom. Old Bald Eagle
Preschool and Kindergarten is singing a silly echo song called "Down by the Bay." Students love hearing the silly rhyming jokes at the end and even came up with their own! Hear are the words. See if you can echo your child! Down by the bay (down by the bay) Where the watermelons grow (where the watermelons grow) Back to my home (back to my home) I dare not go (I dare not go). For if I do (for if I do), My mother will say (my mother will say). "Did you ever see a whale with a polka-dotted tail, Down by the bay?" "Did you ever see llamas, wearing pajamas, Down by the bay?" "Did you ever see a bear, combing his hair, Down by the bay?" After we sang the song several times, students looked at the pictures in this book. Some thought the pictures were similar to what they were picturing, and some had pictured something different. It was important that students came up with their own images first. Kindergarteners have the greatest imaginations! After we learned the song as written with lots of silly rhyming jokes, we came up with our own jokes. The joke needed to start with an animal and end with a word that rhymed with that animal. I was very impressed with students' rhyming skills. They wrote down their joke and drew a picture to go along with it. Check with your child to see what they wrote! Hear Mrs. Gallant's kindergarten class sing the song by clicking the link below: Down by the Bay Hear Mrs. Beaudry's class sing their own version of this song, with jokes written by the students, by clicking the link below: Down by the Bay Preschool Edition
Congratulations to 5th Graders Jacki Gallant and Ella Smith! Jacki and Ella performed at the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Conference in Boston this weekend with the All-State Treble Chorus. This is an auditioned ensemble that accepts about 200 students in the state. It was a huge honor to be accepted. Way to go!
