This week we had so much fun celebrating Halloween.
Primary: We listened to Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor and busted some Ghosts.
PreK: We went on a virtual filed trip to a Haunted House and had many fun music activities along the way.
Kindergarten: We learned how music can effect our feelings and acted out, “Baby Monsters.”
1-8: We worked on Candlelight and Lion King
This past week we had auditions for Lion King Jr. Our scenic design class is already hard at work creating some of the amazing things you will see on stage.
Primary-K: We talked about the fun things we get to do in the fall. Then, we learned songs about leaves, scarecrows, and pumpkins.
1st-2nd: We learned about tempo, dynamics and pitch. We discussed how a lot of musical words come from Italy. They were very excited to learn some Italian words.
Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15- October 15. We learned that a lot of our favorite music is inspired by the the Hispanic and LatinX culture. We talked about different instruments and listened to amazing music by talented artists.
Primary-Pre K: We talked about nursery rhymes we sing in America. I told them that children in the Spanish speaking countries learn a nursery rhyme called, “Los Pollitos.”It is about three little chicks that hatch and spend a fun day with their mom. We learned the song and some choreography. Then, we listened to music and played our maracas.
Kinder-1st: We listened to some amazing music and did a drum stick routine to, “Proud Corazon,” from the movie Coco.
2nd-4th: We talked about Latin music with a little help from our friends Tim and Moby. Then, we learned a cup and stick routine to, “Turn the Beat Around,” by Gloria Estefan.
5th-8th: We continued our read/sing through of the Lion King and then we practiced our Turn the Beat Around routine.
This week we had a lot of fun with drums.
In Primary and PreK, we worked on steady beat and jammed out to some nursery rhymes and We Don’t Talk About Bruno.
In 2nd grade, we continued work on Music Theory and demonstrated our knowledge with a drum game, Extra Beat, Take a Seat. We even had a spontaneous conga line!
Fourth through eighth was able to read/through our script for The Lion King Jr. to gather a better understanding of the story and what we are undertaking. Each child was able to read a part and had a blast singing through the songs!
I am so happy to see all my students’ smiling faces! I sure did miss them. We had a great first couple of weeks.
In Primary, we dove into Nursery Rhymes.
PreK: We began our unit on steady beat. First with clapping, next with Rhythm Sticks.
K-1: We learned and reviewed all about the Percussion Family.
2-4: We reviewed our note values and rhythms
5-8: We played various rhythms on the Djembes.
One final piece of news! The year our Spring Musical will be Disney’s Lion King Jr.! I am so excited to get started! First through eighth grade will be participating and I cannot wait to see that magic that we create! Mark your calendars, the musical will be on Thursday, April 6 @ 6:30!
This week second though fourth grade participated in a Texarkana Symphony Orchestra concert. This concert was in conjunction with Carnegie Hall called, The Orchestra Moves. Students could play the recorder, dance, play percussion instruments, or sing. We chose to sing and got to participate in four selections, “Come to Play (theme for the program), “The Blue Danube,” “Toreador from the opera Carmen,” and “Un, Dos, Tres.” The kids had a blast and got to be exposed to classical music in a fun and entertaining way. We tried to take pictures but the Perot was a little dark.
Pre-K and Kinder finished their study of Pitch Hill with a hands on activity. They placed their Solfegé friends on their very own music staff.
This week in primary and pre-K, we celebrated Earth Day by doing a scarf routine to, “What a Wonderful World” and colored our very own Earth.
Pre-K through 1st grade continued our study of Pitch Hill where some classes met all eight Solfège people!
2nd through 4th grade worked on their songs for our field trip to see the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra on May 18th. This is special concert in conjunction with Carnegie Hall and our students are lucky enough to participate.
5th and 6th grade began working on learning the Ukulele. We learned about the parts, tuning, and tabs.
7th and 8th grade learned about the djembe and started learning a routine to “The Circle of Life.”
This week in Pre K and Kindergarten we began learning about pitches and solfège (Do,Re,Mi)! We discovered a special hill where all the solfège people live. The first two characters we met were, Scaredy-cat Sol and Flat Head Mi. We learned their homes on Pitch hill, what space or line it was, and their hand signals. We learned songs about them and played played games using their pitches!
This blog will be short and sweet:
As I sit here with my coffee, I am reflecting on last night and the semester as a whole. This show means a lot to me on many levels and I was so happy to bring it to St. James. Last night was a dream come true and I couldn’t be happier. My kids are amazing, fabulous, and extremely talented! I love them so much and I am so grateful to be their director. Thank you to everyone who made this show possible, parent, teachers, administration, STUDENTS, and my incredible team! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ❤️#blessedandgrateful
We are steadily working on our Spring Musical. This week we began using tracks without vocals, tried on costumes, and had our first all school rehearsal (1-8). It went really well! We can’t wait to show you our hard work! Come out and see Seussical Jr. at the Sullivan PAC on March 25 @6:30! Admission is FREE!
This past week we celebrated Dr. Seuss Day on Wednesday, March 2. What better way to celebrate than having our cast take pictures with their character’s book!
Characters in Horton Hears a Who: Horton the Elephant, Sour Kangaroo, Young Kangaroo, Wickershams, Bird Girls, Jojo, Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, and the, the, the, the Grinch!
Characters in The Cat in the Hat: Cat, Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3!
Characters in Yertle the Turtle & Other Stories: Yertle and Gertrude McFuzz!
Characters in Horton Hatches the Egg: Mayzie La Bird!
We have been working so hard on the spring musical…that I didn’t take pictures…my bad! Costumes have been ordered, set construction is underway, and choreography is being learned.
In primary class, we sang about the London Bridge. The kids became the bridge while we sang. Then, we sang about other buildings supplies and sites.
In pre-k and kinder, we learned about being kind to one another while singing and dancing to Wee Sing In Sillyville. We then dove into the song Down By the Bay and explored rhyming.
This week in the three year old class, we celebrated Winter by doing many different movement and singing activities! We did a scarf routine to Winter by Vivaldi.
In Pre-K and Kindergarten, we worked on steady beat and quarter notes and eighth notes!
First through eighth grade worked on choreography for the opening number of Seussical the Musical Jr.!: Oh The Thinks You Can Think.
Primary through Kindergarten met a very interesting man this past week! His name is Aiken Drum and he lived in the moon. His hair is made of spaghetti, eyes of meatballs, nose of cheese, and mouth of pizza. He also plays upon a ladle! We have so much fun singing about him and playing our drums!
1st through 8th grade began work on our Spring Musical, SEUSSICAL JR.! It features some famous characters, Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, and many more! I am so excited to bring this wonderful show to St. James. It’s a story of friendship, imagination, and fun all in the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss!
We had a lot of fun these past couple of weeks! We have been singing Christmas songs and getting ready for Candlelight! We had Lower School’s service last night and they did a FANTASTIC job! I am so proud! I know that Middle School is going to do a great job tonight at 6pm.
The past few weeks we have be working very hard on our music for Candlelight. These kids amaze me everyday! I’m so lucky to be their music teacher! Their practice is paying off and we can’t wait to show off on December 15th and 16th!
When we haven’t been working on Candlelight, we have been continuing out work on rhythm by playing, “Turkey Rhythm Run” and “Black Friday Deal Race.”
This week, we have been studying body percussion and music theory!
We created body percussion compositions and “Rumbled” in the Jungle:
Last week, we celebrated Halloween by listening to the “SPOOKIEST” piece of classical music, Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor. We explored mood, tempo, and dynamics while coloring a picture of Bach and his pipe organ!
This month we have had a lot of fun exploring the world of spooky music!
Primary: Put on a puppet show while singing, “Five Little Pumpkins” and busted some ghosts!
PreK- Kindergarten: Added some spooky scenes to their, “Five Little Pumpkins” song page! We sang and did some math too!
3rd-8th: We had so much fun I forgot to take pictures(my bad)! We listened to spooky music and talked about the people and stories behind it. We started learning a Bucket Drumming Routine to The Addams Family Theme.
This week we dove into the wonderful world of Latin and Hispanic music in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month! We talked about the different types and how they have influenced music around the world. We celebrated by,
PreK-2nd learning a classic Spanish nursery rhyme: Los Pollitos!
3-8: A cup and rhythm stick routine to Gloria Estefan’s Turn the Beat Around!
We have been exploring sound and movement in class. We have played with and created our own instruments. We created our own songs. We have performed with puppets and masks
Primary students studied nursery rhymes: Mary Had a Little Lamb and Hickory Dickory Dock:
1st-4th grade created their very own kazoos out of straws and songs with Boomwhackers:
Kindergarten created their own monkey mask and performed Five Little Monkeys.
The first couple of weeks have been a blast! We had fun getting to know each other and playing music!
Primary-Kindergarten learned the monkey song on djembes:
1st-5th played the Back to School Rhythm Game!
6th-8th used dice to compose their own Boomwhacker piece:
I’m excited for the days and lessons to come!