Check out December in Music!

December was an incredibly fast month! We were able to squeeze in music from Greece, Russia, and Romania! Special thanks to the families who helped me select music and activities to show off these great cultures. Fifth grade at JFK really shined in their concert and showed that hard work pays off! Students in 3rd and 4th at JFK and Parmenter auditioned for solos for their January concerts. I could not believe how brave the students were and how supportive their friends were! First through fourth grades were able to show off their musical talents for music "show and tell." On top of all of this, each grade began a new tonal and rhythm objective that we hope to challenge ourselves with in the new term. Below I hope you enjoy a small window into our music classes! Wishing everyone a happy holiday and restful vacation filled with family and fun!

2nd Grade Mrs. Maiato JFK

"Trepak or the Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker

Students moved with the music and made the form of the music come to life through dance!

1st Grade Mrs. Arnold JFK

"Dance of the Reed Flutes" from The Nutcracker

Students in K and 1 once again explored form by moving and listening for parts that sound same and different. My third graders still beg me to play this!

3rd Grade Mr. Tighe Parmenter

"The March" from The Nutcracker

Students were able to identify and perform the form using instruments!

3rd Grade Mrs. Henneberry JFK

"The March" from The Nutcracker

Students were able to identify and perform the form using instruments!

4th Grade JFK Chorus

4th graders at JFK and Parmenter were very creative changing the lyrics to the round "Donkeys Always Love their Carrots." Here is just one example!

1st Grade Ms. Fitzgerald JFK

Students at JFK and Parmenter in 1st-3rd grade really enjoyed learning about Greek dancing and trying it themselves! We also compared it to dancing in Romania! Here we are trying to master a step to a Greek dance "Hasapikos." 

Thank you to the Stoddard family for letting us borrow these authentic Greek clothes that children would dance in! Students loved modeling them for their classmates!

December Celebrity Singers

 Parmenter 3rd Grade

Parmenter 4th Grade

JFK 4th Grade

JFK 3rd Grade

*Concert dates are on the right side of my blog. Fliers will also be sent home the day after vacation! 5th grade did not have Celebrity Singers in December due to the concert. Looking forward to seeing families in January!

January Culture of the Month

CHINA!

Here is some music to help not only celebrate our New Year but also the Chinese New Year on January 28th! 

Listen to a Chinese Orchestra here!

November Music and December Cultures of the Month!

November Music!

Mrs. Grinley's 3rd Grade Class Parmenter "Pepsi Cola"

In 1st-3rd Grade we explored music in the Caribbean and Brazil. We sang in Spanish and Portuguese, danced to "Si, Senor" and learned about the different drums in both regions. Here 3rd grade students are using drums including the bongos and conga which are very popular in Latin America. At the same time, students are exploring their rhythm objective of playing, saying, audiating and identifying different patterns (Macro/micro and Division/Elongation) in triple meter! 

Mrs. Kolodny's 1st Grade Class JFK "Who  Stole My Chicken and My Hen?"

Here students are singing and identifying the resting tone using boomwhackers! They were a big "hit!":)

Mrs. Coffey/Trockman's K Class JFK "Hope Old Squirrel"

Here students practiced their singing voices and later their audiating voices! Ask your K/1 students if they can sing this song while audiating (singing in their head) different parts like the word "hop!"

Mrs. Logan's K Class Parmenter "5 Fat Turkeys"

K loves playing this fun game while singing "5 Fat Turkeys." A great activity right before Thanksgiving and also lots of great rhyming words!

Mrs. Forde's K Class Parmenter "Alligator Pie"

This is a fun poem or chant I love doing before Thanksgiving as well. We like to sub in Alligator pie for all different kinds of pie! This is also a great way for Kindergarten to explore their objective of using and differentiating between different voices such as singing, speaking, chanting, shouting, whispering and audiating. 

3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade Chorus

All choirs have been learning or reviewing their chorus objectives. So far we have done...

1. We can sing with the 5 points of posture.

2. We can sing with great breath support!

3. We can sing with diction to make the words clear.

4. We can shape vowels to create a great and unified sound.

5. We can use expression to connect with the music and the audience.

6. We can use a variety of dynamics!

Reminder that concert dates are on their right side of this blog page. These kids are going to sound amazing!

Reminder: JFK 5th Grade Concert Thursday, December 15th! *All fifth graders should be practicing recorder 5x a week for at least ten minutes each time. This is reflected in their participation Report Card grade.

4th Grade Recorders go home in January! 

5th Grade Ukuleles are tuned and ready to go!

 Parmenter Ukes 

JFK Ukes

November Celebrity Singers!

JFK 3rd Grade

Parmenter 3rd Grade

Parmenter 4th Grade

JFK 4th Grade

JFK 5th Grade

December Cultures of the Month

Europe: Romania, Greece, and Russia

Students are going to listen to some Romanian carols, learn some Greek dancing and perform/explore a song from the Russian composer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky's famous Nutcracker Suite!

Here is one dance from the Nutcracker we will not be learning!:)

*Thank you to all the families who submitted their cultures and are helping me with their countries' music!