Dear Parents,
With the change of seasons, we start practicing songs for our Light and Love performances. I have been including these songs and activities during each music class at every level. I frequently include a time when the children choose songs. I have been very pleased that they often choose the favorites that have been around Treehouse for for several years. Some of these songs include: Treehouse Friends, This Little Light of Mine (Treehouse Favorite), Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Traffic Light, Slippery Fish and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. They also choose La Crocodile, Puff, the Magic Dragon and Do Re Mi. As soon as we have snow the choices usually include Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman.
Being able to move in time to music is one of the most basic and important skills in music for the young child. Dancing, patching to the steady beat, and playing simple rhythm instruments all help develop this skill over time. We tap the steady beat to the Hello and Goodbye songs at every class as well as when they sing without instruments. This fall we have used dances for our movement activities. Some of the dances include: The Grand Old Duke of York; Rig a Jig Jig; Hey, Lets Dance Together; Dance of the Leaves; Hey, Mister; Jenny Hopkins; Dance, Marsushka and Polonaise, The English Dance master. These dances range from traditional children’s music, newly composed music for movement and American, Russian, Celtic and English folk music. I have seen a real improvement in a number of the children to match their movements to the tempo of the dance.
Another essential skill in music is listening. We are such visual people that this is not a natural skill for most of us. This fall we have been listening and learning to identify by sound only animals from the woods and owls. The owl sounds are a particular favorite in the dogwood and cedar classrooms.
Finally, I like to include in every class the opportunity to develop their understanding of rhythm patterns and tonal (melodic) patterns. All the classrooms enjoy echoing patterns through the microphone. In addition, the preschool and older children have been learning sofege (do, re, mi) syllables with hand signs and Kodaly rhythm patterns.
Ms Kathleen