Dear Parents,
Hard to believe we are already winding down our academic year. It was great to see so many of you at the picnic. As many of you have enquired, I broke my foot a couple of weeks ago and am happy to report I am half way through the period where I have to wear my boot. And, yes, it is very hot.
As you might expect, we are very busy in the preK and kindergarten classes working on graduation. The songs this year have been learned very quickly by both classes and I am hoping to be able to keep up with them. They have done so well with their preparation that we have been able to continue working on their rhythm development and moving in tempo when they do their movement activities. The favorite for Evergreen and Forest for movement is, “ Wild Running Horses.” This song is exciting enough that it calls for a fair amount of personal discipline to stay in tempo. Evergreen and Forest have begun reading quarter notes, quarter rests and eight notes from flash cards. The kindergarten class has continued to work on their metallophones for graduation. Most of the students have these pieces memorized and when I pull them out in small groups they also are able to read the music.
The books this month has been, My Favorite Things, from the Sound of Music and The Ants Go Marching One by One. The back cover of My Favorite Things contains the music for the song, and they have enjoyed looking at the notes to see what they can identify. I have shared this book in all the classrooms and have found that even in Mountain the children enjoy it. We have just returned to Puff the Magic Dragon, which was one of the most requested books last fall.
The kids in the toddler wing gets very excited when I bring my guitar. They enjoy choosing their favorite songs and I find they sing out very well with the accompaniment. Aspen is even able to respond during the “Hello Song” right on pitch and in perfect rhythm with the guitar. The favorites for this activity varies by classroom but includes, “A,B,C song,” “Itsey Bitsey Spider,” “Wheels on the Bus,” “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat,” “Kookabura,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Star/Traffic Light,” “Frere Jacques.” The children in Mountain were dancing to the guitar music and enjoyed being able to touch the strings and make sound. Speaking of Mountain, I have focused on singing nursery rhymes, doing finger plays and facing with scarves.
We are very fortunate here in Boulder to County to have several age appropriate activities during the summer for children and their families. I would like to bring to your attention two opportunities that have connections with our curriculum at Treehouse. Colorado Music Festival, who provide our guest musicians for our meet the instrument classes, has a summer music program that includes concerts from June 28-August 4. They will be having a meet the brass and meet the strings concert. Also, on June 2 the Longmont Museum is opening a hands on exhibition of Treehouses. This is designed for children to learn more about the habitats of animals in trees and includes treehouses that the children can climb through and explore.
I wish you all a happy and safe summer. As always, I enjoy hearing from you.
Ms Kathleen