August Music Blog

The new school year has begun and FMS music is filling the air. The children enter the classroom to my bulletin board that reminds them that they are the reason I am here.

The primary grades (ages 3-6) are learning each others names, how to keep a steady beat, and what different rhythm instruments sound like and how to play them. We do brain gym activities, which progress through eight fundamental movement patterns each week to promote healthy brain development. I am planting small seeds of music basics that will grow through the year with our primary classes.

The lower elementary classes (1st – 3rd grade) are building on knowledge gained in the previous year. We have been learning mallet technique while playing the barred instruments, proper playing technique with the unpitched instruments, listening skills, reading rhythms, and solfege (scales). Each class brings exciting experiences that heighten our musical abilities.

The upper elementary classes (4th – 6th grade) have begun a study of the North American continents beginning with Nevada. We began our music classes learning a traditional Folk Dance called The Boston Tea Party. The opportunity to participate in this traditional dance has been a joyful experience in cooperation and celebration. This dance has an intricate “Dip and Dive” figure which was tricky to explain, but fun to dance once it was understood. We will continue learning traditional folk dances of North America with the goal of having a “Hoedown” at the end of the year. We have also been working on doing tableau’s of Native American folk tales. A tableau is a series of still pictures that tells the story which will be posted in a future blog.

The beginning of our school year has been a successful start to our year in Music!