Young Children's Festival

Please keep the 13th June free in your diaries. We have been invited to take part once again in the Young Children's Festival in Castle Park.

We would very much like to showcase some of the things we have been working on this term.

Imagine That students will be invited to bring along their chime bars to play and we will also be performing "We are Fine Musicians".

Young Child students will be invited to bring their glockenspiels and show some of the things we have been working on this term.

Exact timings will be given nearer the day. Please let me know if you can come along

Young Child

We had a great class this week. It is great to see the way the children's skills are developing in singing and in the playing of the glockenspiel.

Everyone really enjoyed working together in groups to make our musical picture of the Elephant playing in the river and it was lovely to see the children's creative ideas as they used the percussion instruments in effective ways.

Please take some time to practise your melody cards over the Easter break. Can you put them in the right order to make the Bell Horses tune? Be sure to add the star sticker to your favourite card.

Look back through the rest of the Home tasks we have had to do this semester and see if you can play through the other exercises.

See you all back again after the Easter holidays.

Statue Sculptures

We have had great fun pretending to be statues in class.

You have a few weeks to complete your family activity before classes start back after Easter. Look in your book at Activity 6.

See if you can spot any statues around town. There is the great modern take on Boudicea near Asda in Colchester. What other statues can you find?

Have a go at making your own statue and be sure to bring it back to class for us all to see.

Imagine That 23rd March

What a lovely, lovely class we had today! The children are all such gems. They so actively participate in the story of Eddie and Bandit going off to look and bring him home - all the while without realising it honing their singing skills and moving their bodies to the steady drum beat.

They all seem to thoroughly enjoy the class and I always think it a shame that you parents do not get to see some of what goes on. I am always happy if you would like to sit in a lesson, so please take the opportunity to do this at some point (not all at once).


This week at home look in your Home Guide and see if you can make a game together a bit like the one we played together at the end of the lesson. Be sure to let us see what you have done for next week!

Young Child week 20

Wow what a lesson we had this week!! - Probably one of my most challenging to date. There was certainly a lot of energy in that room.

One of the best ways to prepare for next week is to try to get the glockenspiel out a few times. The melodies are progressing so that this week you have brought home the complete music for Lucy Locket.

See if you can sing the notes along to the music and then try to master the whole thing on the glockenspiel.

The clever thing about all this is that the children are building their musical knowledge without even realising it. All the preparation work we did last term learning songs moving and playing percussion has been the foundation that has enabled them to play along to the music today.

A couple of you remarked this week at how staggered you are at what your child has learnt.

Try to find a way to showcase your tune this week - perhaps you could play for your teacher or a relative.

See you all next week!

Guess what you have a musical brain!

Research concludes that we all have a musical brain! Now that's a real surprise for some of us. So many of us have had negative musical experiences and have been robbed of the pleasure to enjoy singing or playing a musical instrument.

Researchers found that non-musicians and musicians had the same brain responses and concluded that although we may not think ourselves as musical we are!

I am amazed by how many people I come into contact with who tell me about their negative musical experiences and how they have stopped them pursuing music further.

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/03.22/04-music.html

Does Music Make You Smarter?

Amazingly there is no musical centre in the brain. Musical activity stimulates the whole brain. Quite simply when you are engaged in musical activity the whole of your brain lights up like a Christmas Tree.

Overall brain development suggests global development for children. Scientific studies have shown that there are huge benefits in early music education. Children who take regular music instruction before the age of 7 are the most advantaged.

The following are just a few of the benefits of music education:

General cognitive development

Language development

Reading readiness and reading

verbal abilities

Abstract conceptional thinking and reasoning

Creativity and originality

Memory

Improvisation

Motor development and coordination

Improved social skills

Stress reduction

Increased quality of life


Tell us what you think.

Fiddle Dee wk3

Music concepts may be effectively introduced to the Our Time-aged child through fun and playful activities. The concept of tempo (or speed) is central to music. The 1½- to 3-year-old child is learning to control and coordinate his body’s movements and is naturally interested in the concepts of fast and slow. Mastering these concepts through activities such as bouncing, playing instruments, and dancing is fun and satisfying for the child.

In class we will continue to focus on tempo for two more weeks. At home, you can have fun reinforcing this concept through further repetition of fast and slow activities such as Roly Poly. Also, “at home” Kindermusik play will help familiarise your child with the routines of Kindermusik class, thus helping him become more and more at ease in the classroom environment.

Until next week…

Village Week 3

Learning something new is challenging. How did you feel as you learned the new dance, Sonata for Flute? We all react to new experiences in different ways. A challenge can be fun, frightening, or a bit uncomfortable.

Challenges are part of your baby’s life several times every day. She is presented with new people, toys, foods, and more. By providing her with secure places to explore, being by her side, and giving her love and care, she will be more confident in how she faces the world.

As she masters new skills, she will realise that she is a powerful little person. And your experience in class today is a great reminder of what it feels like to be a learner once again.

By next week you’ll both feel like Sonata for Flute is an old friend! See you then.

Imagine That week3

As the children become more and more comfortable in the Kindermusik setting, I find that they are able to contribute more and more to our class experience. One of the many benefits of Kindermusik is that in a small class, your child is able to offer ideas upon which activities may be built and developed.

We had a lovely time today telling the story of Eddie loosing his dog! The children really engaged in pretending to find the naughty dog and bring him back home. We used the drums to show our walking and running and even tiptoeing.

The children loved playing the chime bars together too, they are really getting the hang of bouncing the beaters off of the bars!

Try to get the chimes out this week to play along to some of the tracks on the CD. Also remember to make your own city music. You can use your voices and anything else you can find. If you can't record it - why not bring the live version to perform in class next week.

Young Child Weeek 18

What a fun packed lesson we had this week!

We have been working on Italian terms and dynamics. Have a look at the yellow and green cards in your child's Games' Bag and see if you can order them correctly.

PP = pianissimo (or very quiet in English)
P = piano (quiet or soft)
F = forte (loud)
FF = fortissimo (very loud); certainly the favourtie!!!

We will add some others next week.

Try to get out your child's music bag a couple of times this week. It really helps to get them in the habit of doing some music at home as this will prepare them for regular practise if they decide to go on to individual instrumental lessons later on.

This week use your note chips to copy the melody card on to your staff chart. (Please ask me next weel for more chips if you need them!) Sing the melody and play it on the glockenspiel, making sure you use both hands.

There is a new melody to look at on your card! Can you guess what it is? You will need to practise this one as we will be playing it in class next week.

Why not have a look at the Classics for Kids website this week, there are some good podcasts to download!