Young Child Lesson 40

Land of the Silver Birch has to be one of my favourite songs from my childhood. I remember singing it at brownies and guides and it really stimulated my imagination. I think I would have really loved to have been transported to the magical landscape the song words conjured up in my mind.

What excites me about this class is how readily the children learn new musical concepts. Talking about beat and meter might seem a complicated affair but the children were eagerly composing their own two bar 4 beat rhythms without even thinking about it. In the next lesson we will move on to 3 beat rhythms and compare.

Remember to bring your glockenspiel there will be a special sticker for anyone who can play some or all of Land of the Silver Birch :)

Imagine That

What a wonderful time we had in class last Monday! The children really engaged in our story-telling and we had a wonderful time on our imaginary picnic. We sang a simple song about the food we were packing and each child added an item to our basket. I was amazed at how each child sang their own bit of the song. It is lovely to see the way their singing voices are developing.

Singing is a learnt skill - we develop our abilities in singing at a young age and singing in tune just like speaking another language is a skill that we can learn. Young children have a natural ability to acquire accurate pitch since they are still absorbing all the nuances of language. Speech and singing are synonymous. Singing really helps with language skills (and actually so much more!). If there is one activity we should all be doing with our young children it is singing.

This weeks' home activity is to cut out the picnic cards and sing our picnic song together. Why not extend the activity by thinking of your own favourtie picnic ingredients.

Above all sing sing sing!!!

Hythe Community Choir

The Hythe Community Choir was formed to raise money for Christian Aid's Big Christmas Sing. Due to it's enormous success and the fun enjoyed by all we have decided to continue the choir. The first rehearsal will be on 29th January at 8pm - simply turn up and sing!

Please do not worry if you have never sung before or you are scared that your voice is going to sound awful! The only way to learn and become more confident is to come along. We welcome all!

Kate will help you with breathing and voice control and even teach you to sight sing real music!!!! You will find that regular singing will help you sing in tune too!

This month we will be learning to doh re mi, working out our brains with some singing and movement games and singing some fun popular music. There will be some exciting extras too!

So ditch the nintendo and come and experience some real brain training instead!

Cost £4 per person all welcome 7 - 110 yrs

Bad Weather News

Hi all,

after a week of cancelled classes and lessons we aim to be back to normal regardless of the weather as of next week. Most main routes are being kept open and public transport is operating quite well. Most people seem to want to get out and back to some normality. Older siblings are welcome to tag along to any class if nursery or school is closed.

Piano and singing lessons will be returning to normal next week too!

Kate

Family Time

Family Time classes start this saturday - come along for a free taster! 10am Hythe Community Centre Colchester. Children aged 0 - 7 years welcome - older siblings also welcome to help out :)