Trolls in Kindergarten Music

Have you ever been crossing a bridge and smelled something terribly stinky below your feet?  Well, ask any kindergarten student, and they'll tell you there's probably a troll under there.  But don't worry.  Even through trolls have a bad reputation from fairy tales and movies, they will let you cross their bridge unharmed - that is, if you ask them nicely.  

Of course, then nicest way to ask is to sing your question.  If we sing very well, the Troll always lets a few children cross the bridge.  In celebration, students dance across the bridge with their best creative movement, exploring high and low levels, turns, skips and jumps,  Last week, we added colorful scarves to our movement, which made the crossing even more spectacular.  Today, we added the final special element to our project as students each chose a small percussion instrument, and improvised their own rhythm while dancing across the bridge.  

Unfortunately, once students get to the other side they are magically transformed into trolls themselves.  Smiling girls and boys suddenly have sharp fangs, long claws, messy hair and a strangely nasty smell.  But never fear - we always have a good supply of "Human Dust" that restores our students to their charming selves at the end of the music lesson!

Literacy Week in the Music Room

The Music Room Door.
Why is there a xylophone on that tree?

This week is Literacy Week at Royal Oak School, and students and staff are celebrating the joy of reading in many different ways.  We "Drop Everything and Read", we visit other classrooms to hear a special story, and we've even decorated our doors with a Robert Munsch story!

In the music room, students will be re-telling Robert Munsch's book "Up, Up, Down".  The story's main character, Anna, is a good girl, but her love of climbing gets her into some serious trouble.  And after she climbs the giant tree, her trouble spreads to her Mother and her Father.  Oh - oh!  

It's a great read, and we will make it even more fun by adding some special musical touches: 

   Our xylophones make the sound of Anna's climbing up (and falling down!),
      Our voices make the sound of the characters' most important words,
         Our hands make the sound of running feet,
            And our bodies bring the characters actions to life!

It has been so much fun to prepare for this week of reading, and it has been such a delight to watch the students' enthusiastic and joyful response!  And today is only the beginning of the week-long festivities!  Ask your child(ren) to share their favourite moments from the day, and you may even find that the fun trickles into your home too!

The Violin

The Violin

We are all learners, even the adults who work as teachers in our school.  Over the Winter Break, I decided that I would begin to learn to play the violin.  I love listening to the experts play, and I wanted to join in the fun myself!

I remember the very first moment I picked it up.  I carefully put it under my chin, picked up the bow, and excitedly made my very first sound.  Ye - owww!  It was horrible!  What an awful noise!  How disappointing!

But then I remembered - new skills are always challenging the very first time we try.  Many people fall off their bike on their first ride.  Many people burn the cookies the first time they bake.  Even reading a book is tricky at first!

But each time we work on a skill, we get just a little bit better.  When we have a friend help us out, we improve even faster.  So I tried my best and tried again - and again - and again.  I practiced and practiced, and now I can make some nice sounds.  So I brought my violin into school and played for the students.  I explained that I would do my best, but I was just a beginning to learn this skill so it wouldn't be perfect.

Proudly, I played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".  The students were a very supportive audience, and were eager to ask questions:

  - Why are there holes in the violin?

    - What is the violin made of?

      - How does it make high notes and low notes?

        - Why do you put it under your chin?

          - Do you have to use the bow to make a sound?

What an exciting discussion!  Students shared what they knew, I added some more information, and we looked up some answers on the internet.  Then we drew, and wrote, and talked some more.  How wonderful to explore this amazing instrument together!

            

Alberta Opera Performs "Hansel and Gretel" at Royal Oak School!

Students from Kindergarten to Grade Three will be treated to live musical theatre right in our own gymnasium on Monday January 16th at 1:30pm.  Performers from Alberta Opera will be performing the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", complete with props, costumes and lots of music!  


Here's a summary of the story:   

A poverty-striken family struggles to survive at the edge of the desolate Black Forest.  Filled with dreams of a better life, Hansel and Gretel run away in search of what awaits them on the other side of the woods.  

After days of wandering through twisted trees, their journey appears to have come to an end when they stumble upon a house made entirely of candy, sweets, and sugary treats!  However, it's not long before they discover they've been lured into a witch's trap and must work together to escape  . . .



On behalf of our students and staff, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Royal Oak School Fundraising Society for funding this wonderful opportunity.  Your generosity has truly enriched our learning community!

Mystery Melodies

Students in Grade One have been practicing using high notes and low notes to represent melodies on a one-line staff.  We have been reading melodies, playing them on xylophones, writing our own, and of course, singing them with our hand signs.

This week, Grade One students discovered that these high and low notes can be organised into songs that they already know!  After singing the following melody, students realised that it sounded just like "Rain, rain, go away".  It also sounded like "One, two, tie my shoe".  How strange that two different songs can use the same melody!  

Together, we matched up the lyrics with the melody that we sang, writing each word below it's own note:

Tika Tika: A New Rhythm Note!

Four sounds on a beat is called "tika tika".

Grade Two Students have been exploring Shel Silverstein's poem, Alligator Pie.  We have sung the words as a melody, played the beat on drums, clapped the syllables of the words, and we have even learned a speech pattern that sounds great when you perform it at the same time as the song!  

This week, we used the words of this song to learn our newest rhythm note, tika tika.  If you'd like to re-create the magic at home, just follow these simple steps.  The colour of the text matches the colour of the example below:

1. Pat the beat while you sing.  Record a beat symbol (a heart) above the words every time your hand touches your knee.

2. Draw a box around each beat.  

3. Count the number of syllables in each beat, and record a vertical line for each syllable.  Then tie the lines together with a rope to show that they belong in the same beat.  If there is just two sounds, a single rope will do.  If there are four sounds, we need two ropes to keep all those sounds together.