More updates! More songs!

Hi everyone!

I attempted to record the songs for the concert and uploaded them again. I know some were missing or not working. It seems that you do need to install dropbox for this to work, but it's free so hopefully you can/will upload it. I apologize for the songs I recorded (the ones that say "practice" at the end), as I realized that I chose them to suit the children's vocal range and maybe not my own! Although I'm a soprano, some of them were pretty high for my chest voice. Hopefully the children don't make you play those ones too often! :) When they know the words well enough, they can also practice with the real tracks we will be using for the show.

DRESS CODE: I have asked the students to please dress in a PLAIN WHITE top (no logos) and a DARK BOTTOM (navy or black). If possible, no jeans. Thank you!
One of the boys asked me if he could wear a tie - I think ties are adorable but, obviously not expected. Any plain white top would be great.

PARTICIPATION: All of the children are expected to participate in both concert performances. If your child cannot attend a concert, please let me know through your child.

DATES & TIMES: 
Dec. 9th -We will be having a dress rehearsal next Monday (Dec. 9th). Please try to make sure that your child does not miss this important run-through.
Dec. 10th - Our afternoon concert on the 10th will start at 12:45 (after lunch). We hope to see many of you there!
Dec 11th - For the evening concert on the 11th, students are expected to be at school at 6:30pm and make there way to their classroom. The concert will start at 7.

DONATIONS: We are asking for donations to help with the Christmas basket for St. John Fisher Church for families in need this holiday season. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated.


 ****UPDATED SONG FILES & LYRICS******

Click the group to access the files via dropbox (should work even if you don't have a dropbox account)

Group 1

Mme. Martine

Mme. Mollenthiel

Mme. Stevenson

Group 2

Mme. Monique/ Mme. Cesari

Mme. Royal

Group 3

Mme. Deziel

Mme. Lyne

Group 4

Mme. Sophie

Mme. Bourassa

Glocks Galore!

This week, as many of you have probably heard, I was on crutches due to an ankle injury. Therefore classes were a bit more sedentary than usual. I originally wanted to focus on singing this semester, but I was also itching to get the students playing some instruments! We have played a lot of percussion so far, but nothing with a pitch.

I planned an introduction to our glockenspiels for them and so far we have had a blast learning all about this instrument. We now know that glockenspiels are pitched percussion instruments whose bars are made of metal. Although most of the children thought that they would be playing "xylophones" when I showed them the glockenspiel, we quickly learned that xylophones are made of wood, as opposed to metal. We will soon be experimenting with our xylophones too!
With all grade levels this week, we learned how to hold the mallets, strike the bars of the glockenspiel (no bouncing too high!) and played along with a Robert Munsch story entitled "Mortimer". We practiced playing from low to high and from high to low whenever a character in the story went up or down the stairs. We also sang along with Mortimer when we belted his favourite tune "CLING CLANG RATTLE BING BANG gonna make my noise all day! CLING CLANG RATTLE BING BANG gonna make my noise all day!" (sorry parents!)

Here's an interesting article I came across: Kids Music 101

Rhythm Rotation

Hello again,

This past week the cycle 1 students practiced their rhythm reading skills by participating in a variety of activities. We had fun with different stations, including games such as "Rhythm Rockets" where the students moved clothespins up and down their rocketship game cards to indicate the rhythm being read.














We also took turns reading out different rhythms using "Ti-ti" and "Ta" and forming them with popsicle sticks on our beat mats.

















Another game we played was called Music Monsters and is one that I adapted from an idea shared by another teacher. I thought the students would enjoy playing with characters from the movie Monsters Inc...so they snuck their way into our rhythm reading practice game by being our game pieces. In this one, the students had to roll their dice and remove a monster from the corresponding column on their game mat by reading the rhythm found underneath.

Our final station allowed us to let loose a little a throw beanbags onto mats with rhythm cards on them. In order to score a point, the students had to read out the rhythm they landed on to their teammates. This one seemed to be a hit, as I could definately hear the excitement coming from that part of the room! :)













After having worked on reading simple rhythms for a few weeks now, it was wonderful to see the students able to play the games by themselves and help each other with the skill. I'm proud to see that many of them are able to read these rhythms with ease now.

Musical Magic!

As you may have already heard, we are adding a bit of a twist to our holiday concert in December. We will be singing songs from popular Broadway musicals, as well as songs more appropriate for the season. We will be singing in both English and French and our practicing is really starting to pay off! The students will have already come home this week with the lyrics to their songs for the concert. Some classes may be singing an additional song, but for now I'd like them to prepare the 2 that they have brought home. Some of the lyrics are a bit different from the ones sung on the track (particularly Vive le Vent, as we are doing a bilingual version), so please make sure the children pay attention to the lyrics they have been given. You can find a link to download each of the songs here:


Group 1:
Download lyrics for Group 1
        I Just Can't Wait to be King (from the Lion King)
        Download music with vocal track
        Download instrumental version
        L'Hiver est tout Blanc
        Link to music

Group 2:  
Download lyrics for Group 2
        Supercalifragiliticexpialidocious (from Mary Poppins)
        (we may slow this one down a little bit!)
        Download music with vocal track
        Download instrumental version
        La Neige Tombe
        Link to music

Group 3: 
Download lyrics for Group 3
       Mama Mia
       Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version
       Vive le Vent
   Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version

Group 4
Download lyrics for Group 4
       It's a Hard-knock Life (from Annie)
       Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version
       Bonjour l'Hiver
       Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version


I'll post the list of classes in each group next week, although the children should know which songs they have been practicing in class. I hope everything is able to download. Please let me know (through the comments) if there are any issues. It is my first time using this particular download site.
Happy practicing!