Choir has been especially full of movement! The Lower Elementary students studied long and short sounds as well as staccato and legato. They were tasked to find a short movement while a partner played a short sound and then switch for long movement and sounds. Their ideas were so inventive! They also learned the song and circle dance, ‘Mama Paquita.’ Circle dances are an important form of movement as it creates a social aspect to the dance, rather than free dance where one is dancing alone. Upper Elementary learned a song about Ohio, their social studies focus, and a dance that goes along with it. In the dance, a river is formed and dancers go ‘sailing’ down the river. They learned both the song and dance quickly and begged to do it one last time before dismissal.
In music class, all students have learned the Curwen hand signals for solfege, the Lower Elementary learned about higher and lower pitches using the Star Light, Star Bright Melody as well as phrasing, writing in phrasing to Mary Had a Little Lamb. Upper Elementary composed 8 measures of rhythm in 2/4 time. The Middle Schoolers have improvised on the Orff instruments in 4/4 time and… have begun to read in treble clef!! Ta Da!!
