Lesson #6

Coming up, on Lesson 8 we will have a little ‘party.’ We call it Instrument Day! On this day, you and your child are invited to bring an instrument and share it with the class! It can be a real instrument, or a ‘found’ instrument, or you could even sing us a song! You will tell us which instrument family it belongs in and hopefully give us a demonstration! We especially love songs from this session of Sound Beginnings or other “sea” songs.

The time you spend intentionally playing with your child fosters a bond that positively impacts their future mental, physical, social, and emotional health.

Please text and let me know something your child LOVED in class so we can do it again!

Next class we'll sing these songs:

• ABC Song
• A, You're Adorable
• Over the Deep Blue Sea
• Five Little Sandcastles
• Instrument Listening (Steel Drum, Ukulele, Sand Blocks, Fish Guiro)
• Bickle Bockle
• Three Little Fishies
• Waves On the Sand
• Lukey's Boat
• I'll also add in favorites, so please let me know your child's favorite activity, or something you did at home that would be fun for the whole class to try!

Sea Chanteys (Lukey’s Boat) are a powerful part of musical history.  “Chantey” comes from the French “chanter” - to sing. They were generally used to keep a steady rhythm and keep everyone on task (be it rowing, scrubbing the deck, hoisting the sails, or something else). They were often used to entertain and keep spirits high at sea; to tell a story – often a little embellished; to instruct about the dangers; and to get that last bit of work out. In short, Sea Chanteys did on sea what music has always done! Music is rich in life and living, whatever the background!

The major scale influences the chords and melodic structure in a piece of music. Learning to recognize and sing this scale establishes a foundation for future vocal instruction and formal scale theory.

Optional home fun activity: Help baby shark find his family on page 14 of your workbook. (Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)

Can’t get enough of baby shark? This pianist has arranged this famous song into 18 different versions – it’s hilarious!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Peek into a Sound Beginnings class and you will see skipping, crawling, dancing, and jumping! Full body movement builds large muscle strength, hand-eye coordination, aids brain-hemisphere function, and develops balance in young children.