Silver Buttons #4 – Musik & Me – Featuring Lets Play Music and Sound Beginnings

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Lesson # 4

The music included in Sound Beginnings curriculum was chosen to represent the best in folk music and nostalgic songs. Our Smart Moves dances allow us to also experience well-known classical pieces in age-appropriate ways. Dance along at home to continue the fun we have in class. Here’s a downloadable cue card of the way we experience the "Ice Skaters Dance" in class.

Next week’s songs:

Days of the Week
Frere Jacques
DO Pentatonic Scale
Thread Follows Needle
Risseldy, Rosseldy
The Blue Danube
Make New Friends
If You Want to Speak in French
A Bushel and a Peck

My favorite thing about teaching this class is knowing that this class makes a difference to you and your child. Please text to let me know one activity from class that you've enjoyed at home and how you and your child experienced it!I love hearing success stories, both big and small!

Transitions & subdivision: Our transition activity allows us to hear and feel how a segment of
time can be divided into equal units we refer to as rhythm. Processing and internalizing rhythmic division will help children process fractional division in math later on! Math Meets Music

Parachute: Parachute play is a great way to strengthen the upper body and
encourage cooperation. Parachute Play

In order to to fully benefit from music, children need to do more than just listen. When a child sings, has rhythmic experiences, or dances along to a piece of music, a signal is sent to the brain to process and make meaning of the musical experience. Smart Moves dances are helping your child’s brain understand music in a more meaningful way and process musical elements such as theme, dynamics, and phrasing.

Optional Home Fun Activity:
Color the ‘Ice Skater’s Dance’ on page 15 in your workbook.

Watch an orchestra play our "Ice Skaters Dance" song! You can watch just until the 3:00 mark for our shortened version, or you can even start the video at the beginning and enjoy the entire song!

Here is a Facebook video (from the husband of another Sound Beginnings teacher) with pronunciation for “Frere Jacques” that we’ll start on next week.

Speech Development: A recent study suggests that infants exposed to musical activities have stronger brain responses
to both music and speech rhythm, and that exposure to music increases the ability to detect
patterns in sounds. (University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences)

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:

Little hands need to be strong in order to perform life and learning skills such as dressing oneself and writing. In class, students gain finger dexterity and hand strength as they participate in finger plays to favorite nursery rhymes and manipulate tactile props and instruments.

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany 🙂