December is a very busy month here at Centerville! We are getting ready for our winter break and the holiday season. In music class, that means we are learning plenty of Christmas music! We have learned both traditional songs like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and brand new songs like "The Santa Claus Rock." We have also learned about Hanukkah. Hanukkah is very different from Christmas and has its own holiday songs. This year, we learned the song "Hanukkah Hanukkah" to recognize the holiday. We can't wait to sing these and other songs at our annual holiday singalong!
In December, I like to teach students about the most famous ballet in the world--The Nutcracker. Did you know that Mr. Tchaikovsky, the composer of The Nutcracker, actually didn't like the music he wrote for the ballet? He thought his other ballets, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, had much better music than The Nutcracker. But, I think Mr. Tchaikovsky was too hard on himself--The Nutcracker is an AWESOME ballet with some really incredible music :) We love reading the story of The Nutcracker and watching awesome performances together.
Kindergarten, second grade, and third grade have had some extra music built into their schedules lately! I have been visiting individual kindergarten classrooms to review songs and vocabulary. These visits happen once or twice per month. We have fun in the classroom singing and learning together. Second and third graders have been learning about music history during my classroom visits. Last month, we talked about Beethoven and his struggle to write music after his hearing was gone. We listened to Beethoven's 5th Symphony (movement 1) and Beethoven's 7th Symphony (movement 4) and wrote our responses to the pieces. This month, second and third grades will learn about Leroy Anderson, a Massachusetts-born composer who wrote short pieces for orchestra. We will listen to "The Typewriter" and write journals about Anderson's version of "Sleigh Ride."
As always, thanks for checking out the blog! I hope you all have a beautiful winter break!
~Ms. Heleen
In December, I like to teach students about the most famous ballet in the world--The Nutcracker. Did you know that Mr. Tchaikovsky, the composer of The Nutcracker, actually didn't like the music he wrote for the ballet? He thought his other ballets, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, had much better music than The Nutcracker. But, I think Mr. Tchaikovsky was too hard on himself--The Nutcracker is an AWESOME ballet with some really incredible music :) We love reading the story of The Nutcracker and watching awesome performances together.
Kindergarten, second grade, and third grade have had some extra music built into their schedules lately! I have been visiting individual kindergarten classrooms to review songs and vocabulary. These visits happen once or twice per month. We have fun in the classroom singing and learning together. Second and third graders have been learning about music history during my classroom visits. Last month, we talked about Beethoven and his struggle to write music after his hearing was gone. We listened to Beethoven's 5th Symphony (movement 1) and Beethoven's 7th Symphony (movement 4) and wrote our responses to the pieces. This month, second and third grades will learn about Leroy Anderson, a Massachusetts-born composer who wrote short pieces for orchestra. We will listen to "The Typewriter" and write journals about Anderson's version of "Sleigh Ride."
As always, thanks for checking out the blog! I hope you all have a beautiful winter break!
~Ms. Heleen