Parent Teacher Conferences and Updates to What's Happening!

Hello!!

We have been so busy at The Wheatlands in the last few weeks that I haven't gotten a chance to update you all on what we have been working on or let you know about Parent Teacher Conferences.

Report Card Hint:
First, however is a hint about the report cards.  We are aware of a glitch in the system and if you can't see your child's music grade, please make sure you go to Marking Period 1 (MP1).  Apparently the system was defaulting to the wrong quarter, which is why some of you couldn't see your child's grade!

Parent/Teacher Conferences:
I am certainly available if you have any questions about what we do in music class here at The Wheatlands during Parent/Teacher Conferences.  I will be available the following hours to talk to you:

Wednesday:   7:30-8:15 A.M.
                      3:45-5:30 P.M.
Thursday:      7:30-8:30 A.M.
                      2:00-5:00 P.M. and 6:00-7:30 P.M.
Friday:          8:30 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.

What Are We Working On?:
Here's a bit about what we are working on in music class for each grade level...

1st Grade: VETERAN'S DAY!!!!  We are so excited to present our 11th Annual Veteran's Day performance next Tuesday at 9:30 and 2:00 in the gym at The Wheatlands.

2nd Grade: Right now we are learning a bunch of things in 2nd grade about the String and Percussion families of instruments.  We are also working in centers about lines and spaces on the staff, Solfeg, reviewing rhythms, AND learning about skips and steps on the staff.

3rd Grade: We are about to be embarking on a look at the Woodwind family, and we are finishing up learning about the spaces on the staff.  We are also looking at the symbols that make up written music as well.

4th Grade: We have mastered our space notes on the staff, have been reviewing the Brass and Woodwind Families, and are currently playing some improvisations on the xylophones and glockenspiels.

5th Grade: MUSICAL!!!!  As all the 5th grade parents should know, we are working on our 5th grade musical, Snow Biz! right now and having an absolute blast getting to know it!


So there is music at The Wheatlands.  I'm sure that I'll see some of you this week sometime, so have a lovely first week of November!

Onto the 2nd Week!!!

Oh man!!  I can't believe that we are already starting our second week of school!  Last week flew by and we did lots of different things.  On our first day at school we had an all-school assembly to talk about "The Wheatlands Way" and really focused on leading the pack and excellence being a habit here at school.

Mr. Gerard Making Sure We Understand The Wheatlands Way!

During the first week in music class we do a few things.  On the first day, I always like to play a game of some sort and ask the kids their favorite thing they did that summer.  It is always fun when they get to share things like that with me!

On the second day that week, each class got to watch the Miss Rains expectations video.  To save my voice I made a video with a tour around the music room and my recorded voice to remind kids about the expectations in music class.  There were even guest appearances in the video by a few Wheatlands celebs like Mr. Gerard to model what not to do with problems like finding trash on the floor or having a broken pencil.  They helped us learn how to be a problem solver and not a problem maker!  Overall, it's looking like it is going to be a great start to the year in music!!!

Watching the Tour of the Music Room!

Our video also includes a song about Not Tattling!!

FIRST POST OF THE 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR!!!!

Welcome Back Wolves!!

I am super excited for another year of music to start up at The Wheatlands!!  Can you tell??

I have a confession to make... Sunday night, I will be a mess... an absolute mess... I won't be able to sleep, I won't be able to think straight, and it's all because I'm SO EXCITED!!  I love starting out a new school year and love getting to meet new wolves!  Several of you, I met at sneak peek, and I look forward to having you in class.

That first week back is one of my favorites, getting to see old faces of kids that I've known since first grade, being back in my favorite place in the world, and getting to share my love of music with all these little crazies!  First grade may be my favorite this first week because it is siblings of families I've had for years and new students who haven't experienced the craziness of Miss Rains.  I love the smiles on all of their faces when I ask them what they did this summer and they get to tell me about trips to grandparents,  walking around Disney World, and my favorite... sleeping in.

Please check back as the year goes on for more information about what we are doing in music class and about the curriculum here at TW.  I am currently working on transferring all of the curriculum data from my site on the old Oswego page, so the goal is to have all the curriculum information on here for you before Curriculum Night in case you are curious about anything!  As always, please let me know if you have any questions, and please let me know if you want to come in and help in any way and you are musically inclined!

Get ready to LEAD THE PACK... because Excellence at TW... is habit!

More Recorder Help Videos

Here are some more videos to help students with their recorders!!  This post will take them up to the Red Belt!!

Purple Belt - Old MacDonald Had A Farm

Blue Belt - When the Saints Go Marching (Part 1)
Blue Belt - When the Saints Go Marching (Part 2)

Red Belt - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Enjoy!!

Recorder Karate!!! Video Help!!!

I've been working on a little project to help our 4th graders out, and here is the first part of it!!  I know that so many of you parents LOVE me for sending home the recorder with your child.  A lot of you don't know how to help them with it though!!  This will let you invite Miss Rains into your computer as I walk the kids through each part of learning each new song.  The videos ALWAYS follow our new song steps:

1. Clap out the Rhythm of the song.

2. Figure out the names of the notes.

3. Using your fingers on the right holes, say (don't play) the notes while moving your fingers in the right place.

4. Finally you can play along and try playing your song!!

The end of each video also shows me playing the song and shows my fingers for the kids to follow along.  If your child is struggling with a song or you are hearing a lot of squeaking and frustration, let them check out the videos for some extra help!  The video also tells the kids to rewind and go back to points if they need extra practice, so please encourage that!

The best part of this endeavor is that everything I did, I was able to do on our school/PTA purchased iPad!!!  Thank you to the parents who are supporting our PTA, because being able to use technology in this way is AWESOME!

All right... here are the first four belts:

White Belt: Hot Cross Buns

Yellow Belt: Gently Sleep

Orange Belt: Merrily We Roll Along

Green Belt: It's Raining

More to come!!!

4th Grade Recorders

Last week something happened that changed the way 4th grade parents thought about me... I sent something home with their children that causes dogs to howl, younger siblings to scream, and parents to force children in basements and backyards.  I sent home the RECORDER!!!!  The 4th graders are working on the recorder now here at The Wheatlands and we are working hard.  Here are some tips for 4th grade parents about what to do when your child is practicing the recorder and all you hear are squeaks!!!

1. Make sure their LEFT hand is the hand on the top part of the recorder.
2. Make sure that their other hand isn't covering any other holes on accident.
3. Make sure they are using a breath that could fog a window, not a breath that they could blow out all their birthday candles with!
4. Make sure that they are fully covering all their holes they need to.

Check out these fourth grader practicing the very hard, very musical.... "Hot Cross Buns"

An update for Music!

My head is EXPLODING with the 3rd grade musical stuff, but that doesn't meant that we aren't doing awesome things in other grades right now at The Wheatlands.  I'll be back to posting pictures and videos soon, but I thought I'd still let you know what we are doing!

1st Grade
These little guys are having a BLAST in music right now because we are doing some of what is called MALLET MADNESS!!!  This is basically the loudest, most fun, most crazy thing that we can do in music.  It is a rotation where all the kids are playing instruments at the same time.  Then when I say "1-2-3-4", they follow with this chant... "Put your mallets on the floor... 5-6-7-8, hurry up and don't be late!"  That lets them rotate to a new instrument.  We are learning how to play drums and xylophones and how to hold out mallets, and now we are getting ready to play different rhythms on the instruments using our new found mallet techniques!

2nd Grade
I am soooo proud of our 2nd graders here at TW because we are researching in 2nd grade music and creating a Powerpoint about a culture different from our own.  Groups are researching Hispanic, Indian, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, and African cultures to learn about the culture in general but most specifically the dancing, music, instruments, and celebrations in these cultures.  I can't wait to post some of the great Powerpoints up here for you to see because they have been doing some great work!

3rd Grade
The musical is NEXT week!!!  April 10th and 7P.M. get ready to hear the awesomeness that is the 3rd graders!!

4th Grade
These guys have been working hard at learning how to read the notes on the staff to prepare them for.... wait for it.... 4th grade parents are about to kill me.... RECORDERS!!!!  By next week, the 4th graders at TW will have recorders in hand and so will begin the last weeks of school with me hearing over one hundred children come before me to play "Hot Cross Buns".  If you at any time feel like you would like to experience the most loud, joyous, crazy, insane thing you've ever heard... all fourth grade classes are in music from 12:35-1:35.  Feel free to join us... if you've taken some Advil and have invested in earplugs!  They love them though, so get excited for 4th grade.

5th Grade
5th grade has entered my absolute favorite part of the year because we are getting to the practical applications of music.  This unit we are doing right now has us listening to popular music and really talking about it.  For example, we listened to the song "Roar" by Katy Perry today in one class.  Now you can say "oh, that's the song 'Roar' by Katy Perry" and yeah... that's okay, but I want the 5th graders to be able to say things like... "The song 'Roar by Katy Perry is a female vocal solo.  During the chorus of the song, she is joined by people singing harmony under the main melody line.  The instrumentation of the song includes guitars, drums, and various electronic instruments.  I like the song because of its fast tempo in the background and because it is part of the pop music genre."  Wow... could you imagine if all of them could talk this intelligently about what they are listening to?  That is our goal with the main project we will be doing with the classes for the next month!

Anyways, I hope you have an awesome weekend and I hope you all had a GREAT first week back after Spring Break!

Note Names Are Easy!! I Promise...

This is a post for 4th grader mostly, but parents too!  Music is its own language, and sometimes it can be really hard for students to understand.  I know that as parents, you want to help your kids as much as possible as well.  That's where this comes in.  This video talks about how to name the notes on the staff.  It gives a few different strategies for them to figure out where a note is on the staff.  Use this to reinforce what we've done in music or as a parent, to learn about the music that your child is learning!

Note Names on the Staff

Then you can go along to the music games page on the top tool bar.  If you scroll down to note names there are a few games that you and the kids can play to reinforce what we've been doing in class!

Honor Choir is in Full Swing!!

Honor Choir is a 4th and 5th Grade Group of students who practice and sing at The Wheatlands!  The kids are already working on plenty of songs and they are doing a FANTASTIC job this year!!!  If you check up on the top tool bar, you'll see a spot for Honor Choir.  This is for a page that has some videos and things for the kids in choir to check out.

This week the kids had a visitor from Bednarcik come see them.  Josh Brooks is the general music teacher and choir director over at the junior high and likes to come check out his upcoming singers!

Mr. Brooks working with the choir on warming up their voices!

These ladies are ready and listening to Mr. Brooks explain things.

Sea Shanties are Awesome!!!!!

The fourth grade has been learning about Sea Shanties, which are work songs from the 1800s.  They were sung aboard ships to pass the time, help with work, and express their feelings.  Each class broke into groups to create their own Sea Shanties of various subjects.  Their goals were to make the shantey be of good quality, which meant that it had to rhyme, have a steady beat, be fun, and have a part that repeats.  So, without further ado... check out our Sea Shanties from 4th Grade!!

4th Blaylock

4B Cleaning Ladies

4B Gerbers

4B Minecraft Shanteymen

4B Musician Gods

4B The Fluffy Group

4th Fisher

4F Chewy Chipmunks

4F HoHo Hippies

4F Puppy Pals

4F Chicky Chicks

4F The Irritated Brothers

4F The Stripes

4th Olson

4O Awesome Miss Rains

4O Cars

4O Crazy Customers

4O Fluffy Rusty

4O Fluffy Unicorns

4O The Star Fighters

4O Unicorns

4th Rost

4R Halo Players

4R Headwacked

4R Penguin Awesomeness

4R The Beatles Reborn

4R The Diamond Swords

4R The Olafs

4R The Penguin People

4th Schaefer

4S Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies

4S Food

4S Multiple Restaurantz

4S The American Flaggers

4S The Great Glasses

4S Treblemakers

4S Vipers

4th Grade Sea Shanties Preview

Get excited about fourth grade sharing their sea shanties with you!  Sea Shanties were work songs that they sang aboard ships in the 1800s to help them with work, pass the time, and express their feelings.  The kids took a break from working hard learning about the songs to write their own version of a sea shantey to pass the time.  Here is a preview of one class' group.  The rest will be up by next week!!  So without further ado here are the fluffy unicorns from Mr. Olson's class:

4O Fluffy Unicorns

Back to Music in January!!!

Wow!!  The year is already half over!!  I can't believe how fast the first part of the school year goes every year, but now we are here.  I wanted to give you all an update for what is happening in music at The Wheatlands now that we're back in school.  I can get back to posting fun pictures and songs as we get back into this fun part of our learning for the year!

1st Grade
These kids are about to start learning about rhythms.  They are learning to write and dictate basic rhythm symbols in first grade, and I like to do it in a different way with different centers for the kids to work in.  Rhythm is something that you learn a bit about and then it is really about practicing what you learned, so students are going to get a chance to work a lot independently and with a group or a partner doing different games with rhythms.  They are going to have a blast.  If you don't understand what rhythm symbols are or don't have a music background, check out the School Website link to see what 1st grade rhythms are going to look like!

2nd Grade
We are going to start off the semester learning about Patriotic Music.  They are going to learn about different marches that represent our country, learn about the history behind the Star Spangled Banner, and also catch a glimpse into different parts of our country while we learn about Patriotic music.  Goals they have for this unit include being able to tell what makes a song Patriotic (words said, familiar melodies), where and when patriotic songs are most likely heard, and what to do during the Star Spangled Banner.

3rd Grade
African American Spirituals are what we are talking about in 3rd Grade right now.  This is definitely a unit that brings up a lot of good discussion, and I encourage you to talk to your child about some of the things that are brought up in music class when we are learning about these songs.  For example, the first activity that we did was that I had students write on a post it note, something that they think is different about them from everyone else in their class.  They didn't put a name on the post it, but I read them out loud and generalized the statement (if one said my brother Bob and I like Disney Infinity, I just said who likes Disney Infinity) and had students raise their hands to show that they had this "difference" too.  They learn that the things they think make them different aren't as different as they think they are... leading to how people are similar in so many ways.  This unit brings up a lot of talk about learning from people who are different from us and embracing the history of different groups of people.

4th Grade
SEA SHANTIES!!!  This is a favorite unit of mine because the students get to explore a group of songs and a lifestyle (shipboard life) from the 1800s.  We talk about how songs are passed through generations, how songs can tell stories, and so much.  Sea Shanties were work songs that were created a long time ago, so in the end, the students get to pick a random topic to create a silly sea shantey and perform it for the class.  I love showing kids how music fits in our history!

5th Grade
Fifth Graders are working on reviewing their rhythms and note names from previous years.  This is a huge undertaking because they have been working on these things since first grade, so they have a lot of knowledge in their heads!  We are going to add one new rhythm symbol and do lots of games and fun activities to remind us of what each symbol means.  The best thing you can do to help your child with this unit is to help them remember how many beats each symbol receives.  You can find a handy chart on the school site above to help your child study!

Honor Choir!!!!!!
My favorite thing every year!!!  Honor Choir starts up this week!!!  If you can't already tell... I'm a little excited to have my 126 kids come and sing with me each week.  I will be sending out an e-mail to Honor Choir parents reminding about dates and attaching a calendar if you lost it.  It is also attached below for you to print out as well.  1st-3rd grade parents, this is something you can look forward to in 4th and 5th grade for your student to be a part of!

Honor Choir Calendar

That's it for now, I hope you hear plenty of stories and learn tons from your student when they tell you about the fun things we are doing in music class this month!!

Let it Go and Let it Snow

There are many things that make me giggle as a music teacher.  This week is a random week in music with holiday craziness.  The kids are singing some holiday/winter songs and then working on a very fun "Madlibs" type of activity.  I've attached it here, in case you want to do one as a family.  They have been HIGHLY amusing!

Let it Snow Remixed

The best thing while doing this was that the kids have been asking to hear "Let it Go" yet again.  I'm sure that you've all heard about this song, because I'm pretty sure that I showed all the classes the scene from Disney's FROZEN.  Tony Award winner, Idina Menzel, sings it in the movie, and it is an amazing show of vocal music!  After showing them the clip last week, I've gotten the children a little obsessed.  I thought you would enjoy this clip of one class singing while working on their Mad Libs... totally unprompted!

Let it Go by 4O

Fall Conferences

Fall Conferences are upon us, and you may not know this, but Specials teachers are here during that time each year as well!  I have gotten several compliments on the blog this year and parents finally getting to see some of the things we are doing in music class, which I know can lead to even more questions!!  One of the best resources for the music room is to click on the School Webpage link above, where you can find information about the curriculum and testing and everything we do in music.

However, I know that some of you would also like to see these things in person and be able to ask questions about what your child is doing.  For that reason, here are my Fall Conference times where I will either be in my room or helping Mrs. Seiple in the LRC with the book fair!!  Feel free to stop in and say hi and ask questions!  I will be putting some of our blog pictures up in my room for you to check out as well!

Thursday: 2:00PM-5:00PM and 5:30PM-8:00PM

Friday: 2:00PM-4:30PM

Veteran's Day!!

As many of you know from having student here at The Wheatlands for years, we do a special Veteran's Day assembly featuring our first graders.  The first grade team is AMAZING at putting this whole thing together, and I get to help them with some of it by working on some of their songs during music class.  Click below to hear a preview of one of their songs:

Veteran's Day Preview

The Veteran's Day assembly is at 9:30AM and 2:00PM on November 11th.  A note was send home via the newsletter, but I thought I would post it here on the blog about inviting Veteran's to view our celebration.  If your child has a friend or family member that is a Veteran, we would like them to come be our guests of honor!  AM Kindergarten, 4th, and 5th Grade students will be doing the assembly at 9:30AM and PM Kindergarten, 2nd, and 3rd grade will be attending the assembly at 2:00PM.  If you would like to attend, please fill out the form linked below and have your student bring it back no later that November 1st to their teacher.  Also, if you would like to support our troops in a different way, we always collect no perishable items for our Veteran's to send out on behalf of The Wheatlands Community.  Suggested items include: Candy, treats, packaged snacks, hygiene items like deodorant and toothpaste, baby wipes, and small entertainment items like paperback books.  Send these items with your student on that day or bring it when you come to the performance!

We Would Like to Bring a Veteran!

(form to return)

Teacher Wish Lists!

The PTA mentioned a great new website called Teacherlists.com.  Click the link below to get to my wish list for the music classroom.  We can post things that we need for our classrooms much like the apple trees during curriculum night.  The music room can always benefit from these things as well, since we see all the students at The Wheatlands.  Please check out the list online and pledge some items if you would like to be so generous!!  You can send any items in with your child on their music days (these are listed on the right if you don't know your child's music day) if you have chosen to pledge something.

I appreciate your support!!

Rhythm Games

One of the best ways to learn is to play games!!  A lot of the grade levels are working on learning new rhythm symbols, so we are playing plenty of different games to reinforce what we are learning.

Check out 3rd Grade playing "Climb the Mountain" where they move spaces based on how many beats the symbol on their flipped card gets!

Proudly showing that she got a whole rest worth 4 beats!!!

They just started their game!!

Now, check out 4th grade playing "Shut the Box" where they roll a rhythm dice and add or subtract the two to come up with a number.  This is combining music and math because they have to be creative to cross out all their numbers before their partners!!

She just rolled and is trying to figure out how many beats her syncopa and the whole note get!!

Marking off the number they rolled!

Smiling for the camera!!

He has almost marked off a whole line of numbers!!

Sometimes we need help from our friends... which helps both of them!

An Update on the Academic Side of Music

I know that so many are reading these posts and checking out all the fun pictures of what we have been doing in music class, so I wanted to let you know where we are headed next with our your for the grade levels!  Please remember that you can always click on the School Music Page tab above to get more information about the music curriculum!!

1st Grade
These guys have been working hard at learning about the steady beat and are now working more on learning about the opposites in music:  Fast/Slow, High/Low, Going Up/Going Down, Speaking/Singing, and Loud/Soft.

2nd Grade
After a successful reminder of the steady beat, the second graders are tackling two new rhythm symbols this year: the half note and half rest, which both receive two beats each.  Check out the rhythms we know!

3rd Grade
After finishing their group "raps" to review our old rhythms, these guys will soon be learning about three new rhythm symbols: the whole note, whole rest, and dotted half note.

4th Grade
Showing off their dance moves, fourth grade proved that they had a good handle on the steady beat.  Now we are moving on to the hardest rhythm symbols at The Wheatlands: the syncopation and the triplet.  These two symbols are the hardest to learn, but the 4th graders have already proven that they are up to the challenge.  We have already been exceptionally impressed by a few classes!

5th Grade
You are in for a treat when I post what fifth grade has been working on.  They are finishing up a project and reviewing their facts before moving on to what is probably the most exciting musical unit of fifth grade..... the MUSICAL!!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions about things you see here or things having to do with our curriculum in the district.  Enjoy keeping up with what we are doing at The Wheatlands!

Technology is AMAZING!!

I love all the positive feedback that I've been getting about the music blog!  Parents have told me that they are super excited to get to see what their students are doing in music class, and they like that connection to the school.  I am especially excited that technology can bridge that gap between the classroom and the home.  Every day I'm trying to add more games, videos, activities, etc. to the blog for you and your children to explore, and they are super excited about sharing it with you.

One thing that I came across was an idea that would help us out in music class for a lot of our projects... more technology!!  Do you have an old iPhone 3 or above sitting in your home?  Or are you planning on getting the newest iPhone 5S coming out this fall?  If you have one sitting at home, we can use it in music class!

This technology would allow the students to more easily:

1. Audio record their projects and compositions.
2. Play games for review in small groups or with a partner for differentiation.
3. Listen to music in small groups.
4. Compose and create music through various music apps.
5. Research different music and cultures that we study throughout the year.

If you have an old iPhone sitting at home please consider donating it to music!  You can erase all data and all account information on the device or bring it in and I'll show you how, to protect your privacy.  The Sim card can be taken out and it will work just like an iPod touch and will be used on the school's secure wireless network.

Contact Miss Rains if you would like to donate!!

Dancing in Music!!

One thing that I love about teaching music is that we get to do some fun and funny things.  When a class is great, I like to reward them by letting them do something fun like watch a silly youTube video or change up our line order for leaving the music room.  Today, I rewarded a few classes with a fun youTube video depicting a video from one of the popular Just Dance games.  Now I know what you're thinking.... Miss RAINS!!!  How is this educational?  Getting the students moving helps their brains and getting them moving to the music actually helps them understand things like rhythm and beat in a fun way!  You'll see in the pictures below that even Mr. Gerard approved of our dancing endeavors!

Mr. Gerard boogied with 3rd Grade!

First Grade was having a blast SHAKING!!!!

And here's fourth grade dancing as an off camera Mr. Olson was singing along to the song!!