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!

The End of the Year is Approaching FAST!!!

I can't believe how close the end of the year is.  Every year I think that it goes by quicker than it did the year before.  Now for the fun of the end of the year... Musicals, projects, and recorders... OH MY!!

In first grade we get to watch the AMAZING classic, "Mary Poppins" to finish off the school year.  We learn about overtures, what a musical is versus a concert, and do a few different activities based on the Julie Andrew/Dick Van Dyke movie.

In second grade, we finished learning about different cultures and their music and celebrations and are watching the not so well known musical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" based on the book by Ian Flemming.  We learn about Overtures and Intermissions with this musical, write about our favorite songs, and design our own Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cars while talking about this classic.

In third grade, we just reviewed instruments after our 3rd grade musical and are going to begin watching another classic that is not so well known, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks".  This is another one that teaches a few musical ideas and is actually heavy on the history of World War II which is when the movie takes place.

Many must be thinking... hmmm... watching videos in music class for the end of the year... hmmm.  I know that sometimes we think that putting children in front of a television can be a bad thing, but it is my philosophy that sometimes children can learn a lot from this form.  That is, of course, why I chose musicals from the mid-early seventies to watch because it isn't something that many of them are exposed to even at this young age.  Quality singing from musical greats like Julie Andrews is something that I think the kids enjoy and it does expose them to something new.  However... my one disclaimer is... please don't blame me when your child tries to snap to clean their bedroom (I've had it in the past), asks you if your car can fly, or tries to see if their bed can travel to a distant land.

At this time, fourth grade is still working on their recorders, passing tests and working on songs during class and outside of school.

Fifth grade is still working on their project about music and all of its qualities.  Some of the documents they have come up with are AWESOME and it is so neat to see them talk so intelligently about a song by Avicii, for example.  They should be starting their kid-friendly recordings about their songs soon as well.  I can't wait for you to hear those!

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!!

5th Grade Talking About Music

5th grade is working on a project where they are talking about music in an intelligent way.  We can say that we like a song or don't like a song all we want, but I'm trying to get the kids to give a reason for their opinions.  Some terms that we are talking about in music are:

Tempo
Melody/Harmony
Lyrics/Meaning
Instrumentation
Voice
Genre

The project has the kids working in edmodo which is an online message area where they can get their songs and whatnot.  They are creating two parts, one for a formal audience (adults) and one for a kid audience.  The formal part has them writing three paragraphs, one about each song and the facts describing those songs, and one about their opinions and comparing the two songs.  Their second part will have them creating a recording about their two songs and presenting this information in a fun way (newscast, interview, song, etc.).  Check out these 5th graders hard at work!

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"