The Sweep Song

The Grade Three's are getting ready to perform their songs about curling at our Olympic Show. To sing along and practice at home here is the video with "The Sweep Song".

LM's Olympic Opening Ceremonies!

It is that time again!! Time to start preparing for our Holiday Concert on Thursday December 19th at 1:30 and 7:00 PM. This year our theme is something very different and unique. The Winter Olympics in Sochi

are coming up in February and I have always been fascinated and excited by the opening ceremonies that each country puts on. I thought it would be fun for our school to put together a concert a lot like this. Be prepared for a multidimensional musical concert with singing, instruments, movement and everything we work so hard to learn in our music classroom!

Halloween Songs

I am very excited to have a link for you to check out some of the recordings we have made this week with our Halloween Orff pieces and songs. Just click on the link and listen to your class perform. Please share this with your family so they can hear what you have been learning in music class. The website is called Soundcloud. http://soundcloud.com/user36767831/sets/halloween-songs-1/s-06gI7

There was an old lady who wasn't afraid of anything!

The Kindergarten students have had fun this week singing songs for Halloween. We read the book "The little old lady who wasn't afraid of anything" by Linda Williams. They enjoyed it so much, we found the song and story on youtube and recreated it in our classroom using non-pitched percussion instruments, body percussion and movement. We learned about faster and slower and the names of some of the instruments in our classroom. Enjoy watching this video at home to get in the Halloween spirit.

Down by the Bay

This week in Grade 1, we have been singing "Down by the Bay" and making up our own verses to the song. Sometimes they can be quite funny! We have had a lot of fun making the verses rhyme and make sense as well as drawing a picture to match!In the end, we made a beautiful book that can be viewed at tri-conferences next week!

Recorders

It's a very exciting time for the Grade 4 and 3/4 students at Linden Meadows because it is soon time to start learning how to play the recorder!! The Grade 5 students will be continuing on with their recorder journey to get ready for a new band instrument next year. Although it is a simply instrument to learn it can still have its challenges and I would like to talk a little about how to play the recorder.

Always Remember:

1. Sit up tall with recorder pointing down with left hand on top
2. Blow with gentle warm air
3. Cover the holes completely and check your "recorder warts"
4. Listen for beautiful clear tone
5. Clean recorder when finished

If you make a mistake, practice that measure a few times by itself. When you can play that measure correctly three times in a row, try to play the entire piece again correctly.

If you get frustrated, put your recorder away for a few minutes and just sing and clap the rhythm. Try again later after you give yourself a break.

If you feel inspired, compose your own melody on the recorder to share with the class.

Always end your practice time with a song that you love to play. Give a little concert for your family so they can enjoy your music, too!

As soon as all the recorder order money is in I will order them!! In the meantime enjoy this beautiful video of a young girl named Lucie Horsch playing the soprano recorder. This could be you soon!!

-some info taken from Katie Traxler.com

Welcome Back to School!

Welcome Back Everyone! I am excited for another year of music making and seeing all of my wonderful students again. What an amazing summer! I can't wait to hear all of your stories and listen to what you learned from your adventures over the summer. I spent most of my summer with my family at our cottage! We had so much fun playing on the beach, exploring the wildlife, and a little bit of relaxing too. I also had some time to go to Vancouver Island which was such a beautiful place. I even went snorkeling in a river with Salmon!

I have loads of new ideas for songs, dances, composing, and music from around the world! I am also looking forward to new recorder players, musicals, and meeting our new students. See you soon!