Distance Learning in Music
Check out the K-2 and 3-5 pages for distance learning activities during our time out of school. I would love for you to also complete the Music Calendar Activities and stay in touch with me regarding your progress. I miss all of you!
Winter Songfest
3rd Grade were shiny snowflakes in their Winter Music Songfest on December 17! What fun the entire school and parents had singing along! I'm sooooo proud of you all!
3rd Grade Music Songfest! Join the 3rd Grade on December 17 from 2-2:40 and we'll sing you into the holidays!
3rd Grade were shiny snowflakes in their Winter Music Songfest on December 17! What fun the entire school and parents had singing along! I'm sooooo proud of you all!
3rd Grade Music Songfest! Join the 3rd Grade on December 17 from 2-2:40 and we'll sing you into the holidays!
Musical News.......
This year our school musical is a collaborative 5th Grade Drama project. Please check out the info on the 2019 Musical page.
This year our school musical is a collaborative 5th Grade Drama project. Please check out the info on the 2019 Musical page.
The Arts & Struggling Learners
Reluctance writing: If your child shows anxiety facing a blank page, give him/her the opportunity to build something, dance, make music, create a collage or draw a picture before ever putting a pen to paper. Engaging in concrete, visual and kinesthetic experiences will stimulate language development and support his/her ability to express ideas with words. Encourage your child to create a song, dance, or piece of artwork & then describe their creation verbally. I encourage my own child to write about & describe her creations in a journal, dating each entry. At first her descriptions were short but she really enjoyed looking back at what she did & decided she needed to better remember certain details, especially if she really liked it. Her descriptions became longer with more details & included what she was thinking at the time.
Communicating with teachers: Teachers understand the relationship between the arts & learning. Plan a conference with your child's teacher to determine a time that an "art break" may be incorporated into the schedule to provide a focus reset for your child. Keep in mind that the classroom is a setting filled with planned objectives for the day. The "art break" would need to be a structured & accessible feature with minimal distractions. A drawing journal with pre-determined prompts & special colored pencils could create a wonderful outlet for your child to relieve stress & refocus. Music can also be a great tool to relieve stress & anxiety. This could be accomplished through earbuds & mp3 player. Please keep in mind that you need to communicate your child's needs with the teacher & work together to find a solution that can successfully fit into your child's classroom. Time to refocus or relieve anxiety doesn't have to be long. You don't want your child to miss out on important instruction. 5 minutes of drawing or 2 songs would be a good place to start. Communication regarding when time is up (especially when drawing) needs to be non verbal, for ex. a visual timer or a sticky note placed on the child's desk when time starts & removed when time is up. As a parent of a child with ADHD myself, it is sometimes easy to become so focused on the success of my child, that I momentarily forget to consider there are many children in the classroom with varying needs.
Talk to your child about his or her strengths: Too often, children whose abilities lie in the visual, spatial and kinesthetic realms believe themselves to be less intelligent than their peers, especially when reading, writing, & math become a point of frustration. The most important lifeline your child can have is the understanding that being artistic is also an area of intelligence!! We all grow & bloom at different times. Education is a journey that is filled with smooth & rocky paths. Incorporating the arts into your child's life is an important part of the foundation in fostering success throughout other academic areas!
Communicating with teachers: Teachers understand the relationship between the arts & learning. Plan a conference with your child's teacher to determine a time that an "art break" may be incorporated into the schedule to provide a focus reset for your child. Keep in mind that the classroom is a setting filled with planned objectives for the day. The "art break" would need to be a structured & accessible feature with minimal distractions. A drawing journal with pre-determined prompts & special colored pencils could create a wonderful outlet for your child to relieve stress & refocus. Music can also be a great tool to relieve stress & anxiety. This could be accomplished through earbuds & mp3 player. Please keep in mind that you need to communicate your child's needs with the teacher & work together to find a solution that can successfully fit into your child's classroom. Time to refocus or relieve anxiety doesn't have to be long. You don't want your child to miss out on important instruction. 5 minutes of drawing or 2 songs would be a good place to start. Communication regarding when time is up (especially when drawing) needs to be non verbal, for ex. a visual timer or a sticky note placed on the child's desk when time starts & removed when time is up. As a parent of a child with ADHD myself, it is sometimes easy to become so focused on the success of my child, that I momentarily forget to consider there are many children in the classroom with varying needs.
Talk to your child about his or her strengths: Too often, children whose abilities lie in the visual, spatial and kinesthetic realms believe themselves to be less intelligent than their peers, especially when reading, writing, & math become a point of frustration. The most important lifeline your child can have is the understanding that being artistic is also an area of intelligence!! We all grow & bloom at different times. Education is a journey that is filled with smooth & rocky paths. Incorporating the arts into your child's life is an important part of the foundation in fostering success throughout other academic areas!