What a Year We Have Shared Together!

I thought I'd share the grade level songs that were sung at our final 2014-15 PBIS assembly. As always, the students enjoyed preparing and performing their song!  Enjoy, and be sure to scroll down for notes about each grade level!  :)

I'm looking forward to seeing my 5K friends in 1st grade in September! They've grown a lot this year, and I can't wait to see what they'll learn and accomplish next year!

I'm hoping my 1st grade friends take the words of "Make A Difference" to heart as they become the leaders of our campus in September! I am anxious to try new activities and songs with them, and watch them soar!

As the 2nd graders move "Onward" I am finding that I'm shedding more than a few tears!

These talented Spartan Stars were "new" as Kindergarteners when I was "new" to McFarland, and as I've told them, I simply can't imagine being here without them!!

They will forever hold a very special place in my heart!

I will look forward to following their progress as they advance through the wonderful McFarland schools, and hope that they will always keep a song in their heart and let their voice be heard!

Music Reward Day for Note Trainer Class Competition Winner!

2nd grade classes participated in a Note Trainer Competition for approximately one month. Their class percentage was updated each music class, and the highest percentage at the end of the competition won a Music Reward Day (stations of fun music activities).

Enjoy the video of the winning class!

Treble Clef Staff Unit = Fun Activities in 1st and 2nd grade

The Freddie the Frog books by Sharon Burch give an excellent introduction to the Treble Clef Staff.

The 1st graders really enjoyed learning with these stories!

 1st graders also enjoyed the Bean Bag Toss game on the Treble Clef Staff on our carpet.

It was a team game where the "contestant" needed to name the note where their bean bag landed.

2nd graders participated in a class note naming competition. The class who held the highest percentage at the end of the 4 week activity wins a Music Reward Day later this month.

 iPads were used in notation and note spelling activities and also in our Silly Staff game.

Students were really engaged in this unit, and have shown great improvement in their note naming skills! I am very pleased with what they've accomplished!

Kindergarten Program Videos

Thanks to Steve Pennekamp and his crew for video recording the Kindergarten programs! Here they are...

5:30 Program

Mrs. Kuehl, Mrs.Gray, Mrs. Mosso, Mrs. Heim

6:30 Program

Ms. Hunt (Mrs. Marking), Mrs. Paugel, Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Dettlaff

2nd graders' Poetry Project

The second grade team asked me to collaborate on a project with adding instrument sounds to a poem. Each class has chosen instruments to correspond with words in the poem, and are being filmed in their groups performing. It's been a great learning experience for all!

5K Is Exploring "Carnival of the Animals"

We are listening to the 14 pieces that make up "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint Saens, and guessing which animal the music could represent. Sometimes they are right on with their guess!
They love seeing the "reveal" for each! We will be doing a few other activities and having a coloring packet to take home.

5K Kids are Rhythm Composers!

One of our Rhythm Composers

The class claps and says the rhythm pattern that was composed.

The 5K kids have learned about quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth note pairs.

They have taken turns composing 4 beat rhythm patterns for the class to clap and say.

We say "ta" for quarter notes, and clap once. We say "shh" for quarter rests and have our hands out, and we say "ti ti" for eighth note pairs and clap twice. Each of these has the value of one beat.

The students have had fun with this!