Sneak Peek at Kindergarten Program

Thursday, April 24 is the date!  My kindergarten friends are working hard to have their program "The Seasons of Kindergarten" ready for the performance!
The 5:30 performance includes these classes:  Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Gray, Mrs. Heim, and Mrs. Mosso.
The 6:30 performance includes these classes:  Mrs. Dettlaff, Mrs. Kuehl, Mrs. Marking and Mrs. Paugel.
Both performances will be held in the McFarland Primary School Gym (the school is located directly behind CE), and students will meet up with their class in the following locations:
ART ROOM at MPS:  Gray, Mosso, (5:15)   Dettlaff, Marking (6:15)
MUSIC ROOM at MPS:  Cook, Heim  (5:15)  Kuehl, Paugel  (6:15)
Parents, please take your child's coat into the gym with you.
Each class will be visibly featured in one of the program songs (though all students sing all songs).
Dress for the occasion is at parent's discretion, keeping in mind that the student will be sitting on the carpeted gym floor during much of the program.
I am so excited that it is almost here!!

Music Apps for NoteReading

A few of my favorite music note reading apps are: Note Squish, NameTheNote, Treble Cat HD, Flashnote Derby, and Tenuto.  These apps are minimal cost, available for iOS, and fun for kids (and kids at heart) to play and learn with! Treble Cat Lite and Flashnote Derby are available for Android as well.
I've found that using a variety of ways to practice a concept works best for my students!

First Graders meet Freddie the Frog and Eli the Elephant

The Freddie the Frog books by Sharon Burch are some of my favorite tools for teaching about the treble clef staff to my first graders!  The students are exposed to a very fun way of remembering the letter names of the lines and spaces... Freddie's home is the top line F,   Eli's home is the bottom line E, etc. All on Treble Clef Island!  The stories are engaging, and hopefully, the concepts stick with the students!
Check out the website!   Freddie the Frog

Enrichment Opportunities in Treble Clef NoteReading for MPS Students

The MPS students are learning about the Treble Clef Staff and building 

Music Note Reading skills.

Note Trainer is an excellent practice tool for treble clef note reading!

The second grade classes are engaged in a class competition using Note Trainer.

This is an interactive lesson called "Silly Staff" which I created in my masters program a few years ago.

Students may want to try this for some enrichment, as we learn about the Treble Clef.

Other interactive lessons I have created include:

Reading...Notes

Rockin' Rhythm

Spartan Star Assembly 4-2-2014

The Kindergarten Kids sang "I'll Be There" by Teresa Jennings (Plank Road Publishing)

The First Graders sang "Be A Friend" by John Riggio (Plank Road Publishing)

Second Graders sang "My Personal Code" by Teresa Jennings (Plank Road Publishing)

I am so happy to have the opportunity not only for the students to get songs "performance ready" but even more importantly to perform for their peers.  The songs are carefully chosen to reflect our Spartan Star values, and provide excellent teachable moments discussing the words and how they apply.

Rhythm Unit I CAN statements

With the conclusion of our rhythm unit, these are the "I CAN" statements for the first and second graders.
The Kindergarten kids had a brief introduction to the quarter note, quarter rest, and beamed eighth notes, and learned about clapping and "saying" the rhythms (ta, shh, ti-ti)  They also were "composers of rhythm".
While many of the same music concepts are taught each year, I use some different activities to deepen the students' knowledge, understanding and application as they progress through CE/MPS.

Here's a sneak peek at our next concept... Note Reading on the Treble Clef Staff!

I've found that Go Animate is a great tool for creating engaging content delivery!

reVoiced entertained the Elementary Campus

reVoiced delighted our K-2 audience!

Here are the details from Anne Nichols for their upcoming performance on Saturday, March 15!

 Saturday, March 15 at 7:00 PM the McFarland Music Department

welcomes reVoiced! the latest and greatest a cappella sensation! These 5

gentlemen have been members of numerous a cappella ensembles, including

The Cat's Pajamas and Rockapella!  

For ticket purchases, go to [ http://www.showtix4u.com ]www.showtix4u.com and

look for reVoiced!  Tickets are on sale beginning February 1 through March

15 at noon.  Tickets will also be available at the door, beginning at 6:00

PM on March 15.  Price: $12.00 for adults and $8.00 for Students and

Seniors (60 and over)  A portion of the tickets sales benefit the

McFarland K-12 Music Department.