Introduction to African Drumming!

Students in my Kindergarten classes have begun their two-month long drumming unit, which this year will focus on three specific cultural genres, including Afro/Brazilian, Japanese Taiko and Balkan/Bulgarian. As mentioned in the letter sent home with Kindergarten students, I will use the blog to regularly update you with what's going on in class, as well as provide as many at-home resources as I can so that families can extend what we're working on beyond the classroom.

This week, students were introduced to two specific African drums (one with African antecedents), the Djembe

and the Conga,

using the story Toot and Puddle Get with the Beat.

(To read more about the Djembe, click here, and to read more about the Conga, click here.) Kindergarten students compared and contrasted Congas and Djembes of various sizes, and discussed their specific shapes. Students also discussed why drums are made to be certain shapes, and how the specific sound of each drum (or timbre) is affected by the shape. During an in class experiment, students determined that larger drums produced lower (pitched) sounds, and that smaller drums produce higher (pitched) sounds. Students also participated in an in-class "drum-circle" that included a small inner drum circle, with outer-circle dancers moving with shakers and scarves, following the beat provided by the small-group drum circle.

NEW! EXTENDED DAY CHOIR SESSIONS!

Hi Everyone! I'm so excited to announce that beginning next week, I will be offering two new Extended Day sessions for students in grades 2-5. If your child is not currently participating in extended day, he or she may be able to attend!

Grade 4 & 5 Choir will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8-8:37am.

Grade 2 & 3 Choir will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-8:37am.

Because of the nature of the extended day program, and because of the limited amount of time we have each morning, it is incredibly important that your child arrive PROMPTLY at 8:00am. That said, all students must commit to being on time and ready to sing!

If your child is interested in attending, is not already committed to another extended day program and has not received a permission slip to attend, please have him/her request one from me as soon as possible. Please note that if your child is currently in an extended day program that will be ending soon, he or she may be able to join at a later time.

Broadway Star Coming to 58!

I'm so excited to announce that on Friday, January 29, 2009, Broadway star Judy Kuhn, the original voice of Pocahontas, will be coming to share her musical expertise with my incredibly talented first graders at P.S. 58. To read Judy Kuhn's professional bio, click here. To read more about her on Wikipedia, click here.

In preparation for her visit, first graders have begun learning "Colors of the Wind" in class. Below is the original recording by Ms. Kuhn, with the lyrics underneath. I hope you'll take a few moments to sing them together at home, and discuss the significance of the (incredibly beautiful) lyrics. To learn more about the story of Pocahontas, click here.

Furthermore, students will also be singing "Seasons of Love," from Rent, whose recording and lyrics can be found a post below. Enjoy! -Mr. C

Colors of the Wind

You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

How high will the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down, then you'll never know
And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind

After-School Registration

I'm so excited to announce that in just a few weeks, Kindergarten French Dual-Language teacher Olivia Ramsey and I will be beginning our After-School Program, "Théatre pour enfants." The program will begin with dramatic games and songs in French. Over the course of the semester, the children will create and original play, which will be performed as a musical at the end of the term. We will create props, scenery, and choreograph the performance, letting the children have as music creative control as possible.

This will take place on Mondays, 3:00-4:30pm, Grades 1-3. Some French Language experience will be required.

WELCOME BACK!

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. Now that we're back, I'm so excited to begin working on one of my favorite songs of all time, "Seasons of Love" from the Tony Award winning broadway musical, RENT... the perfect song to help us transition from 2009 to 2010. Below you will find the lyrics, as well as the original soundtrack recording. Enjoy!



Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
six hundred minutes
Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
moments so dear
Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year

In daylight, in sunsets, in midnights,
in cups of coffee, In inches, in miles
in laughter in strife,

In Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life


How about Love
how about love
how about love
measure in love
seasons of love
seasons of love

Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
six hundred minutes
Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
journeys to plan
Five hundrend twenty-five thousand
six hundred minutes
how do you measure the life of a woman
or a man

In truth that she learned
or in times that he cried
In the bridges he burned
or the way that she

Its time now to sing out
though the story never ends
lets celebrate remember a year
in the life of friends

How about Love
how about love
how about love
measure in love
seasons of love
seasons of love