Imagine That - SWIS Lesson Plan 12

Oh where, oh where has my students gone?
Oh where, oh where can they be?
With their sweet, sweet smiles and their angelic faces,
Oh where, oh where can they be?

( Sung to the tune of Oh where has my little dog gone?)

We had only FOUR students in class last Saturday! I guess the rest of you are still holidaying somewhere, maybe in the Caribbeans....It was a different atmosphere, but the lesson went on as planned and I believed we all had great fun and much learning done.

This week we are going to continue with the picnic series. We are repeating the Going on a picnic activity but this time we are taking a "rhythmic walk" to the picnic spot. The kids had great fun picking the food to bring to picnic last week and this week we are going to do the same, except this time we'll try to pick healthier foods ;-) No more fries and burgers!

The kids had a good time shooing away the Malaysian flies last week and this week, I'm afraid we will be attacked by flies again. Again, we will be singing the song with actions, and then enhancing it with instruments. As per last week, this song is used to project expression in music...one section of noise and chaos, and another of sweet and calmness.

This week, not only are we attacked by flies, but we will also be drenched by a downpour! We will be using various instruments to create the sounds of rain. The activity focus here is to give the kids the opportunity to recreate experiences. Creative experiences encourage exploratory behaviour and encourage an active response rather than a passive one.

Of course after the rain we have to invite our favourite Mister Sun out so that we can continue with our picnic. We will be singing the Mister Sun song to the finger and hand movements which we did once before during parent sharing time. It's so important for children this age to be encouraged to explore as many possible ways of moving - whether it is fine or gross motor skills.

We will also be moving to "Precious Stone" which is a classic rock piece featuring cello, bassoon, clarinet, oboe and flute. I'll be showing them pictures how these instruments look like and how they are played.

Parent sharing time....we will be moving and grooving to "La Cucaracha", a traditional Mexican folk song. We're going to need lots of energy for this dance so eat your breakkies before you come for class! Lastly, if we don't run out of time, we will use the parachute to emphasize the glissando sound in "Allee Galloo"....the kids did great with the glock and body movements last week for this activity.

So, hope to see ALL of you this Saturday! 5 more lessons to go and we'll be done with this curricula.....the next one will be called "Weathers"....a curricula based on summer, spring, autumn and winter. I will try to write up a short print out on it soon!