Weathers Lesson 12

Hello all, another week has passed. Time REALLY FLIES. We are already at Lesson 12 of Weathers...coming to an end soon and doesn't it just feel like yesterday we started Lesson 1? Looking back, we have come a long way and I must say I am mighty proud of the kids. I have taught many kids, and have had my share of hairy experiences of teaching the wild ones but this bunch of IT kids are just terrific, sincerely from my heart. It is really a joy to teach them week after week and see them absorbing the various activities we do in class. I have learnt through them to be a better educator as well so it has certainly been a rewarding experience for me.

We continue with our snow adventure this week. Snowflakes is a song that has beautiful tonality and we will be using the song to sing and just enjoy the melody and also to let the kids feel the sensation of snow falling on their bodies. I promise you this will be a hit with the kids!

After that, we will be having a snowball play - a chant with creative movement. Again, this is another example of guided pretend play where the kids are introduced to the possibility of using objects and movements as symbols, and thus developing cognitive skills. Many children, especially now with the influence of television and computer, don't know how to do this on their own and we as adults have to show the way by interacting and playing with them.

How does it feel like when we are walking in the snow with snow boots? This activity's focus is learning balance. Balance ability improves as children learn to use internal and external cues to help them remain upright. The internal cues comes from muscles and joints. The external cues are primarily visual ( The joy of movement, by Sandra R. Curtis)

We are going to be introduced to the handbells by doing some listening to musical snow. Handbells characteristically are struck from the inside of the clapper, thus producing a ringing sound, the pitch being relative to the size of the bell. This activity integrates a few domains of development - language ( discussing, describing), cognitive ( remembering, recognizing), musical ( introduction of music instrument), physical ( hearing and singing) and emotional ( feeling the beauty of the music)

Next, snow play would not be complete without building a snowman right? The music focus here is pretend play with singing and movement. This is one of my favourite activity in Weathers curricula and it involves the kids pretending to be fat jolly snowman and to move and dance like one. Watch out what happens in the end when the sun shines down on us!

Alright, parent sharing time - we will be playing an ensemble and moving to Snowflakes. Ensemble is a group of musicians, instrumentalists and/or singers, who perform together. This is basically what we are doing - the children get to play and enjoy music in a social environment and learn to take turns and to accept each other's ability.

Righty ho....I'll see you all this week. Have to go take care of my brood and save them from watching to much TV! Haha