Imagine That

Hi folks, I overheard a mum in class today talking to another mum. She complained that she observed that her son is not as enthusiastic as his classmates when it comes to doing activities in class.

Mums and dads, each kid has their own learning style. Some are visual learners ( they may like to observe first), some are hands on ( they absorb best when they are manipulating something with their hands), some are auditory ( they are good at listening to instructions). Kids are different; just like you and me. We adults do sometimes have the tendency to compare our kids and it's not really fair to the kids.

I have one or two kids in class who prefers to observe and that is absolutely fine. I appreciate that they are more comfortable observing while they learn. It doesn't mean they are NOT learning.

;-)

SEE WHAT I SAW - February 2008

Hi folks! I have been out of action for while, so sorry. I have been busy with loads of things, with holidays and some personal crisis in the family.

We start the new theme of See What I Saw (SWIS) this week. For those of you who regularly check my blog, you would have realised that I have blog the lesson plans for this theme the last time round I did it. So, I will not be repeat myself by writing whole lesson plans again. Please do refer to the past lesson plans under SWIS.

But, what I will do is to keep you updated now and then on the progress of the class and if I do get new ideas on any activity, I will surely keep you informed. We teachers do get better with experience ;-)

SWIS is all about things we do in the park - on the playground equipment, picnic, things we find, games we play, treasure hunt, animals in the park etc. It is a theme that the kids can strongly relate to. The slide whistle will be lots of fun for them to play and we'll be using it at different times in during the semester. Blowing enhances the voice - speaking and singing voice - in many ways. I will share more during the semester.

Alright then, I will see you all in class this week. Bye bye!

The day in the life of a mum!

My son Adam has lately got into this habit of sticking out his tongue at people whom he feels has done him any wrongs. Most of the time the victims are his dad, mum, older sister and older brother. He doesn't do an outright sticking out tongue act but it is done in a very sly way - just a bit of tongue sticking out at the corner of his mouth - his way of rebelling. He knows he gets into big trouble with us for doing that and he has stood in many a corners just for that act of rebellion.

Anyway, he did it again to me yesterday. Can't remember what the matter of contention was but I saw it...a tiny pink tongue sticking out!

I asked him, are you sticking out your tongue at me? ( stupid question by the way, haven't I learn after three kids?)

Guess what he said, and said in a indignant way mind you....I am NOT sticking out my tongue at you, I am WETTING MY LIPS!

Don't think he got away with that answer but in hindsight, I must say he came up with a pretty reasonable excuse in a very short time!

Cities! Lesson 14, 15 and 16

Hi all, I won't be writing a detailed lesson plan from now till the end of semester which is three lessons away. This is because we will be reviewing and reinforcing old activities, the ones that I feel the kids may not have fully grasped.

All in all, it has been a very good semester and all the kids have done really well. The new kids in class have adjusted very well. The older ones are steady and some ready to move on to the next level.

Thank you again for all your support.

As you know, we are moving to our new location so Feb 1st will be the first day in the new place. Don't forget!

See you all in class!

Cities! Lesson 13

Hi all, hope you had a good week. We are already at Lesson 13. As I mentioned in class, I will be contacting some of you soon to discuss about your child's graduation to the next level. The last few lessons of this semester, I will be doing mostly review activities. This is a way to reinforce the musical concepts, and at the same time provide me the opportunity to observe how your child has progress this term.

Lesson 13, I will be concentrating of Rhythm. We will go through the songs that have of different rhythm pattern and playing steady beat with with bilateral and alternate movements using the resonator bars.

The songs we will be using are I got a letter this morning, Sorida, Down Our Street ( book), Walk to the Cobbler Shop, Hippity Hop to the Barber Shop, Down to the Baker's Shop and Sing your way Home.


You know, initially I thought this semester's lessons will be a difficult for the children to grasp, the concept of city life, and jobs....I was a bit concerned the younger ones will have difficulty understanding. But, we overcame the hurdle! I can see all the kids participating and understanding and most importantly, learning and having fun. So again, I am mighty proud of your children!

Thank you mums and dads for being so supportive. I truly appreciate it.

I see you all in class. Ciao....

Cities! Lesson 12

Hi folks, hope you had a good week. My kids went back to school this week, all three of them so it's peace and quiet in the house....alas! well, at least in the morning before Adam finishes kindy at noon. Most of you would have read the newsletter, about the music school moving to a new location. Most people naturally don't like changes but there are some changes that are for good and I believe this change of location is a good one. It is a more conducive and cosy environment. I know some parents will miss the convenience of shopping in the mall but look at it this way....we are helping you save money! :-) Seriously, when you come and have a look at the new place, I think you will give it a thumbs up!

I hope you have been reading the lesson plans that I faithfully prepare and write down each week. Actually looking at my site meter, there are people all over the world reading this blog and I know some of the Kindermusik sites have also linked this blog to theirs. It's really nice to know that people who are like minded are benefitting from this.

The kids had great fun writing and mailing their real letters last week. Hope that the letters have arrived in your post box this week and the kids get a thrill receiving their own letters. Do let me know!

Back to the lesson plan this week. It's already Lesson 12! I know I keep on saying this but time really do zoom pass so quickly.

We will introduce a new book today, Down Our Street. In this book, the kids will be introduced to people who lives in the city and the different jobs they have. The focus of this activity is musical ( as they learn the rhythmic phrases) and dramatic ( with hand movements) enactment as we go through the book. I quote:

Musical and dramatic enactment of a story is one way to expand children's creative experiences by bringing together elements of guided imagery, music and movement, and the visual arts. Creative enactment is an important process for developing self-awareness and self-expression. Through it you and your children can expand the imagination, develop skills in body movement, gesture, and practice verbal and nonverbal communication.

- The Creative Arts: A Process Approach for Teachers and Children, 2nd Ed, by Linda Carol Edwards

We are going visiting to three different shops this week; the cobbler, the baker and the barber. As we stop at each shop, we will be learning about what they do and learning the rhythm of the rap, the roll and the snip! Each of these song: Walk to the Cobbler's Shop, Down to the Baker's Shop, and Hippity Hop to the Barber Shop - are new to the kids so we will be taking our time to sing and understand what we are singing.

Last week I introduced the concept of accelerando ( going faster) to the kids as we Pass the Shoe to each other as we sit in a circle. We will repeat this activity again this week to reinforce the concept.

For parent sharing time, we will be dancing to a American fiddler tune called All Around the Town. Let me share with you about this song:

All Around the Town is an American fiddler tune. American square dance tunes, as played by fiddlers who have learned them by ear, have a distinctive type of rhythm. They differ from the jigs, reels and hornpipes of other countries. Most of the American tunes have a definite ending and repeat. The same class of dance tunes in other countries, especially Scotland and Ireland, play round and round ad libitum, or to the end of the dance.

- Traditional Music Of America by Ira W.Ford

Righty ho....I'll see you in class. Bye....

Cities! Lesson 11

Hello, hello, hello.....today is the 1st day of the year 2008. May this new year bring good health and much joy to all of you. Hope you all had a good holiday over Christmas and New Year. We as a family had a good time eating, catching up with old friends ( from all over the world!), and more eating coz the Christmas and New Year parties continue till this weekend! My kids don't start school till next Monday so we are all still in zombie mode in the Shiew household.

But full speed ahead for our music lessons. All classes are resumed and hope attendance of students will picked up too.

We have been practicing playing our resonator bars with one hands, alternate hands and both hands ( bilateral). This week we are going to review again the progress of each child as we sing and play our hello song while we play the bars with both hands in a steady beat. A bilateral movement is simultaneous movement of corresponding body parts, such as two hands or two feet.

We introduced the song Roll that Ball last week. This week, after becoming acquainted to the rhythm of the song, we will use our bodies and then later drums to move and to tap to the first beat of the verse. Learning all the different rhythms of the different songs from Cities these past few weeks develop awareness of the children to the varied rhythm patterns in songs. We will continue to do this right up to the last lesson.

The new song this week is I got a letter this Morning. Musically, this song is sung in a minor key which is not too common in children's music so it's good to expose them and also to encourage them to sing. We will also be learning about the postman and what he does in context with occupation of people in the city. It's going to be fun as the kids will get to mail their own 'letters'!

We will continue learning about jobs people do when we introduce Mr Cobbler to the kids, and learn the rhythm of how he raps his hammer when he mends shoes for little feet! And talking about mending shoe, we are going to have a Pass the Shoe singing game while we learn the concept of accelerando ( becoming faster)

Lastly, we will be taking a walk, run, tiptoe and maybe even flying around the city ( Here we come a walking) as we spot what other jobs that people do in the city. Children inherently love to move about and we use this to our advantage as we instruments to represent 'walking', 'running' and 'flying'. So we are using our eyes, our ears and our bodies ( integrated learning) when we participate in this activity.

Parent sharing time: I have put off this activity Mirror Dancing till later in the semester as I am concern it might be too difficult for the kids. This activity, as the title suggests, involves mirroring. The kids ( with your help) are going to be my mirror image. This activity encourages the kids to imitate and be aware of their bodies, and also to exhibit self control as we move in response to the music. Let's give this activity a go this week and fingers crossed!

See you all in class....

Cities! Lesson 10

Hi folks, a blessed CHRISTmas to you all. It's now 11:30pm on the 25th of December. Writing out my lesson plan to you folks on Christmas day! :-) It has been a hectic and fun filled few days for the whole family. And the flurry of activities will continue till next week so I thought I better get this out before I run out of time.

Since attendance has been up and down these past two weeks, I have decided not to do too many new activities this week. Instead, I will repeat some of the old activities that the kids found challenging.

In the Three Artist Matching Game last week, the kids did great with associating the pictures of the artists to the movements they performed using props. This week we will make it more challenging and complicated by adding a drum cue. I quote from the teacher's guide:

This activity provides a rich opportunity for integrated learning. In this one activity children are asked to count, recognize counting visually and aurally ( what does 'three' looks like in dots? what does "three" sound like on the drum) and then make decisions based on what they see and hear, using their skill at classifying objects. ( which artist does "two" represent?) Additionally the children's creativity is enhanced when they explore a variety of movements related to the artists.

A new activity we will be doing this week is Roll that Ball. The kids will be made aware of phrasing ( the end of one line in a song) as we roll a ball to each other while seated in a group. After we master that, we will have each child trying out phrasing holding and moving their ball at the end of each phrase. I will demonstrate this concept during our Goodbye song to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

The other activities are using the songs Sorida, Apples and Bananas and Steeple Bells. We will be using different instruments and props to reinforce the different rhythms of these songs.

Parent sharing time: we will be doing a rather challenging activity using hoops. The kids will be learning about a family of instruments and at the same time, developing their listening skills as they learn to move when they hear a rhythm stick cue. This is an activity that requires much self control and a certain amount of focus so it will be interesting to see how the kids will perform this for the first time.

Hope to see you all in class this week. Take care.....

Cities! Lesson 9

Hi folks, boy....these few weeks are just whizzing past......before I know it another day gone, another week ago and very soon another year gone! Towards the end of the year, I know some of you have gone on holidays and things are rather quiet at the music school. Anyhow, classes are still on right till the end of the year.....

We are going to sing Hello this week with our drums playing hello rather than us singing the word 'hello'. The focus of this activity is audiation: which means the ability to hear music when no musical sound is present. When you audiate, you have internalized music and are 'thinking' music.

We will continue with There's a little drum activity, still using the drums and practicing steady beat, exploring various movements we can play with the drum and again at the end, using the same song to focus on audiation. This time we will play the word 'drum' rather than sing it.

We are going to introduce the Three Artists Matching Game which is a complex game that involves listening, counting, moving and pretend play. This week we will start slowly by just learning about the artists and moving like them to the song San Sereni ( which was introduce last week when we explore different movements of people with different jobs) using different props like scarves to represent ballet dancer, stick for guitarist and bells for painter.

Then we will zoom to a country far away call China where we will listen to a song call Kang Ding City and allow the kids the opportunity to do some analytical listening: such as who is singing? did you hear instruments? Was the music slow, fast, did it change? There is a story to this song ( thanks to mum-in-law for translating it to me!) and I will explain it to the kids. This is one of the beauty of Kindermusik program. The children gets to listen and appreciate songs from all over the world. We have so far listen and learn about a french song ( Bonjour) and a song from Zimbabwe ( Sorida)

I'm sure we all remember the statue game we played last the week before while we Walk All Around? This week we will be doing it in class with mummy and daddy's help and let's see how well we have learn to pose and stay still!

During parent sharing time, we will be teaching the mums and dads the rhythm of Sorida as we move together as partners. Lastly, with Christmas around the corner, of course I will have a Christmas surprise for you all......which you will see when you come to class!

For those that are away, a blessed Christmas....

Cities! Lesson 8

Hiya folks, enjoyed the photos? The internet at my house was down for the past four days and I was getting cranky because I wanted so much to post those photos.

This is going to be a brief lesson plan this week. I have tonnes of of mails to reply to!

We will be learning a new song this week Sorida. I quote:

"Sorida" is a term of greeting in Shona, a language spoken in Zimbabwe. Children in Zimbabwe participate in games that are inspired by (or actually based on) traditional rhythm patterns which are used by adult ensembles. This song offers the children the opportunity to learn cross-rhythms, where the child sings in one rhythm and uses another in the motions. While this song is a lot of fun, in Africa it serves as a training ground for musical and social skills which later will be essential as youth seeks to become a full member of the society.

Let Your Voice Be Heard! Songs from Ghana and Zimbabwe ( 1997)

Using hand motions, we will learn the rhythm of this African greeting. At the same time we are developing our fine motor skills - which skills are important such as putting together a simple puzzle, painting, or stringing beads.

We will be learning about different occupation and explore the characteristic movements involved in particular type of work as we pretend to 'work' like the chosen person while playing and moving to San Sereni.

San Sereni is a singing game popular with young children in Puerto Rico. In the original game, the children form a circle around one child. This child plays the part of San Sereni and pantomines the action and sounds of the shoemaker, carpenter etc.


Here we come a walking - down the sidewalk as we go zig zagging, jumping over puddles and going over bridge as we explore the city in our class. Children get the opportunity to move in different pathways and develop eye and body coordination.

Remember your resonator bars this week. We will be playing to Steeple Bells as we learn how to play the bars with alternate hand movements, just like a tolling bell. Sorry for this brief note. More next week I promise! See you in class.

Cities! Lesson 4

Hi folks, hope you are all having a good week. Mine has been filled with too many activities....the stress of living in a big city - three kids plus a dog, and a hubby who just started a new business! There doesn't seem to be enough time in a day for all I planned to do. I received a message from a dear friend today who told me that she is reflecting on this past year and thinking of next year's resolutions.....hah! I told her I am still in the midst of living out this year's resolutions and not being very successful at that!

Lesson 4...we are going to start with some music listening : where has my little dog gone? The important thing here is to discern the words of the song - we are learning to listen with a purpose - is the dog little or big? what about his ears? etc. We are going to tie in this song with a book about a lost dog in the city - this is to link the meaning of 'lost dog', especially for the younger ones in the class who may not appreciate what it a 'lost dog' means.

The next activity focus on speaking and singing voice. I quote from the teacher's guide:

Children may not be able to hear or understand between the speaking and singing voice. By experiencing a wide range of vocal possibilities, the child learns to differentiate between his speaking and singing voices. Playing with speech as well as with simple melodies helps the child develop both singing and speech skills.

We will do this with Pretzels of Sale, where we learn about how we can make different voices with our voice box.

Apples and Bananas, this week we will introduce this song, with emphasis on the rhythm pattern of the song. We will be using the castanets as we beat to the rhythm of eat, eat, eat as we follow this song as a playalong.

Learning to stop and pose....we will be using Walk All Around this next two weeks to introduce this concept of freeze and pose ( like a statue). This week we will be introducing this song, seated down and using the rhythm sticks as our legs as we walk, pose, run, pose, tiptoe and pose.

Lastly, Zum Gali Gali, the song we danced to in the first week, we will be using instruments this week to play along to a steady beat with various steady beat movement.

Parent sharing time: please remember the bring the resonator bars to class next week.

Cities! Lesson 3

Hi folks, hope you are having a good week. Can't believe it's already the month of November. Very soon it's Christmas and there, another year gone. I celebrated my 42nd (YES!) last week. Felt very blessed by family and friends as they celebrated the day with me.

Anyway, lesson 3. We are still taking it slowly as I continue to gradually introduce the concept of city life and what we can see and experience in the city. Last week we talked and sang about different jobs that people do in the city and this week we will combine what we learn in Lesson 1 and 2 - modes of transport and different jobs one can find in the city.

In the City - last week we used the rhythm sticks for this song. This week we are going to learn sign language! I quote from the Teacher's guide:

Sign language is considered the 'unvoiced language" and is easily learned. Signing can:

- help children attend more easily - requires eye contact.
- make language active; children are active participant in the learning process.
- foster self-esteem - gives children more control in expressing themselves.

Here we come a walking - a very versatile song which we can use different modes to teach musical concepts. This week we will use the drums as we play to the beat of walking, running, tip toeing, stomping, jumping etc. We are learning to concepts of fast and slow, loud and soft while we 'walk' around the city with different feet!

Elevator and Escalator - we had fun with this activity as we learn about how we go up and down in the elevator in the shopping mall as we shop for different things. The children get to visually understand to concepts of going up and down in the elevator. This week we are going to use the glockenspiel as we explore glissando. Children will become less inhibited about their singing voices when when vocal play such as this ( using a broad vocal range by producing a glissando sound) is naturally integrated with pretend play.

A new activity this week....The Broom Man. A little bit about the song : it is a street cry, a song sung by a vendor to attract customers. This song was collected by J. Rosamond Johnson, an African-American man who began playing the piano at four and went to become a composer, conductor and Brocdway performer. We will be learning the song, and learning what does the broom man do...while adding the element of composing...what does a rag man do? what about a window cleaner man?

We will also do a spot of music listening: Traffic Jammers. The focus here is to listen with a purpose; a city sound hunt as we try to find with our ears as many different city sounds as possible.

Lastly, we will have an active listening activity - an exercise that introduces the concept of timbre, which is a word that describes the difference among sounds. Listening to differences in timbre, the tone quality or tone color of various musical instruments, allows children to learn to attend to relevant sounds and match these sounds to a specific instrument. Activities in which children identify, compare and analyze sound qualities of instruments help children develop auditory discrimination skills.

Parent Sharing time - a chance of us to dance to a jazzy number as we explore various body movements! See you in class.....

Cities! Lesson 2

Hello folks, I am very proud of the children last week! The new kids adjusted pretty well in class, most of them came in on their own without mummies or daddies ( which is a big milestone for them) and all were cooperative and participated well in all the activities. It just shows that it is really a right time for them to be moving up to Imagine That level.

Meanwhile, the 'veterans' ( how can I do without them) boost up the class dynamics tremendously because they were given jobs to take care of the younger ones and show good examples. And did they take their responsibility seriously. I had one kid in class who kept on telling the younger ones...you can do it guys! C'mon, I know you can! Isn't that the sweetest thing? Parents of Ivan - I am so proud of him!

Alright lesson 2. Here we go....This lesson will be have some songs that are the same as last week though we will be using different medium to bring out the flavor of the songs.

Hey Lolly Lolly, is going to be sung using puppets....all that rhymes with Lolly such as Ernie Puppet, Cookie, Bunny...remember, we are emphasizing two elements in this song.....language development as they find words to compose that rhymes with Lolly, and also learning the rhythm of the song ie when can you hear the word Hey Lolly Lolly. It involves listening skills, rhythm awareness and timing.

Last week I introduced the song In the City. This week we will be singing this song again, this time with the use of rhythm stick - to represent different words in the song - walking, city, go and stop. It encourages creative ways to use the rhythm sticks and at the same time developing focus and attention as the children learn to stop and go.

Here we come a walking - this week I will use this song to introduce different jobs in the city - an understanding the kids must have for later in the curricula.

We are going to learn about a lost dog as we sing Oh where has my little dog gone? This will be in introduction to story telling and story plotting which we will explore in the coming weeks. Getting the children to give me suggestions on what can happen to a lost dog will keep those creative juices flowing and also provide a training in keeping logic and sequence.

Jing Jang, a versatile song which can be use for many activities....this week we will explore the drums....and we will continue exploring various ways to play different instruments as we go along the semester. The children will be given opportunities to share ideas and also at the same time made aware of how different instruments can be played. I am sure I will learn a thing or two myself from the children, as always!

Parent sharing time...I will keep you guessing till you come to class!
See you this week.......take care!

Cities! Busy Places-Friendly Faces - Lesson 1

Welcome to all new parents who are reading this blog for the first time! As you can see, I have been blogging for a while now, mostly lesson plans pertaining to the Imagine That curricula. I know parents are curious to know what their kids are doing in class and I thought this is a simple way to keep you in the know ( of course it also helps me by making sure I do my lesson plan in time!)

Just a brief review of what we will be doing this semester. This is a brief summary from the teacher's guide:

People on the go, rushing everywhere - in the city! - A unit that calls us to co-create a city that is familiar, yet like no other. And a city that's really many 'cities' in one. There's a city of music - of songs, recorded works and city sounds. There's a city of imagination. There's a city of stories - of lost dogs and f0und dogs and a globe trotting photographer. A city of movement - sweeping movement, up and down the elevator movement, dance and freeze like a statue movement. A city of music with the Kindermusik Resonator Bars. A city of games - a shoe passing game, street vendor game; and a movement and matching game involving three artists, math, drum and the Puerto Rican children's game song.

There are LOADS of fun and educational musical activities up the street ( pun intended!). Bearing in mind that Lesson 1 is a new level for some kids who just graduated from Our time, and also the curricula itself being a new concept - we will take it easy the first time. It takes some time to understand what is the concept of a city. Though we are living in one, the kids many not realise what it really means - tall buildings, people everywhere, elevators and escalators, traffic lights, different kinds of transportation - these are the few things we will be touching on in lesson 1.

In the City - the focus of this song is the simple tonal melodies. Singing skills tend to develop in the following order - words, rhythm, phrases and contour. Research shows that children's repertoire should include simple tonal melodies ( bitonic, tritonic) which are close in pitch to speech - which makes singing a successful activity for the child. In this song, we are also introducing the concept of stop and go ( traffic lights) - using visual cue - through movement and instrument playing.

Here We Come A- Walking -the music focus here is singing while moving - and using the aural cue of a drum beat. What can we see while we are walking down the street? For this lesson, I am taking the opportunity to introduce various transportation and the sounds they make. We will be using the knowledge of different transportation later in the curricula.

Elevator and Escalator - the music focus here is glissando sound - a musical effect obtained by playing a rapid series of ascending or descending pitches in a continuous sliding movement. We will be using the slide whistle to demonstrate this and at the same time learning the concept of how the elevator moves up and down in a shop. IN the next lesson, we will be incorporating pretend play in this activity.

Hey Lolly - the music focus is to create new verses . I quote from Jeanne M. Machado ( Early Childhood Experiences in Language Arts):

Language abilities in three and four years olds are blooming. "Playing" with language by making new, funny words and sounds benefit children by increasing their skill in using speech creatively. Ultimately, this practice in imaginative speech strengthens the children's linguistic intelligence.

We have covered lots in the first lesson. During parent sharing time, we will be learning, through dance the rhythm of Zum Gali Gali, a song sung by the Israeli pioneers while they worked to turn the Israeli desert into fields and gardens.

Kindermusik introduced a wide variety of songs; of different genres and cultures ( we will be covering songs from India, China, France, Africa and many more in this semester).

I see you all in class. Looking forward to a starting a new musical adventure with your kids!

Toys Lesson 16

Hi folks, believe it or not....LAST lesson for this curricula. I will be saying goodbye to some of you....my darlings that are graduating and moving to another level, another class. I hate goodbyes....keep in touch....

Last lesson, it will be a combination of all the favorite activities of this semester. A time to reflect, and observe how much the kids have grown and how they have progressed this last few months.

We have only one new activity, and that is during parent sharing time. A jaw dropping surprise awaits you....

Next week, we will be starting Cities....a challenging curricula as we explore the various aspects of city life....jobs, places to go, things to do, transportation, sounds of the city....not easy for the kids to grasp some of the concepts, this is where I come in....how to simplify the process of understanding and still able to maintain the learning process and make it fun for all! Believe me....I have been working pretty hard these past few weeks, preparing and thinking and humming and even moving ( especially when I stopped at the red lights!) I work best when I am in the car, listening to the music again and again and waiting for the light bulb to light up on top of my head.

So folks, see you all in class this week. Take care....

Toys Lesson 15

Hiya folks, another week has passed and we come nearer to the end of semester. I have been taking some time this week to call parents and discussing about the kids progress and plans for the future. As I have said before, please call me or email me if you need to discuss anything or have any questions to ask, and I will be please to answer them.

This week, we are learning all new activities! Balloon Colors, a song in C pentatonic will be taught, and this activity gives the kids the opportunity to sing in pentatonic ( which consist of five pitches sol-mi-la-do-re) which is based on the Kodaly Philosophy, a Hungarian composer, folk music collector and music educator. Songs organized in certain pitches are intentional to enable children to develop their singing voices and a keen listening ear. It will be done in a fun way that the kids won't even realize that they are being taught (!) because they will be getting to choose the different colors of balloons.

We will also be listening to Chimes, a percussion instrument - it is a set of metal tubes of varying length, hung vertically in a frame in an arrangement similar to that of the piano keyboard and struck at the top with one or two rawhide mallets. The kids will get to listen and to see how chimes look like. After that, they will listen to Toy Cupboard....a piece of music that chimes is one of the instrument used. As I have quoted before, listening is very different from hearing.

Hearing and listening are quite different. Hearing is a process involving nerves and muscles that reach adult efficiency by age four or five. Listening is a learned behaviour, a mental process that is concerned with hearing, attending, discriminating, understanding, and remembering. It can be improved with practice. Listening affects social interactions, one's level of functioning, and perhaps one overall success in life ( Weiss and Lily-White, 1981)

We will also learn about other metal instruments, and explore the different timbre ( quality of sounds) of these instruments.

Tiptoe Too: Dance of the Reed Flutes, another song taken from the Nutcracker Suite ( earlier in the semester we danced to Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, which is also taken from the same ) In this piece of music, we will be learning about musical expression....how certain parts of the music sounds light and certain parts, heavy. And how can we translate those expression through instruments ( light sounds will be instruments like triangle and most metal instruments ; heavy sounds will be instruments like drums)

Here is my hoop, an activity that encourages interaction and creativity. What are the different things we can do with our hoops? Use our imagination...a bumpy boat? a sun? a ball?

Lastly, parents be ready with your tippy toes and stomping feet as we dance with our scarves during parent sharing time!

Till I see you in class, have a good week, and take care......

Toys Lesson 14

Hi folks, another week has passed. Hope you all had a meaningful week. It's easy to get caught in the daily grind of life that we forget that life is indeed precious and should be lived to the fullest. As I am writing this, my thoughts go out to the innocent girl Nurin who lost her life in such as tragic way. My condolences to the parents. Our society has become a dangerous place for our children. Gone are those days where we can freely roam the neighbourhood without fear of dangers lurking around the corner.......

It has been an enjoyable experience teaching and being with your children these past few months. Personally, I have been taught by them as well. The kids see the world in a different and fresh perspective....and many a times I have been caught off guard by their insights and it has definitely made my life richer. Towards the end of the semester ( we have three more to go till Lesson 16), I hope that the kids will continue their journey of music, the theme of next semester is Cities! ( where we will be learning about different types of jobs, transportation, cities around the world)

Anyway back to Lesson 14. This week we will be moving on to the stuffed toys section where we will be reading, dancing, listening and moving to different songs about our stuffed animal toys.

Tippity Tippity Too, an activity that highlights the benefit of word repetition and rhyming which includes strengthening of memory, reduction of stress and creating an enjoyable form of sound making. I am sure you have gone through the book with your kid by now. It will be good to see the kids rise up to the challenge of rhyming to the different animals I will be bringing - ones that are different from the book.

Animal Dance, an activity that encourage the kids to listen, and to recognize the different sections of the song. The music form of the song is ABCABCCoda, which means there are three distinct types of musical sections on this recording. The children will first listen, and then we will move our bodies accordingly to the different sections of the song.

The Bear Went Over the Mountain, a fun song that promotes pretend play and tapping to a steady beat. We will be using our drums as the bear scratch, and the horse stomp, and the mouse creep as we have our animal parade over the mountain!

Teddy Bear, a song that encourages pretend play and creative body movement which in turn promotes motor development.

Lastly, during parent sharing time, we will be doing Animal Dance again but this time with percussion instruments.

I see you all in class this week. Take care....

Toys Lesson 13

Hi folks, another eventful week for me. Amanda ( my eldest, 15 plus ) participated in the 30 hour famine organized by World Vision last weekend. She had to fast from 12 pm on the Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. She did it! I am mighty proud of her. The event was at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil. They had to spend a night there. When I collected her on Sunday evening, there was thousands of people, mostly youth in the stadium. My heart was touched....there is still hope for Malaysia. These youths are the future of Malaysia and for them to have such compassion for the poor and under privileged....there is still Hope for our country. Alex ( my second, 12 plus) can't wait to do it next year. I forbid him to do it this year because I was being over protective mummy! You see, he is 12 plus and only weighs less than 35 kilos....he looks like he is a underprivileged kid with not enough food to eat....how to fast for so long? So I told him next year......with the condition that he puts on weight! My daughter sms me while she was there. She said "mum, you wouldn't be able to do this because you will succumb to your chocolate cravings!" Mmm....she knows me well :-)

Anyway, let's not get distracted by food here. Lesson 13 of Toys. Unbelievable that time passes so quickly. Now I have spoken to some mums last week about your kids graduating from Imagine That level and moving on to the next. For some of you who have any questions, please feel free to write to me, call or speak to me after class.

This lesson will be the last in our train series so most songs will be ones that we have done before though the mode of learning will be different.

Choo Choo Train, the kids really had fun with this activity. If we have time, we will do it again during parent sharing time. This activity calls for using various 'train' instruments to represent the different sounds of the train - the tracks, the whistle, the bell. I quote from the Teacher's guide, this activity involves integration of several learned skills such as:

- sense of timing, sequencing and anticipation.
- interactions structured within a social setting.
- actions and motions that are desribed through language.

Down by the Station, again this activity emphasize the different types of voices of the station master. The children learn that our voice box can project different types of voices. Awareness of different types of voices helps develop language and speech in children.

Choo Choo Choo, where are we going today? This song develops rhythm awareness as we pat on the choo choo choos while we explore different places and what we can do there. We used a map the last time we did this activity. This time we will use flashcards of different places.

Standing On the Platform - will be using the drum to pat to steady beat, and then change to walking, running, tip toeing on the platform. Apart from different ways of beating the drum, we will also get suggestions from kids on what to pack. The last time we did this activity, I gave them the ideas, this time around it is their turn!

The new activity this week is Riding the Rails, a song that reviews fast and slow movement concepts. Children demonstrate their understanding of the music concepts of fast and slow as they coordinate their movements in response to this fast and slow piece of music.

Lastly, we are going to have FUN with Train is A-Comin' during parent sharing time. Be prepared to move and groove! C'ya all in class!

Toys Lesson 12

Hi folks, hope you all had a good week. I am busy, busy, busy! Apart from the usual chaotic hustle and bustle of three kids in three directions, I am also helping out in a children church camp preparing crafts for 300 kids for 5 days. The logistics are mind boggling! I thank God I have other mummies helping me.

Alright, down to business. We had great fun transitioning into the train series. The kids built a train, tested the various functions of the train, and even learn to read a map while we travel to various places with the train last lesson.

This week we are going to see what we can pack for our train journey while we are Standing on the Platform. What are some of the things we put in our suitcase when we travel? Clothes? Snacks? TV? Haha.....let's see what the kids come up with. An activity which has element of pretend play and composing.

Hear the Train is an activity that gives the kids the opportunity to take turns singing ( echoing) . The kids are challenged to listen, watch, remember and reflect as I sing, and then be prepared when it is their turn to sing. The kids become more musically aware of how important it is to preserve the flow of the song between the teacher and kids.

On Our Way....I quote from the teacher's guide:

This activity encourages the development of body awareness that goes beyond labeling and moving specific parts to focusing on and controlling the movement of one's body. This activity is structured to take body awareness a step further by including aural signals. When a specific signal such as walking, running, jumping or ready stop is played on the drum, it allows the child to focus on the signal, to understand the meaning of the signal and then to transfer the meaning to a self-controlled action.

And finally we reached the train station where will do a spot of music listening Hine Rakevet.
In this activity music listening skills are developed as the children discriminate and categorize relationships in sound. There is also the opportunity to develop an awareness of the concept of accelerando in the section of the music that becomes faster and faster.

Finally, we get a further chance to reinforce this concept of accelerando during parent sharing time when we move to Hine Rakevet.

I see you all in class.....

Toys Lesson 11

Hi folks, hope you all had a good week. Mine has been quiet, except for the news that my mum's car was stolen last night! Parked in the basement of the condo's car park. My hubby lost his handphone too, partly due to negligence on his part. He left it in the cab, but cab driver wasn't honest enough to return it. Sigh....My two older kids are finally starting school again after 2 1/2 months of summer holidays. Amanda ( 15 years) is starting her last year of school before taking the 'O' levels. Very soon, she will be leaving home. I don't know how I am going to cope with that :-(

Alright, here we go...Lesson 11 of Toys. Time really flies. This semester has been really good. Though we have many new kids joining Imagine That for the first time, they have adjusted so well and I didn't feel I had to adjust the standard of teaching to accommodate them.

We are moving into Choo choo land this week. Yup, the train series...Lots of fun songs and movements to do. We are going to start with building a train, using the song Sarasponda. In this activity, we are focusing on challenging the kids to listen consciously, anticipate, predict and respond to the repeated 'ret set set' rhythm/word pattern in the song.

After the train is built, we have to test out all the different functions of the train which brings us to Choo Choo Train activity. We will combined different body movements, an activity that focuses on pretend play. After that, we will use different instruments to represent the different sounds of the train: the whistle, the bell, the tracks, going forward and backward on the tracks.

Apart from the train, we have to learn about train station. We will read a book entitled Down by the Station and learn about the different things that happen at a station. We will then use the song Down by the Station to learn about different voices: our speaking, shouting, singing and whispering voice as the station master shouts All Aboard Now!

We are going to do a spot of map reading, to see the different places where the train goes, using the song Choo Choo Choo. Map reading can help with pre-reading skills such as:

* understanding the concept of picture symbols.
* doing things in a set order ( sequencing)
* following a path

Lastly, we will dance to a folk song Jubilee, traditionally used as a square dance tune. This activity enhances the fact the music is a social activity and there is benefits in learning music in a group because the kids get the opportunity to accept each other's ideas, learn to take turns, learn to play instruments as a group, and having loads of fun along the way!