Choir Performs at Veteran's Assembly

Choir performed "Proud of Our Veterans" at the Veteran's Day assembly.  You can see more pictures of this event HERE.

Five Smart Turkeys

Preschoolers and Kindergarteners are counting turkeys!  They have learned that some turkeys are quite clever as they listened to the song "Five Smart Turkeys".  They counted turkeys and colored pictures to help them remember this fun song.

First Graders Keep the Beat

This week First Graders used classroom instruments to keep steady.  They used triangles, tambourines, woodblocks and maracas.

Preschoolers Make Like Trees

but they didn't leave!  They just danced like leaves!  Using the song "Autumn Leaves" and colorful scarves, preschoolers demonstrated how leaves fall from trees and then dance in the wind.  The scarves were purchased with a grant from Donors Choose. org.  You can help fund our next project!  Every donation..even $1 helps us get closer to our goal!  Click HERE to learn more.

Composing in 1st and 2nd Grades

Composing is fun!  First and Second Graders used their knowledge of rhythms to compose their own songs this week.  Second Graders composed songs that they could clap and share with others.  First Graders composed songs to be performed with rhythm sticks.  Look closely at the pictures to see their awesome work!

See the Music: Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"

Kindergarten students have been learning to identify musical opposites like loud/soft, fast/slow, smooth/bumpy and high/low.  This week we added another element to listen for:  mood.  Students listened to several classical examples and identified the musical opposites they heard and then decided what the music could be about based on what they heard.  Some songs that were in a minor key and are slow remind us of sad things.   Songs that were fast with many drums remind us of parades. 

For our project, students listened to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".  This beautiful piece of piano music facilitated a great discussion about the composer's intent.  Some students heard a song that might be played after a war, others heard funeral music, some heard music for dancing and others heard music that reminded them of walking outside at night.  I was delighted at how insightful they were!  These are the pictures that this song inspired.

Movie Music

Students in 7th and 8th Grade created soundtracks for movies using JamStudio.  I LOVE how creative they were!  Listen and see if you agree with their choices and arrangements.  Feel free to leave comments below!

Aaron Movie Genre: Romantic Comedy A montage of a newly married couple shows them at their wedding, on the beach at their honeymoon, moving into their first house and having their first dinner as husband and wife.

Alissa Movie Genre: Romantic Comedy Boy meets girl. A montage of fun dates plays. Lots of sunshine. Lots of smiles.

Brady Movie Genre: Historical Film Set during the period of westward expansion in the United States, this movie chronicles their journey in their covered wagon to new land.

Brett Movie Genre: Science Fiction Oh no! Galactar has broken through the Mars Defense perimeter. An all out space battle is taking place!

Christina Movie Genre: Whoops! I don't have Christina's description!

CodyR Movie Genre:Action/Adventure An undercover agent is working at an underground Disco Dance Club to infiltrate the mob.

Dakota Movie Genre: Action/Adventure A wild motorcycle loving woman straps on her weapon and sets out to find the evil mastermind that killed her mother.

David T Movie Genre: Comedy Set in the 1950s when rock and roll was young and fun, this gang of teenagers is hanging out in a roller rink.

Jacob Movie Genre: Cartoon Feature Oh no! That rascally racoon has escaped and is headed straight to the chocolate factory. He is being chased by talking peppermint sticks driving rickety fire engines.

Joshua Movie Genre: Action/Adventure A swashbuckling crew of pirates sings, dances and runs all over the ship as they final come to the island that they believe holds buried treasure.

KodyB Movie Genre: Science Fiction Aliens have landed in St. Louis. A cautious crowd gathers to watch the aliens slowly descend from their ship.

Lauren Movie Genre: Action/Adventure A suave and sophisticated detective has broken it to a top security building and is now risky a daring escape.

Logan Movie Genre: Drama A lonely widow women changes her life by buying a hip, downtown jazz club.

Sabrina7 Movie Genre: Fantasy A small tribe of fairies set out on a mission to save Everywhere Land. They cross the enchanted forest and now are soaring above the blue and purple waters of Oceanica.

TJ Movie Genre: Comedy A group of college kids set out on a spring break adventure. Their luggage is packed and they have all piled into a Mustang convertible.

Veronica Movie Genre: Western Oh no! A fight has broken out in the local saloon.