Food Chain, Consumers, and Biomes OH MY!

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These activities go along with Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Science weeks 1, 2, 3, and 5.

This post has the lesson plan and resources that I will use with the Journeyman and Masters level students (outside of community day) so you can use these resources too.   I will add another post after we complete the study so you can see how our event turned out. 

We will begin with a biome study.  I am going to use the Biome Fact Pack from Teachers Pay Teachers.  When the students arrive they will get a survival journal.  The biome facts will be all over the room for them to find.  They will need to gather as much information as they can for their survival journals.  Their journals will also contain a biome map for them to color code.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BIOMES-Fact-Pack-Informational-Text-Reading-Passages-Writing-Posters-Flip-Book-1271361  

http://www.andrill.org/education/Activities%20PDFs/1%20Energy/1B/1B_EntireActivity.pdf

After they everyone has gotten information added to their survival journals we will do a biome survival activity.  The students will need to use the information they gathered in their journals to help them survive.

http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Biome-Survival-Activity-SHORT_Moser.pdf

We will finish the study with a fun survival of the fittest consumers game.  You can get this game on Teachers Pay Teachers as well.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Types-of-Consumer-Activity-Entire-Lesson-2468724

Here is a link to a fun online consumer game

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm

These resources from Teachers Pay Teachers are only $1 and great for younger students.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Food-Chains-What-Comes-Next-111882

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Carnivore-Omnivore-Herbivore-Animal-Picture-Sort-1057407

Feudalism Friday

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Our first Friday with Friends study for Cycle 2 this year will be Feudalism.  This topic goes along with week 2 History, William the Conqueror.

This post has the lesson plan and resources that I will use with the Journeyman and Masters level students (outside of community day) so you can use these resources too.   I will add another post after we complete the study so you can see how our event turned out. 

We will start our study by reading about Feudalism to make sure all of the students know what it is, and what each persons title in a feudal society meant.  https://www.teachervision.com/tv/printables/goodyear/MiddleAges_2-9_key.pdf

After discussing feudalism we will create a feudal pyramid together on a large white board. 

Next each child will receive a roll identification card using this resource:   http://www.classroomzoom.com/lessons/dl/?id=386&asPdf=1&fgid=

Once each student know's what part of the feudal system they belong to, I hope we can have them all dress the part too!  After that we will play the feudal M&M's games that is part of the above resource.  

This resource for a classroom set up looks good too.  I might incorporate some ideas from this one as well.  It would be fun for the Master's class to do on community day!  file:///C:/Users/Charlie/Documents/Amys%20Printing/Cycle%202%20Friday%20with%20Friends/Feudal%20Classroom.pdf

This video is not overly entertaining.  However, if you want to do the feudalism M&M simulation and you don't want to read about it via the link above this might be a helpful resource.  

The video below is fun to watch.  It also might spark some good discussion about timeline, when historical events happened, and if they really happened exactly how this video portrays them or not.

Music and the Olympics (Music/Movement Lesson for Preschool and Elementary School)

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Aly Raisman's floor routine was choreographed to the the Russian Sailors Dance by Reinhold Gliere.  I love using this piece of music to move to and explore musical contrasts with when I'm teaching music.  The songs theme keeps coming back and is easy to identify, but the style changes.  In preschool music classes (and even upper elementary) we have fun identifying the musical contrasts, and discussing and acting out ways to move based on what the music sounds like.  

Moving to music with your children will help them develop a good sense of rhythm.  Model how to put the beat in your feet.  Mirror your child's movement ideas as well.

If you missed it, enjoy watching gymnast Aly Raisman's floor routine here.  

Here is a way to move to to Russian Sailors Dance in your music class:

Beginning - 0:19  Wiggle, warm up

0:19-0:56 - Half note, large steps, like a monster, sneaky

0:57-1:14 - Legato, smooth, skating, ballet

1:15-1:29- Staccato, quarter notes, light, fairies, happy

1:30-1:40 Marcato, accented, quarter notes, powerful, excited

1:41-1:57 Half notes, powerful, marcato

1:58-2:13 Eighth notes, staccato, sneaky, light

2:15-2:23 sixteenth notes, Allegro, excited, speedy 

2:24-end choose what beat to feel, half note, quarter note, eighth note, there's a lot going on now.  I like to end with a lot of wiggling, similar to how we began.

If you have older students you can have them identify the instruments being played and more musical terms associated with each part of the music.  Make sure you ask kids of any age what they think the music sounds like.  Don't just give them all of your answers and be done.  Kids come up with some awesome ideas.

 

Babies Have Rhythm

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Did you know that by 7-9 months old infants can detect differences between duple and triple rhythms?  They develop a sense of rhythm from adults speaking to them, and moving with them when they are experiencing music.  This is "accelerated by experience!"  The more you dance, move, sing, play instruments, and speak to your baby the quicker they develop their sense of rhythm.

From Infants Perception of Rhythmic Patterns
by TONYA R. BERGESON AND SANDRA E. TREHUB
https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/infant-child-centre/sites/files/infant-child-centre/public/shared/sandra-trehub/001.pdf

"Infants’ sense of rhythm may be linked to their body movements. Indeed, stereotypical rhythms of head, arm, chest, and leg movements have been observed in infancy (Pouthas, 1996; Thelen, 1981), and early bipedal kicking and sucking have binary elements (e.g., suction and relaxation). Moreover, infants gradually integrate endogenous and exogenous rhythms (Pouthas, 1996). When presented with a “moving room,” for example, infants adjust their rate of swaying to match the frequency of room movements (Bertenthal, Rose, & Bai, 1997). It is notable that caregivers typically move while singing to their infants, which is consistent with the notion of intrinsic connections between rhythm and movement (Cross, 2001; Merker, 2000). Much of the motion that caregivers provide for infants can be considered binary, as in rocking (e.g., back and forth) or bouncing (e.g., up and down). Recent evidence indicates that 7-month-old infants’ interpretation of an ambiguous drum rhythm is affected by the pattern of bouncing (on every second or third beat) that they experienced while listening (Phillips-Silver & Trainor, 2005). Such connections between rhythmic sound and motion go well beyond caregiver-infant interactions, with music being inseparable from movement in many cultures (Fraisse, 1982; Merker, 2000). Infants are also sensitive to the rhythmic properties of speech. For example, French newborns differentiate English utterances, which are stress-timed, from Japanese utterances, which are timed at the subsyllabic level, or mora (Nazzi, Bertoncini, & Mehler, 1998)."

"the formation of melodic and temporal expectations may follow a similar developmental timetable, which is accelerated by experience, enculturation, and formal music training."

Resources to Learn the Benefits of Upside Down Drawing

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If your child is learning in a Classical Conversations community, one of the tasks they will have during art is to draw upside down.  This may seem like just another fun way to experience drawing, however, it actually is working the other side of your brain!

In her book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," Betty Edwards teaches you how to draw through lessons that will use both sides of your brain.  You can check out an excerpt of the book on Amazon by clicking the link below, or at https://oldmountainart.com/drawing-on-the-right-side-of-the-brain-part-1-upside-down-drawing/

Watching videos of painters using this technique is also fascinating.

Continents and Oceans - Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Week 1

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http://www.cool2bkids.com/world-map-coloring-pages/

http://www.cool2bkids.com/world-map-coloring-pages/

If you have a student in the Classical Conversations Foundations program this Fall they will memorize all of the continents and oceans the first week of class.  A few great resources to help your children learn the continents and oceans are the free coloring pages you can access with the link above and this fun song by Kathy Troxel that you can get with the link below!  Listen to the song and sing it while coloring your map of the world.  

If you have older kids you the coloring and singing may be just a fun jumping off point for a larger discussion.  Why is the Pacific ocean on the map twice?  Compare and contrast the flat map you colored with a globe.  Where would the major lines of latitude go if you were to add them to the coloring page map?  Why do we use latitude and longitude lines?  Then have your older students practice drawing their own map of the world and label it.  Or use poster board or inexpensive cloth to draw a large map of the world to jump on or throw beanbags on!

Strive for Success - Science (Classical Conversations Cycle 1)

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We were so busy during this class that I didn't get a chance to take any pictures.  However, I do have links where I got a lot of the fun activities we did.  All of the strive for success events were to help prepare the kids who wanted to try for Memory Masters.  It was a fun way to review a lot of information together.

For the science day I set up a bunch of stations the kids could choose from around the house, and outside.  

In the garage there was a station to classify animals.  I bought a packet on Teachers Pay Teachers of animal cards to be classified and sorted.  It also included a lap book activity the kids enjoyed. 

Click the picture to see more about the product.

Click the picture to see more about the product.

On the kitchen window I made the ocean floor out of brown painters paper.  I taped blue paper behind it to look like the ocean.  I made cards with the types of ocean floor and names of the ocean zones on them so the kids could label everything.  Each of the cards had a piece of Velcro on it so it could be attached to the other side of Velcro on the painters paper. 

In the dining room there were a bunch of activities to choose from.  

Parts of a flower lap book

Click the picture for more information.

Click the picture for more information.

Five kingdoms of living things hand print.

Click the picture for more information.

Click the picture for more information.

Plant vs. Animal cell comparison lab book.

Click on the picture for more information.

Click on the picture for more information.

Outside I laid out some picnic blankets and cloud finders so the kids could lay down, look at the clouds, and identify what types of clouds they could see.

Click the picture for more information.

Click the picture for more information.

We kept the cloud finders in the car for a few weeks after we made them!

To help learn about clouds I also laminated some pages with more information about what they look like and where they are located.  I laminated the pages then taped tracing paper on top of them so the kids could trace the types of clouds.

Strive for Success - Math (Classical Conversations)

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We had several fun games we played to review math with our friends.  We set up a giant board game in the garage.  The game tiles are actually the back of the cards we used for the Presidents day activity.  One side had presidents and the other had a piece of construction paper on it.  I one question from each week on the pieces with a wet erase marker.  

To play the kids rolled the large dice, moved the number of places shown on the dice, then had to answer the math question on the square they landed on to move on.   If they couldn't answer the question they lost a turn.  We added a few fun pieces too (move ahead two, move back two, trade places.)

We also did a liquid equivalent relay race!  I filled a kiddie pool with water and put it between each team. Each team had a teaspoon, tablespoon, ounce glass, one cup measuring cup, pint jar, quart jar, and gallon jar.  They had to know how many times they needed to fill the next biggest jar, and fill it the correct number of times to get the next item.  For example, 3 teaspoons equal one tablespoon so they had to run down three times to fill the tablespoon.  Once the tablespoon was full they could take it back and begin filling the ounce glass, and so on.  It was a lot to think through quickly, but they did great!  We went through the whole thing once before beginning the relay race so everyone understood the rules.  

Strive for Success - Latin and English Classical Conversations Cycle 1

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Our first Strive for Success event was a focus on Latin and English.  All week in our house we recited, wrote, and reviewed our Latin noun declensions and English prepositions, helping and linking verbs to prepare.  

Prior to the event I purchased a preposition packet on Teachers Pay Teachers that had all of our activities in it.  You can find it here.

From the TPT packet we used the booklet about Rocky Raccoon, 12 pictures of rocky, and the page to write 12 sentences with prepositions on.

Before everyone arrived my kids hid the 12 pictures of Rocky around the house.  I put the sentence writing paper, the booklet, and a bag with 8 Rocky raccoon stickers on a clipboard for each student.  

As everyone arrived they got their clipboard and pencil.  They completed the sticker books first.  Next they went on a hunt for all of the hiding raccoon's.  When they found one they wrote a sentence that included a preposition about where Rocky was.

Rocky Raccoon is on the door.

Rocky Raccoon is on the door.

Rocky raccoon is moving toward the wall.

Rocky raccoon is moving toward the wall.

  After completing the sentence writing activity students who were ready to test their knowledge of cycle 1 English and Latin sat down with a tutor and told them what they know.  They got a sticker for their Strive for Success book for working hard on their memory work.  (See previous post for more information).

Our last activity was to act out our prepositions.  I set up a variety of things in the front yard (tent, table, something to hide behind, picnic mat) and as I called out a preposition the kids had to act it out.  

Strive for Success Geography Classical Conversations Cycle 1

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We focused on geography this week.  For a lot of families geography can be one of the trickiest subjects to conquer.  I think it is trickier to memorize, not because it's difficult, but because it is more time consuming to work on geography than other subjects.  

To work on conquering cycle 1 geography we did a mixed media art project.  I created a stencil of Europe and Africa for the kids to use.  They traced the outline of the continents, colored them, then added some fun mixed media to add details to their maps.

Materials you need:

Cycle 1 trivium table, tracing paper, poster board, good strength drawing paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils, shaving cream, school glue, food coloring, sand, glitter, brown sugar, puff paint, any other fun mixed media materials.

Set up:

Before everyone arrived I traced the black line map on my trivium table on tracing paper, I cut the tracing paper map out, then put it on poster board and traced the map on the poster board twice.  One poster board map became a stencil the kids used.  The other became a blank map to be used in a geography pictionary game.  For pictionary you could also trace the map with wet erase markers onto a white board, then let the kids play pictionary with dry erase markers. 

I covered my tables with brown painters paper.  It's very inexpensive on Amazon.

I put the thick drawing paper, crayons, markers, pencils, and colored pencils out on the tables covered with painters paper.  

While the kids are busy tracing and coloring their maps mix the shaving cream with school glue and food coloring.  We used blue food coloring since this was going to be used for oceans. 

After coloring their maps, the kids used puff paint for the rivers, and the shaving cream mixture for the oceans.

I put the brown sugar and gold glitter, along with some more school glue, at a table outside.  These materials were for adding dimension to the Sahara and Arabian Deserts.  Having this outside was a great idea!  My garage is sparkly!  

The finished products were a great.

 

There were a lot of CC tutors available at the event, so they each took turns quizzing the students where were ready on their cycle 1 geography after they finished their art work.  Any child who took the time to sit down with a tutor and go through their geography got a sticker in their Strive for Success book (see previous post).

For the pictionary game use the map that is laminated, but doesn't have any markings on it.  Divide the families/students into two teams.  Team one chooses a drawer.  The drawer picks a card, and has to draw that place on the map.  The team mates must guess the place they are drawing to get a point.  Then the other team goes.  The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.  We will use this as a review game in class too!

Strive for Success (Equipping Families To Conquer CC Memory Masters)

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The Friday with Friends series of activities has been a fun way to expand on the CC memory work each week with my Journeyman/Masters class this year.  As we approach our final six weeks of CC, I decided that I wanted to do something to help equip the families I get to teach in CC to conquer Memory Masters.  Some of the other tutors and I came up with a series of events that would help everyone give a big, fun last push toward memory masters.  (A memory master is a CC student who can recite all 24 weeks of all 7 subjects from memory at the end of the year).  

To help parents, and students, track their success I made a Strive for Success booklet for each child.  The booklet is a memory master check sheet.  A tutor checks off what the student knows, and what they need to work on before trying MM.  The student gets a sticker for their book for each subject they take the time to sit down and answer.  Each Friday a different subject is focused on and we do activities that correlate with the subject the students are focusing on.

Check out the Strive for Success events and use them with your community too!

Successfully Having A Lightsaber Duel to the Beat with Preschoolers

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The preschoolers I teach music to have been learning musical concepts with the Imperial March from Star Wars.  We have been discussing which characters theme the music is for (Darth Vader), experiencing dynamics, and keeping a steady beat.

The Imperial March is great for studying dynamic contrast.  The popular theme is loud and strong, contrasted by a gentle quiet part.  You can hear the theme come back quietly, then louder.  We began by listening for the theme and patting or stomping to the beat when we heard it.

I came across some great lesson plan ideas to use pool noodles or boomwhackers as lightsabers  and have the kids keep the beat with them in a duel while listening to the music.  I love boomwhackers so I decided to try the activity.

First we reviewed listening to the music and identifying the theme and dynamic contrasts.  For preschoolers I don't go into a big explanation of all of that, we just experience it.  The music is playing as they come into class.  They know to sit down in their spot, listen, watch what I am doing (patting, moving, stomping, etc), and mimic what I am doing.  During the theme I would stomp to the beat, when the music was quiet I would pretend to be small and hide.

The next task was to set us up for success for the duel!  I told the kids we were going to be part of a Jedi training and each time they could complete a task they would get a new, more exciting one.  The more you get into this, the more they will buy into it, and that makes it fun!

First we kept the beat with our hands.  We would pat the floor and raise them up.  I said out loud "down, up" to the beat I wanted them keeping as well.

After accomplishing that task they each received a boomwhacker and kept the beat on the floor with it the same way, down up.  I kept guiding them and let them play with this while I was passing all of the boomwhackers out.

Now it was time to get us all keeping the beat together.  I showed them the ready position (holding the boomwhacker in front of them but not playing it).  When they heard Darth Vader's theme they kept the beat.  But when the music was quiet and smooth they put their lightsabers back into the ready position.  Again, really add a lot of drama when presenting this and it makes it fun.

Lastly, we were ready for a duel to the beat!  I stood face to face with one of the students, and instead of keeping the beat on the floor we had the boomwhackers meet in the middle and hit on the beat.  I verbally cued this with, "in, out" as we played.  The student who played with me had then completed her training and could train another student, while I also trained a new one.  (I trained students who were strong with the force, beat, first and had them train students who were just learning).  Soon we were all keeping the beat with a lightsaber duel to the Imperial March theme, and freezing in our ready positions when the music was quiet to look for danger before dueling again!

President's Day Trivia

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In preparation for Presidents Day we are singing all of our presidents in order and challenging our friends to do the same!  If you are preparing for Memory Masters for CC it's a great time to jump start memorizing.

We are also going to learn some fun facts about our Presidents.  I found the facts we will use already compiled on Teachers Pay Teachers.  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Presidents-Day-1706945

I put the facts all around the house.  The kids had to go around and write down notes about the facts to help them remember them.  

After reciting all of the presidents and gathering fun facts we played a game I created on Kahoot.it based on the fun facts.  Kahoot is a fun website that allows you to set up an interactive game.  Each players uses a phone, ipad, or computer as a controller to enter and answer questions in the game.  The faster you answer, and the more you answer correctly, the higher your score.  Kahoot also give you an assessment of how the players did at the end if you use it for assessment.

Here's the link to the Presidents Challenge Kahoot game.  Click the link to start the game.  Go to Kahoot.it on another device and use it as your controller for the game.  

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/e7453587-2572-4343-bf2c-698b14788fab




Super Bowl Music Together Class

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Last night was a little sad.  I love my Panthers and I hated to see them lose.   I'm still proud to be a Panthers fan.  They played hard and gave us a remarkable season!  We are going to enjoy a little fun improvisation with some of the Music Together songs in class to help us get through this tough time together.

There's A Cobbler changed to There's A Panther 

There's a quarterback on our street
Who kept getting sacked right off his feet
He got sacked the whole day long
Bronco defense they were strong
With a bam and a bam and a bam bam bam                                                                            And a bam and a bam and a bam bam bam                                                                            Getting sacked the whole night long                                                                                        We played hard, but they were strong

But that quarterback on our street
Gives footballs to kids he meets
Gives footballs the whole day long
And we are proud to be Panther STRONG
with a dab and a dab and a dab dab dab                                                                                  And a dab and a dab and a dab dab dab                                                                                 Gives footballs the whole day long                                                                                           We are proud to be Panther Strong

 

Who Say's They're Gonna Come Back

Who say's they're gonna come back                                                                                                              They Panthers do that's who                                                                                                                            They'll win games again next year                                                                                                                  Because they do love you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Sometimes they lose one                                                                                                                                  And that makes us sad.                                                                                                                                    Sometimes Cam gets sacked                                                                                                                          And that makes us very mad!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         But who say's they're gonna come back                                                                                                       They Panthers do that's who.                                                                                                                            They'll win more games for you next year,                                                                                                  Because they do love you!

 

Studying Star Wars Music With Preschoolers

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starwars.png

Star Wars is so popular, why not study it in preschool.  Even if the kids haven't seen the movies, most of them are familiar with the music.  A great article about the music in the Force Awakens is Seven Things We Learned About Star Wars The Force Awakens From it's Music.  The article goes through each of the themes associated with the main characters.

We typically study pitched instruments and add in Carnival of the Animals or Peter and the Wolf during the second semester in preschool.  Last year we studied the music from Peter Pan the  musical and movie.  Here is how we will branch out and study instruments through star wars music this year.

I start every class with listening.  As the kids come into music we have something new we are listening to, and quietly moving to in our spots or patting the beat to.  To introduce Star Wars we listened to the Imperial March as the kids entered the class and kept the beat in our bodies.  We also sang the Star Wars version of A Ram Sam Sam.

A Jabba the Hutt, A Jabba the Hutt, A Luke Skywalker, and a Jabba the Hutt, Darth Vader, Darth Vader, A Luke Skywalker and a Jabba the Hutt.

In the lessons to come we will listen to the theme music for each character and explore keeping the beat in some fun ways.  One fun post I found had a lesson on keeping a steady beat light saber fight with pool noodles or boomwhackers while listening to the Imperial March.  This will be a reward at the end of a class!  

We will also try a small part of the Imperial March and the Star Wars theme on boomwhackers.  There are free printables for these on Teachers Pay Teachers and Preschool Prodigies.  

Odd Meter Elephant Chicken Chicken

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I didn't care much for odd meters until I started teaching early childhood music.  Once I became a Music Together teacher, and realized you could improvise crazy things in odd meters, then I began to love them!

There is a silly chant in 7/8 in the current Music Together collection.  Its a great opportunity to improvise with silly sounds.  The 7/8 pattern is 3 beats + 2 beats + 2 beats, or elephant chicken chicken.  Elephant is a three syllable word and chicken is two.  To get 7 beats you need one elephant and two chickens!  You can also make elephant and chicken sounds to play with odd meter.  

What other animal combinations can you come up with to make 7 beats?  Mix a three syllable animal with a two syllable animal.

Three syllable animals

Antelope
Chimpanzee
Crocodile                 Bumble Bee
Wolverine                Killer Whale
Flamingo                 Oscelot
Octopus                   Buffalo

Two Syllable Animals

Baboon, Rabbit, Raptor, Dragon, Llama, Cheetah, Penguin, Puppy, Dolphin, Rhino, Falcon, Eagle, Monkey, Donkey, Beaver, Tiger, Lion, Walrus, Hedgehog, Lizard, Bunny, Kitten, Pigeon, Woodchuck, Toucan, Turtle, Turkey, Lobster

 

Learning Musical Contrasts through Ice Skating

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One of my favorite activities is playing with staccato and legato musical contrasts with the Skating song from Charlie Brown.  All you need is the music (the link's below), and some paper plates.  

Skating
Fantasy Records
Buy on Amazon

Scatter the paper plates around on the floor.  Tip toe around the plates (staccato, detached movement) during the descending eighth note patterns in the song.  Then jump on the the plates, keep your feet down and skate (smooth, connected legato movement) during the dotted half note section.  These two parts are about 4 measures long and alternate back and forth.  Then there is a fun, jazzy middle section to the song where you can jump off your plates and show off your dance moves.  The alternating eighth note and dotted half note sections come back at the end.  End with the staccato tip toe phrases, and legato dotted half note skating.  

Soundtrack: A Charlie Brown Christmas Version: Starbucks Exclusive Artist: Vince Guaraldi Trio Composer: Charles Wesley, Felix Mendelssohn Producer: Timothy Jones Drums: Colin Bailey Bass: Monty Budwig Mastering: George Horn Piano: Vince Guaraldi Track Name: Skating Track Number: 07 ~ Merry Christmas!

Tip toe music 0:08 - 0:11

skating music 0:11-0:15

Jazzy dance section 0:57

Building Each Continents Tallest Mountain Classical Conversations Cycle 1

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We are going to study each continents tallest mountain with egg cartons this week.  The supply list is simple.  You just need to save up lots of egg cartons and have some good paper handy.

Begin by building your mountains.  Each student will need 28 egg carton pieces (7+6+5+4+3+2+1).  Your tallest mountain will be 7 pieces tall, second tallest 6 pieces tall, and so on.  Next put all of the mountains in order by elevation.

Now you are ready to draw your map.  This is a great time to practice you cartography skill.  Begin by drawing your major lines of latitude and longitude.  You need these to help put all of the continents in the correct place.  

Finish by putting each mountain on the correct continent.  

You could cover your mountains in masking tape, or clay, and then paint them as well.

Here is a video to watch to help put the height of these mountains in perspective.  This is the tallest building in the world.  If you look at the first picture on the post you can see it barely sticking up on the bottom right.

Geology.com

Geology.com has a great interactive map.  You can zoom in on each of the mountains.  It also has wonderful pictures and information about each mountain.

Winter Music Together

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I am excited about everything there is to learn from playing with songs in the Drum collection this Winter!  We have experienced some good songs to put in your "diaper bag" or "back pocket," for those times you need to help redirect or motivate your little ones.  Our first week of class we sang Clap Your Hands.  This song is easy to improvise new lyrics with to go along with your daily routine (wash your hands, eat your food, hold my hand, etc.).  The other song that is great to add to your day is John the Rabbit.  Reinforcing some good manners with that repetitive "Yes ma'am" is always a great addition to the day.

We have been singing Tomorrows Now Today, and will sing the same lullaby for one more week.  Your children hearing your voice during the lullaby is so important for their musical growth.  I like to repeat one lullaby for several weeks so you can really learn it, and hopefully start singing it at home too!

Our first week of class we danced to The Fresh Beat Band's Freeze Dance.  Click below to listen here, or buy from Amazon.  Our instrument play along was the song Play Along from the Music Together collection.


Week 2 we danced to the Can Can.  We experienced dynamics by tip toeing, wiggling, jumping, and finally kicking!  We enjoyed some jazz for our instrument play along with Bounce Me Brother With A Solid Four.