First Day!

My first day at the new school is in the books and twenty four hours it is still a bit of a blur.

All I can say is I hope the kids had as good a time as I did. I met many wonderful children in kinder, first and second grade and some terrific teachers including Ms. Raphael, Ms. Brier, Mr. Song, Ms. Toppino, Ms. Baker and Ms. Lamoureaux.

In kindergarten we focused how we use our senses in music class, particularly our sense of hearing. The students used soundcatchers (pictured) as a kind of magnifying glass for their ears. They also made some shakers to accompany themselves on the Zimbabwean train song, "M'bombera."

First graders began with a body percussion piece based on the Dr. Suess poem, "Sing with a Ying." We used this as a platform to discuss contrasting ways to sing -- high vs. low, soft vs. loud. I was astonished at how accomplished some of the students were at chanting and doing body percussion in different patterns -- not easy.

Ms. Lamoureaux's class learned and performed "Bate Chocolate,' a fun chant based on a recipe for mole. The fun comes from the switching back and forth between two groups on individual words and eventually syllables. They did a nice job, and I can't wait to try it with the rest of second grade tomorrow.

Stay tuned...