The Nutcracker Ballet

4th Grade had the fantastic opportunity to attend Wichita Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker Ballet on the 13th!! We are very thankful to the Babson Foundation for generously donating the money for the students to attend :) In preparation for our field trip, we've been busy studying Tchaikovsky (the composer), the unique dance form of ballet, the storyline, characters, and the music people know and love from the ballet. We stopped for ice cream on the way back for a perfect end to the day. Ask your child what their favorite part of the performance was!

Two Thumbs Up for Kindergarten!!

Kindergarten had a wonderful time singing, dancing, and making music at their program on December 12th!! Lots of great comments and complements for the kiddos from the audience. We performed some new winter songs, spoke about what we loved about this time of year, and ended with a holiday favorite-12 Days of Christmas! Look at how nice we  looked:

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to your home and loved ones this Winter Break from Marshall Music! Enjoy family time and make sure to sing some favorite carols together before school starts back up in January :) I'll sure miss the kiddos!

Five Stars for FLAKES!

1st Grade's production of FLAKES! was a wonderful reminder that each and every person is special and unique (just like a snowflake!)  in their very own way. The students did a great job singing, dancing, playing instruments, and celebrating the winter season on Thursday. Here are some photos of them having a fantastic time, it's easy to tell from their faces!! Hope you enjoyed the little concert, remember you're as special as a snowflake-or a Snirt!

November's Composer of the Month

This month's composer is Antonio Vivaldi! Here's some fun facts that your kid can tell you more about: Vivaldi was born in Italy over 300 years ago, he was the oldest of 9 children, due to his bad asthma he couldn't play outside as a child so instead he learned to play the violin, "The Red Priest" was his nickname since he was a Catholic priest with fiery red hair (although he normally wore a wig), he died a poor person after selling all of his belongings in order to travel to a new job.
His composition we've been studying is The Four Seasons which is separated into four movements (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter). With each season we've worked on a corresponding Tree Worksheet which allows students to write and draw about what the music makes them feel, think, and hear.

Spring:

Summer: 

Autumn:

 

Winter: 

 

Recorder Karate!

The Recorder Corner where students can track their belt progress!

What is that sound coming out of the music room?! It is the sound of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade learning to play the soprano recorder! We are starting with the basics (correct way to hold, blow, and finger the recorder) and will steadily get to more difficult concepts as the years go on. Each grade will have recorders roughly once a week and so we will use the school's instead of requiring one to be purchased.

You may have heard your child buzzing about something called Recorder Karate. No worries, this is not an opportunity to hit someone with a recorder-it's not violent at all! This is a motivational program where students are given a chance to practice their skills and work up the belt ladder to attain a black belt in recorder! Each test song gets gradually more challenging, but the beauty is each child can work at his/her own speed. Make sure to ask your child throughout the year what belt they are on!

Students get to pick a character to be and to tie their belts to!

Flakes! Costumes

Applause for 4th Grade!

Congratulations to 4th grade for putting on a fun performance of A Little Bit of Showbiz! last Thursday evening :) Their hard work of rehearsing, memorizing, singing, acting, and so much more paid off! Thanks to all who attended and showed their support for Eureka's own mini-Broadway. Please, enjoy some photos of their glitz and glam program:

4th Grade Costumes

Halloween Hallways!

5th Grade has been learning all about music pitches and their names in order to prepare for learning to play the recorder :) We've learned silly songs to remember that the spaces on the treble clef spell F-A-C-E and that the lines are E-G-B-D-F. Another way to help us remember the lines is we came up with our own mnemonics like Every Good Bear Deserves Fish and Edvard Grieg Buys Duck Feet. For the spaces I gave students a paper plate and the instructions that they could alter it in any way as long as they made it a face with a Halloween theme (spooky or characters to dress up as!) Now, our hallways look festive and so creative!!

Showbiz Props

Calling all 4th graders and their families who have props to use for the upcoming program! 4th Grade has been working very hard on their quickly approaching program, A Little Bit of Showbiz, on November 7th at 6 PM. We've worked on music, movement, and speaking roles-the only things missing are props to use! Instead of requiring kids to go out and purchase feather boas, top hats, canes, or capes, I thought it'd be best to see what items people already have. So please send your child in the next two weeks with any props you may have lying around. Thanks and look forward to seeing you at the performance!

Successful Fall Festival Musical!

I was very satisfied and proud of the 6th Grade's program, Fall Festival Musical! This was my first "official" program to direct and I felt that I couldn't have asked for a better group to share it with :) Lots of compliments were given from community members and families so I know they enjoyed seeing the kids perform. Check out the photos of students marching in a parade, singing, dancing with snowflakes, playing kazoos, and having fun. Nice work 6th Grade!!

October's Composer of the Month

Edvard Grieg

June 15, 1843 - September 4, 1907
Romantic Period

This month's composer is Norway's national hero! Grieg is to Norway what George Washington is to America and William Shakespeare to England: his country's most celebrated human. Grieg started learning piano at a very young age from his mom, started composing music at age 9, and attended the best music school at 15. He wrote over 150 piano compositions, 140 songs, background music for plays, and much more. We enjoyed studying two of his pieces from the play, Peer Gynt Suite (I bet you recognize them!) and one of his beloved country's folk songs.

Fun facts:
Grieg always carried a little frog statue in his pocket everywhere he went and would rub it before concerts for good luck!
Both him and his wife were shorter than 5 feet tall!

Peer Gynt Suite: Morning Mood

Norwegian Dance No. 2

  Peer Gynt Suite: In the Hall of the Mountain King

6th Grade Costumes

Greetings 6th grade students & parents/guardians! Tomorrow night is the BIG NIGHT! During class today a few kids had questions about what they were suppose to wear tomorrow. Here is the letter I sent home a few weeks ago that may have gotten lost sometime between then and now:

See you tomorrow for a night of entertainment and fun!

Why is MUSIC Important? Music Advocacy

Obviously, since I am a music teacher I feel strongly about the importance of music in schools. I'm convinced of the benefits and necessity of music because it's been one of the biggest driving forces in my own personal life. Instead of hearing me ramble on and on about it, I thought I'd post some thoughts and facts by experts and various other people who can say it better than I can. Enjoy :)

6 benefits of music in early childhood

Posted by: Shara | January 31, 2012

Submitted by Slimy Bookworm
Today we are re-posting a fun article from Bola, owner of Slimy Bookworm, an online bookstore for children.
“If music be the food of love, play on” said William Shakespeare.  The sensory experience of music is cardinal in early child development.  Exposing a child to music is particularly important before they become verbal. It is always a delight watching my toddler who only speaks “baby language” light up to music. Depending on the tempo of the music, he would either sway from side to side or even break into a dance.  You can’t teach kids these things, you just exposure them to music and let them be themselves.
Here are 6 good reasons to consciously exposure your child to music:
Language Development: The rhymes and repetition in nursery rhymes helps infants and toddlers with language development.
Motor Development: Infants and toddlers would usually respond to music by clapping their hands, stomping their feet and dancing. These are motor activities. The more they do, the better they get at it leading to better development of their muscles and nerves.
Social Development:  Preschool teachers know that when they turn on music, they get laughter and pure silliness from the kids. Music loosens the kids and foster interaction between the kids and their instructors.
Memory Development: Kids learn to commit the lyrics of the songs they enjoy to memory further improving their brain’s capacity.
Improves Mood: Have you had to deal with getting a cranky kid through a checkout line in a grocery store? I have, playing music from my phone on those occasions works wonders! Works for car rides too. Kiboomu.com has over 1,000 children’s song downloads with lyrics and kids music apps at affordable rates. They even have a subscription plan that any parent (especially homeschoolers or preschool  teachers) would find valuable.
Entertainment: Everyone needs to have some downtime and need to let loose every now and then, yes even kids. Music has the ability to make this happen.
Music does seem to be the food of a child’s brain development, so play on!

- See more at: http://blog.kabongo.com/6-benefits-of-music-in-early-childhood/#sthash.JWiRF3Xh.dpuf

6 benefits of music in early childhood

Posted by: Shara | January 31, 2012

Submitted by Slimy Bookworm
Today we are re-posting a fun article from Bola, owner of Slimy Bookworm, an online bookstore for children.
“If music be the food of love, play on” said William Shakespeare.  The sensory experience of music is cardinal in early child development.  Exposing a child to music is particularly important before they become verbal. It is always a delight watching my toddler who only speaks “baby language” light up to music. Depending on the tempo of the music, he would either sway from side to side or even break into a dance.  You can’t teach kids these things, you just exposure them to music and let them be themselves.
Here are 6 good reasons to consciously exposure your child to music:
Language Development: The rhymes and repetition in nursery rhymes helps infants and toddlers with language development.
Motor Development: Infants and toddlers would usually respond to music by clapping their hands, stomping their feet and dancing. These are motor activities. The more they do, the better they get at it leading to better development of their muscles and nerves.
Social Development:  Preschool teachers know that when they turn on music, they get laughter and pure silliness from the kids. Music loosens the kids and foster interaction between the kids and their instructors.
Memory Development: Kids learn to commit the lyrics of the songs they enjoy to memory further improving their brain’s capacity.
Improves Mood: Have you had to deal with getting a cranky kid through a checkout line in a grocery store? I have, playing music from my phone on those occasions works wonders! Works for car rides too. Kiboomu.com has over 1,000 children’s song downloads with lyrics and kids music apps at affordable rates. They even have a subscription plan that any parent (especially homeschoolers or preschool  teachers) would find valuable.
Entertainment: Everyone needs to have some downtime and need to let loose every now and then, yes even kids. Music has the ability to make this happen.
Music does seem to be the food of a child’s brain development, so play on!

- See more at: http://blog.kabongo.com/6-benefits-of-music-in-early-childhood/#sthash.JWiRF3Xh.dpuf

6 benefits of music in early childhood

Posted by: Shara | January 31, 2012

Submitted by Slimy Bookworm
Today we are re-posting a fun article from Bola, owner of Slimy Bookworm, an online bookstore for children.
“If music be the food of love, play on” said William Shakespeare.  The sensory experience of music is cardinal in early child development.  Exposing a child to music is particularly important before they become verbal. It is always a delight watching my toddler who only speaks “baby language” light up to music. Depending on the tempo of the music, he would either sway from side to side or even break into a dance.  You can’t teach kids these things, you just exposure them to music and let them be themselves.
Here are 6 good reasons to consciously exposure your child to music:
Language Development: The rhymes and repetition in nursery rhymes helps infants and toddlers with language development.
Motor Development: Infants and toddlers would usually respond to music by clapping their hands, stomping their feet and dancing. These are motor activities. The more they do, the better they get at it leading to better development of their muscles and nerves.
Social Development:  Preschool teachers know that when they turn on music, they get laughter and pure silliness from the kids. Music loosens the kids and foster interaction between the kids and their instructors.
Memory Development: Kids learn to commit the lyrics of the songs they enjoy to memory further improving their brain’s capacity.
Improves Mood: Have you had to deal with getting a cranky kid through a checkout line in a grocery store? I have, playing music from my phone on those occasions works wonders! Works for car rides too. Kiboomu.com has over 1,000 children’s song downloads with lyrics and kids music apps at affordable rates. They even have a subscription plan that any parent (especially homeschoolers or preschool  teachers) would find valuable.
Entertainment: Everyone needs to have some downtime and need to let loose every now and then, yes even kids. Music has the ability to make this happen.
Music does seem to be the food of a child’s brain development, so play on!

- See more at: http://blog.kabongo.com/6-benefits-of-music-in-early-childhood/#sthash.JWiRF3Xh.dpuf