Bryant School Song

Starting in January, our school is going to start having monthly all school assemblies to promote school culture and togetherness. I wrote this (very simple) song and will be teaching it to the kids so that we can sing it at the beginning of assemblies, or anytime our school is together as a whole. It's not going to win any Grammies, but I think it is pretty cute and catchy and it has been stuck in my head since I wrote it :) So far, the classes that have learned it have had a lot of fun singing it! Here is a recording of Ms. Puente's 2nd grade class singing the song. The recording is not the best quality (it was recorded in 5 minutes on garageband), but it will give you a general idea of the song. And please forgive my guitar playing :)

Have a great Friday, everyone!

Chorus:

B-R-Y (clap clap) A-N-T (clap clap)

Bryant is the place to be!

B-R-Y (clap clap) A-N-T (clap clap)

I love Bryant School! (Rawr!)

Verse:

We're safe, respectful and responsible,

Each and every day.

We are kind to everyone,

When we work and play.

As Bryant Tigers, we do our best,

And learn in different ways.

We celebrate diversity, 

And that is why we say...oh!

2nd Grade: Recycled Music

In 2nd grade humanities, we have been talking about ways that we can protect our environment and keep our earth clean. Since our school received new recycling bins that now allow us to recycle cans and bottles, as well as paper, we have been talking about the importance of using the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). One way in which we have been reusing in music class is by taking old water cooler jugs and using them as drums. We also have a gong that is made out of an oil drum top.

In class, students watched a video called "Landfill Harmonic" about a group of students who live in a village in Paraguay that is built on a landfill. Even though these kids do not have a lot of money, they have found a way to still have music in their lives. One member of their community started making instruments (violins, cellos, saxophones, flutes) out of items found in the landfill. It is amazing to hear how real these instruments sound and to see how important they are to these students. We talked about how lucky we are to go to Ann Arbor schools, where we get to play instruments no matter how much money we have.

Lastly, we were introduced to the music group "Stomp" that originated in the UK. These musicians and dancers make music out of ordinary items. We loved listening to their rhythms and seeing what great music they could make out of the most interesting things.

Nutcracker Field Trip Fun!

I had such a great time taking the 1st graders to go see the Nutcracker ballet today. They were wonderful audience members and did a great job representing Bryant. It was very cute to see them get excited when they recognized a new character on stage, and I loved seeing them bounce in their seats when they recognized one of the songs that we learned in class.  The kids had a great time and so did I! When we returned to school, I was able to talk with some classes about what they liked most about the show. Here were some of our favorite things about the Nutcracker...

"When Clara danced." "When the canon went off." "The snow." "When the Nutcracker battled the Mouse Queen." "When the Nutcracker leaped in the air."

Thanks to all the teachers and chaperones that came to make the trip go smoothly. Here are a couple of quick photos I took of some of our students waiting for the show to start.

2nd Grade Music Choice Day

Today, all of the 2nd grade classes earned enough behavior stars to get their 3rd special day (for Mr. Kinasz's class, this was their 4th earned day). Yesterday, classes voted on what they wanted to do for their day and I was amazed that just about every class chose something different. The 4 choices were...

1. Music Centers
2. Computer Lab (to go on the blog and play music games)
3. Music Video
4. Music Games Day

Mrs. Kitzmann's and Mr. Kinasz's classes both chose to have games day. We had a lot of fun learning a hand clap game called "Stella Ella Ola." Then we had a ton of fun taking out the parachute. With the parachute, our challenge was to make BeBe (our tiny monkey friend) bounce on the parachute and sling-shot to the ceiling. The only way to make BeBe do this was to keep a steady beat as a class. By keeping a steady beat together, the middle of the parachute would go up creating the perfect launching pad for BeBe. There were lots of smiles and giggles during this activity. 

Ms. Puente's class chose to watch a video, so we watched "Stomp Out Loud." Fitting in with 2nd grade humanities, we have been talking about ways that we can protect our environment and keep our earth clean. In class we have been talking about the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and the ways in which we have been doing that in our class. Since they make their music out of ordinary, recycled items, the Stomp group is a perfect example of reusing materials for different purposes.

Lastly, Ms. McManus's class chose to go to the computer lab and play music games on the music blog. They had a lot of fun playing the games and exploring the site. Again, one of the favorite games this time was the "Blob Chorus." Students also liked the "Instrument Sounds Game" as well (which reinforces Science humanities concepts). 

Here are a few photos from Mrs. Martin's music centers today...

Kira Kira Boshi (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

Today in Kindergarten music, we read and sang the song-story "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." In this book, the little girl goes on an adventure through the sky, meeting the planets and other stars. After this story, we talked about how this song can be sung in many different languages. We then watched the video of "Twinkle Twinkle" in Japanese ("Kira Kira Boshi"). Over the next few months, we will be learning the song in Japanese. I've included the video here so that you can practice at home! (Once we learn it in Japanese, our next language to try it in will be Spanish!)

Free vs. Bound Flow Dancers

In 2nd grade music class today, we talked about the difference between Free and Bound flow. When moving our bodies with free flow, we are feeling the energy of the music in our entire bodies--head to toe. Free flow helps us to feel the space in between the beats. Bound flow is when we are moving with tightened, tense muscles (we said it felt like there was a force field around our bodies that we were trying to break free of). Both types of flow are important in allowing us to fully feel the music. Musicians who can move their bodies freely are more likely to have better rhythm because they are not only hearing the music, but are feeling it with their entire bodies.

The dancers in this video are a perfect example of moving with flow, and the students LOVED watching it. Enjoy!

The Nutcracker: 1st Grade Fun

This week in 1st grade music we began our study of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker." On Thursday December 13th, I will be taking the 1st graders on a field trip to the Power Center to see the Ann Arbor Ballet Theatre's performance of this famous ballet. We first learned about the story by acting out different parts. Certain students got to act out different characters, and some "special guests" even visited our classroom (Drosselmeyer, The Sugar Plum Fairy, and The Mouse King).

From now until our field trip on the 13th, we will continue to learn about The Nutcracker music through fun movement activities and story telling. We will also learn more about what a ballet is, and how we should act when in the audience. I am already looking forward to this field trip, and judging from their engagement in class this week, I know the students are too!

Here are some of the most recognizable pieces from the Nutcracker. As we learn more about them, you can play them at home and see if your child can teach you some of the movement activities that we learned.

**NOTE: You will not be able to play the recordings without downloading the Spotify program to your computer first. It is a free program and allows you access to a huge library of streaming music. It is pretty awesome :)**