Current Curriculum

Now that we are out of school for an undetermined amount of time due to the Covid-19 virus, please don't stress about your child's education. Every child and teacher in America is in the same boat, and we will meet kids where they are when they get back, and do our best to educate them at a high level.

Music is even more important during this time. Music will help us all get through this. If you can keep your child singing and moving a little bit each day, or for a longer period every few days, it will help their little spirits keep going and stay motivated to learn.

I have posted many activities and useful websites in SeeSaw for kids to visit to help them. Please have your child log in using their Clever account. In the top left corner of SeeSaw where there name is, you will see the number of classes they are enrolled in with SeeSaw accounts. Music will be listed. I will be happy to listen to your child sing and play anytime, and send them positive comments.

4th graders left school excited about recorders going home and earning their karate belts. They can earn them virtually via SeeSaw videos, and I will give them their actual belts for their recorders when we return. Please check SeeSaw once per week for assignments and music to play. I posted the Recorder Practice Book. For now, if they have earned their white belt for Bounce High and yellow for Hot Cross Buns, they can play anything from the book using pitches BAGC'D'. There are some fun worksheets in the book for practicing reading notes on the treble staff, and many games posted in SeeSaw as well as Google Classroom that help. I am happy to correct anything they send me and give them shouts of encouragement.

5th Grade, we are so sad we were not able to perform our concert for you. If you have a guitar at home, please follow the SeeSaw links to keep playing. If you don't have a guitar and would like one, pawn shops are great sources as well as Hansen Music. I posted info in SeeSaw about purchasing a guitar. I would go with nylon strings for now (they hurt less and are easier to push down). If you have a steel string guitar, they will eventually get used to it the more they play. This is a great time to learn an instrument! It will keep them busy and their musical brains and hearts happy. I am hoping to find time to learn the banjo if I ever get great at all of this new technology!

In this time of uncertainty, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma has been playing "Songs of Comfort" on Facebook. Check it out!

Also check out "The Singing Space" on Facebook. This features music teachers and children from all over the world just singing songs. Your little ones will especially enjoy singing along and doing the action songs, etc. that are posted.

Musically yours,

Julie Blakeslee