Milwaukee's Florentine Opera company puts on an opera for kids each year. An opera is a story told on stage with singing. 

In December, we put the finishing touches on our Christmas Concert music. The students did so well at the concert! "O Come, Little Children" had a lot of words and movements, and I am so proud of them for learning the whole song! We watched our Christmas Concert videos during class.

We have spent the month getting ready for our Christmas Concert as well as learning a few other songs and chants, such as...

• "God Bless America" (our prayer song for the month)

• "Charlie Over the Ocean"

• "Grandma Grunts"

• "The Minister's Cat" (to practice keeping the beat)

• "Must Be Santa"

songs and poems from this month:

• "Jesus Loves the Little Children" (our October prayer song)

• "In the Woods" (an echo song)

• "Sea Lion" (a call and response song)

• "In the Evening Moonlight"

• "Two Tall Telephone Poles"

• "All 'Round the Brickyard"

• "Did You Ever See a Lassie?" 

• "Pumpkin Fat" ("Pumpkin, pumpkin, round and fat, turn into a jack-o-lantern just like that!")

• We have also started learning our Christmas Concert songs!

The curriculum that we use in K3-1st Grade Music is called “First Steps in Music.” This curriculum prepares young students to become “tuneful, beatful, and artful” musicians. I love this curriculum because it encourages students to be musically independent, creative, and expressive, all while being fun and playful! 

Students will learn “Simple Songs” as part of the curriculum. You may have seen a few 1/4-sized papers with the words to these songs in your child's take-home folder. These are short songs that they have learned to sing independently. Your child should sing the song for two people at home. If you want, you can keep the song sheets that are sent home throughout the year, staple them together, and make a little song book for your child!

songs and poems from this month:

• "Father, I Adore You" (our September prayer song)

• "No More Pie" (an echo song)

• "Peep Squirrel" (this song sheet went home...please have your child sing it to two people!)

• "William He Had Seven Sons"

• "Johnny Works with One Hammer"

• "Do, Do, Pity My Case"

• "In the Evening Moonlight"

• "Had a Little Rooster"

• "Over in the Meadow"