Music Around the World--Week 2--Africa

We had so much fun in our Music Around the World Class on Friday! We began our afternoon by reviewing our songs from last week. Ask your child to sing "It's a Small World" and "Kookaburra" for you! We are really working hard to learn the words for these two songs. After a quick review, we jumped into learning all about our new country of the day--Africa!

We were introduced to a child from Africa and learned about a day in her life on our Time for Kids website. Then, we were in for a fabulous treat--a visit from a real musician, Mr. Mark! Mr. Mark taught us about some of Africa's favorite instruments--drums! He played several different types of drums for us. We loved them all! Then, we enjoyed some traditional African music from the African Children's Choir. We were so inspired by these musical experiences that we decided to create our own African instruments--drums, tambourines, and shakers. Finally, we learned an African chant and our own rousing rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" complete with African drums, tambourines, and shakers! Here is a show of our afternoon! Check it out and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. We have also included some pictures from another great day! We hope that you enjoy them! Today was so much fun! We can't wait until next week! :) 

                                                           https://vimeo.com/313493013

Super Scientists

We recently completed a study of wood. During this unit, we were introduced to five different kinds of wood--pine, redwood, and basswood, which are made from nature, and plywood and particle board, which are made by man. We observed these wood samples and then explored ways that we could change them. We participated in several experiments with wood including a challenge to sink the pine and plywood. We also learned how to change wood using sandpaper. We recorded our wood explorations in the show below. We hope you like it! Leave us a comment and let us know what you think! Thanks!
                                                        https://vimeo.com/313497166

Music Around the World--Week 1--Australia

Welcome to our Music Around the World Club! I am so very excited that your child is joining me in this journey as we travel around the world exploring different countries and their unique music. I have two loves in life—music and children— so I could not be more thrilled to share this experience together with your child. We are going to learn to play instruments and sing songs from different countries. Then, we will share our music with you all at a Music Around the World Celebration Night in May. It is sure to be a night that you will not want to miss! Thank you again for allowing me the privilege to work with your child. I can not wait to share this experience together!

We began our musical tour around the world today by talking about the universal language of music and how it can touch all hearts and help all people. Then, we enjoyed singing "It's a Small World" together before flying around the world to Australia. 

The land down under had a lot to offer us! We learned about everything from koala bears to kangaroos and spent a "day in the life" of a girl from Australia on the National Geographic for Kids website. We were also introduced to two of Australia's favorite instruments--bilmas and digeridoos. After listening to one of Australia's traditional songs featuring these instruments, we made our very own bilmas and digeridoos. Boy were they cool too! Finally, we began learning the Australian song that we are going to perform, Kookaburra. It is a silly song that will make you giggle and laugh, while allowing you to soak up the unique sounds of the digeridoos and the bilmas. Here is a show of our first day together. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about our first week in Music Around the World!

https://vimeo.com/312233267

Amazing Mazes

Our Watson Kindergarten students participated in a STEAM challenge (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) where they built mazes. They were grouped in partners and given popsicle sticks, 50 cm of painter's tape, and a pair of scissors. Then, they were allowed to be creative and work together to build the fastest maze with at least ten turns. We all started this challenge at the same time and completed this challenge without any adult assistant. I was impressed with their hard work and determination! There was a lot of critical thinking and active problem solving going on as they worked together to build their mazes. We have included some pictures and video from our challenge below. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about our mazes.

I am proud to announce that these amazing students were our STEAM challenge winners! 

I Have a Dream!

This week in Kindergarten we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how he helped to change our world for the better! We read about his dream that he had for our world and learned about his many accomplishments. Then, we talked about what our dreams are for the future and what we hope happens to make our world a better place one day! Here are some pictures from our fun week and a video of us sharing our dreams with the world! Leave us a comment and let us know what you think! Share your dreams with us, too! We would love to learn about your hopes for our future world! :)

https://vimeo.com/312230104

Bear Day

This week we studied bears during our science unit. We learned nonfiction facts about bears such as where they live, what they like to eat, and what they look like. Then, we studied fiction stories such as Corduroy, The Bear Snores On, and A Pocket for Corduroy. Below you can see pictures from our fun "Bear Day." During "Bear Day," we brought our bears to school and allowed them to learn alongside us for a whole school day. We also enjoyed a special "paw print in the snow" snack. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about our special day!

Pictures from Bear Day: https://animoto.com/play/OV0Cow08Q2A0RhQwOCJZYg

Bear Day

In math today, we taught our bears about coins by playing money "hokey-pokey." Ask your Kindergartner how to play! It is so much fun! Here is a picture and video of our song in action: 

Pawprint in the Snow Snack

Corduroy video