Technology in Music!

Some of our classes have been using the iPads this week to get some experience with some great apps that help to reinforce what we have learned in music this year and spark their creativity. Such fun!!

Our favorite apps have been- SoundBrush, GarageBand, and RhythmCat. 

Spring Dates

First of all, I want to thank everyone for their well wishes while I was out for maternity leave.  We had a little bit of a rough road to recovery including little Levi needing a surgery, but we are back, healthy and ready to go!  Here's a picture of our new little guy...

Let's get some dates on the calendar-

4th and 5th grade Prairie Dog Productions Choir is performing for the April PTA meeting on Monday, April 7 in the Media Center.  Time will be announced later- probably 6:00pm.

2nd and 3rd grade Spring Concert and 4th grade Recorder Concert will be Thursday, April 10 at Parkade Baptist Church at 7:00pm.

So that first full week of April will be a busy one!

Choir started back this past Monday, February 10, and we had a great turn out.  It's not too late to join, so your 4th or 5th grade student can join us Monday, February 24 and each Monday after that (except March 17) until 3:45.  We are doing a little bit of a different program this semester.  It involves drums, shakers, xylophones, and yes- even a cowbell! :)

4th Graders have all been given a recorder from the school to use during their Recorder Karate unit.  Please keep track of these as they will need to be returned.

2nd and 3rd grade are working on a fabulous show for their concert call "JAZZ!!"  They are loving the songs and showing me some great moves during music class.  They are also working on some class art projects with Ms. Lakatos to show during our concert.  So our concert will be part singing and part art show.  Don't miss!!

Thanks!

Last Thursday was a busy day for TMP music!  We had a special assembly with the ukulele group from Columbia Parks and Rec.  They were a big hit!  Some of our 5th graders were even able to play ukuleles with them during their performances.  I received a wonderful email from one of their players about how impressed they were with the 5th grade players and with our school in general- BRAVO!!

Then last Thursday evening, the Prairie Dog Productions Choir and the Prairie Pups presented their fall family concert.  We had a GREAT turn out with approximately 600 people there.  The students did wonderfully and I'm so proud of their hard work!  Special thanks to Parkade Baptist Church for allowing us to use their auditorium and even having greeters there to help us out.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!!

Concert Time!!

This is the week!!  The Prairie Pups and the Prairie Dog Productions Choir (4th and 5th grade after school choir) will present their fall concert this Thursday, October 24, 2013, at 7:00pm.  The concert will take place at Parkade Baptist Church in Columbia.

Students should arrive at 6:45pm.  Please do not arrive before 6:30pm since we can not supervise your student before then and we really don't need that much time to get everyone ready to begin.  Students will meet me and their teacher in the front rows of the auditorium and parents and guests will be seated in the remainder of the rows.

Please plan to dress up for this very special evening- if you can.  I look forward to seeing everyone Thursday!!

Fall Fun!

Time seems to be flying by so quickly this school year.  It's hard to believe it's almost October!  However, all the moms can agree with me when I say I'm okay with time going by quickly because I'm eagerly awaiting having my baby in late November/early December.  :)

For the past two weeks, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades have been learning some basics on the ukulele.  We have a special assembly coming up in late October, and some of the performers will be playing ukuleles.  I wanted the students to get an idea of what it's like to play chords on a stringed instrument.  We quickly learned that strumming is the easy part, and our fingers have to get used to where they go to make the chords.

Second grade has been learning lots of fun music terms... in Italian! We are having a good time learning to pronounce the words and learning what they are telling us about how to perform a song.

The Prairie Pups are busy working on songs for their concert on October 24. Several of their songs have to do with grandparents, so make sure you're letting those grandparents know they are invited to our concert.   It's exciting each week to hear them singing with more confidence.  I am really looking forward to this concert!  More information will be coming home in a few weeks in Friday folders.

Have a great week!!

K/1 Concert Date Set!

The kindergarten and first grade fall concert will be on Thursday, October 24 at 7:00pm at Parkade Baptist Church. This is their only concert for the year and always lots of fun. I'll send home more information later, but please mark your calendars!! 

For those new to TMP, we do not have our concerts at school because it would be too crowded. We usually have 600-700 people come for our concerts- it's amazing!  Parkade Baptist Church has a beautiful, large auditorium they graciously allow us to use so that everyone has a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the concert.  

Welcome Back to School!

We are super excited to start a new school year on "the prairie".  Some highlights this year for each grade level will be:

K/1- Will be singing and learning music basics such as loud/soft, high/low, and steady beat.  Our performance this year will be a fall concert focusing on family and being thankful.  (Note- K/1 will NOT do a winter concert this year because I will be on maternity leave in December!)

2nd- During music we will be learning more advanced rhythms, lots of fun singing games, and learning about some wonderful composers.  We will also do a spring concert with 3rd grade.

3rd- We will work on learning to play some basic chords on our ukuleles. In December, we will learn about The Nutcracker ballet, and throughout the year we will be learning some challenging rhythms along with playing xylophones and drums.  3rd grade will also do a spring concert with 2nd grade.

4th grade- The highlight of the 4th grade music curriculum is learning to play the recorder.  We will begin recorders after I return from maternity leave in mid-late January.  We will present our recorder playing talents at our spring concert.  In preparation for playing recorders, we will be reviewing rhythms and learning to read the treble clef lines and spaces.

5th grade- Something new that 5th grade will be learning this year is all about drum circles.  We will also continue learning ukeleles.  There will also be extensive discussion regarding what to look forward to in Middle School band.  Students will even be going on a fun trip to the Instrumental Music Extravaganza!

I am looking forward to seeing all of our wonderful students learn new things in music this year.  Please contact me if you have any questions- lcox@columbia.k12.mo.us