Gerald the Giraffe drawings

After the Kindergarten students read and discussed the book Giraffes Can't Dance, we explored our illustrating skills.  First, we drew and colored Gerald.  Each Gerald is unique!  The next class period, we used colored chalk to create a background on black construction paper for our giraffes.  It was great fun!  Here are some shots of giraffes in the making!  **click on the previous sentence!

After we were finished, Jennifer, the Kindergarten aide, hung them in the hallways by their rooms.  Below are two videos of those artistic masterpieces!

Giraffes Can't Dance!

Inspired by a fellow music educator, I got out one of my favorite books.  Last week, Kindergarten music students read the book, Giraffes Can't Dance by Andreae, Giles and Illustrator Parker-Rees, Guy.  It is a story about Gerald, a giraffe who is made fun of at the annual jungle dance because he is not a very good dancer.  He comes to find out that there is someone who DOES believe in him!  "Everything makes music", says the cricket, "if you really want it to".  From then on, Gerald listens, and hears his OWN music and gracefully, beautifully dances!   

After we read the story, we discusses what kind of musical things WE wanted to become better at.  Responses included, singing, dancing, playing a variety of instruments, which included LOTS of drums and guitars!  Not everyone is good at a special skill right away!  Sometimes it takes time to get better and learn.  

Here is a video of the book in musical form!  We will be watching this video this week.



Coming tomorrow....the students use their artistic skills to portray Gerald and his story!

There Was An Old Lady.....

 Students in 2nd and 3rd grades have been reading a variety of "There Was An Old Lady" books lately.  We have created our own version of the story, using musical instruments.  Click here to see videos of each classes creations! Look at all of those instruments!

Mental Floss

John Green debunks 50 common misconceptions that most people have about topics such as vikings, exploding birds and peanut butter. Enjoy and floss out all those misconceptions!

The Arts ARE Important!

There are so many schools who do not have art/dance/music/theater instruction as part of their curriculum, or have these crucial classes offered sporadically to their students.  The arts ARE important!  So often, art educators are told to justify their subject because we cover math or reading standards.  Yes, we have ALWAYS incorporated these skills!  BUT, our subject areas are vital and essential because of THEIR OWN value!!!  From creativity, to self-confidence, to collaboration, to problem-solving, the arts not only instill a love for the arts in children, but develop within them many other  traits that will serve them well throughout life! Character, self-discipline, a sense of accomplishment, are all part of a students' development as they grow.  The arts provide an opportunity for students to develop and flourish as they mature. 

A recent article by Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post sums this up well.  Take a moment to read and share with your school board!  

The Top 10 Skills Children Learn From The Arts

Do you remember reading and singing nursery rhymes with your parents?  Do you know that it is crucial that children have these experiences to lay the foundation for literacy later in life?  Even rocking your baby in a steady beat will develop that inner beat within your child, which will lead to the development of literacy skills as they mature into readers.  PLEASE read nursery rhymes with your children, no matter how old they are!  And as they get older, don't stop!  Older children will reap benefits in their own development if you continue to read TO and WITH them at home!!

Visuwords

Visuwords™ online graphical dictionary —

among the things a person could do on this site are....

• Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. 
• Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. 
• Learn how words associate.

When a word it entered into the seach box, an interactive node diagram ( a web of sorts) is created and connections are made to the original word in a  variety of ways.  Some examples are parts of speech, is a part of, pertains to, is a kind of to name a few. Exploration of just one word will take the user to a myriad of word adventures.  You are taken into a "universe of bouncing, rotating, vibrating meaning by pulling related words into orbit around it. The words careen off one another like balls on a billiard table until they settle down, at which point you can set them in motion again — or choose a new word."

(http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1918031_1918016_1917981,00.html #ixzz28upFBnLV)

When I entered the word "music," this is my initial graphic. As I click and explore even more connections are made. The key at the left shows what the different colored connections indicate.  Give it a try!

Nursery Rhymes and More!

Every child loves being told nursery rhymes. Can you remember the tunes to the nursery rhymes?

Nursery Rhymes are important for children! From birth onward, they will assist in

***language development
***cognitive development
*** physical development
***social and emotional development
***reading skills

For more detailed information go to Rhymers are Readers: The Importance of Nursery Rhymes.


I've found some cute videos featuring nursery rhymes as well as "how to draw _____" videos! Good for children ages 2-8 (but adults will enjoy also!) Go to Kid's Camp and enjoy!