Carnival of the Animals: FREE Printable

FREE 33 Page Printable

Wise Owl Factory and Strings, Keys, and Melodies has teamed up to provide this printable to supplement music listening and appreciation with Carnival of the Animals.  

This printable includes:

14 teacher cards/posters 

14 coloring pages for children to color 

featuring each animal in the Carnival of the Animals!

Carolyn has done a fantastic job and I can't wait to use these posters and coloring pages in my own Music and Movement Classes!

I believe children learn best while moving and having fun!  Each teacher card has a movement activity idea using dancing ribbons or rhythm sticks.  Your children will have fun while listening to this classical music!

There is also a Spanish version available!

You can find many versions of Carnival of the Animals on YouTube.     

Children love moving and dancing to these pieces.  

Free Carnival of the Animals PDF
Free Spanish version of Carnival of the Animals PDF

Enjoy!

Music and Movement - Carnival of the Animals

 

This semester I have been introducing my students to Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens.  But we don't just sit and listen! 

 We get up and move!

 

Today I am writing at GoDandelion.com

Music and Movement:  Fun with Carnival of the Animals

 

Enjoy!

Another Fun Listening Game!




Where am I?  A Fun Listening Game

I am always looking for new listening games in the hope that some of it will rub off on my girls and they will clean up their toys the first time I ask them!  :)  Not really, but I do think listening is an extremely important skill for learning music and for life in general and it is always important for children to have fun while learning.

I wrote about this listening game for Dandelion Magazine, a free quarterly magazine that serves as a resource for Bay Area and Sacramento families of children with special needs.  You can read my post, Where am I? A Fun Listening Game at godandelion.com.

Enjoy!

Fun Way to Practice Listening Skills

Fun Way to Practice Listening Skills

 

Today's post has some great ideas on practicing listening skills by following the cuckoo bird throughout a few fun symphony pieces.  I write a few times a month for Dandelion Magazine's Blog at www.godandelion.com .  

 

 Dandelion Magazine is a local magazine for families with special needs.  Please head over there and read "Follow the Cuckoo! A Fun Way to Practice Listening Skills."

Thank you!

 

 

Water & Music

Water & Music

This summer we have played a lot with water while the weather is hot.  Besides cooling us off, water is a natural source of music!  It makes the prettiest sounds when it splashes and trickles.


Water Music
One of my favorite pieces of music is Water Music by George Frideric Handel.   Handel wrote Water Music in 1717 for 50 musicians to play for King George I and guests while floating down the River Thames.  It is a lovely piece.  I like to watch it performed by the English Baroque Festival as performers dressed in the style of the day dance in Baroque style.

Water Wall
A fun way to experiment with water and sound is to make a water wall.

Water Wall

We made holes in a bunch of plastic containers and bottles and zip tied them to an old piece of frame we had left over.  We also used funnels and swimming noodles to make curves.  It took some time to line up the holes and containers so that the water would drip into the bottom container instead of onto the ground.

We loved how the water flowed through one container into another.  And it made the most beautiful sounds!





This is my favorite part of the the water wall.  We put a bunch of holes in the lid of a plastic jar and it would flow into another container. 
This activity taught about the sounds water made plus a lot of engineering principles!

Water Xylophone
A great way to play with water is to make a water xylophone.  Fill a bunch of glasses with varying amounts of water.  We put food coloring in ours to make it pretty.

Take a metal spoon and tap on the glasses.  The different levels of water will make the glasses have a different tone.  You can keep them all mixed up or you can put them in order from highest to lowest.  The girls made up all kinds of songs with the xylophone.  It is a really interesting and absorbing experiment.

Relaxation

There is nothing as relaxing as the sound of water. 





Just imagine the ocean's waves crashing on the beach or a mountain stream trickling through the forest.  It is natural music made by water!

Enjoy!



Another Fun Week of Music Camp - July 30-Aug. 4

Explore Music Camp July 30- Aug 4, 2012

We had another fantastic week of Explore Music Camp. Each day we exlored a different instrument and did fun experiments and games.

Everyone used bee finger puppets to act out the "Here is the Beehive" finger play.

Having fun acting out "In a Cabin in the Woods".

Singing the call and response song "Who Are You?"

Making music with the guitar and maracas.

More music making with guitar, rhythm sticks and bells.

We did a fun experiment with drums, rice and beans.  We hit the drums to see the rice and beans jump and move just like sound waves. 

I got the idea and directions for this experiment from Kids Activities Blog.  Check it out for the supplies you will need.  It really is easy and the children enjoy bouncing rice and beans all over the table and floor!

We also played the Egg Sound Game.  The children shake the eggs and try to match the two eggs that have the same contents. 

To make your own game visit my past post Match the Sounds.

Rachel is explaining the parts of the violin.

The ukulele is a great instrument for little fingers!

Amanda did a great job introducing the students to strumming and playing chords on the ukulele.

Guitar is a very popular instrument.  Everyone wants to be a rock star!

This week allowed the children to try out different instruments: piano, violin, ukulele, guitar and voice.  It was a great experience for them to hold each instrument and try to make sounds with it.  We also had fun playing games and doing experiments.  I am already getting ideas for next summer's camp!

Check out our other week of music camp!

Explore Music Camp July 16 - 20, 2012

Fun wtih Music: Classical Music and Creative Art Project

Welcome to the Fun with Music series that I am doing in collaboration with play expert, Angelique Felix at angeliquefelix.com.

Read the first week's Fun with Music post that introduces the series plus highlights a lot of music ideas for you and your family.

Read the second week's Fun with Music post that was all about Singing and Song Writing with Your Children.

Today's theme is Playing with Classical Music and Art.

This activity will get you and your child to really listen to the music.

Step 1:  Listen to Stars and Stripes Forever by John Phillip Sousa.  John Phillip Sousa is known for his American patriotic music.  Stars and Stripes Forever is known as a parade march.  When you listen do not tell your children anything about the song and do not let them see a picture representing the song.  Just listen!  We listened to this version of Stars and Stripes Forever on YouTube.

Step 2:  Ask your child what pictures come to mind while listening to this song.  Do you think of a story?  Do you see different colors?  Is it a happy song?  Is it dark and gloomy?

When I asked my daughter what she thought of the Stars and Stripes Forever, she said "parade" so I bet she recognized it from somewhere.  But then I asked her what colors it made her think of and she did not say red, white and blue.  She said red and yellow!

Step 3:  Get out the art supplies.  The supplies can be simple paper and crayons or you can get elaborate with watercolors or paints.  Then while you play the song again ask your child to draw the story and emotions of the song. 

My daughter did a wonderful picture of a parade. She drew about 11 men who looked like they were a part of a marching band except they didn’t have any instruments. Their hats were red and yellow like she said but she did add blue pants. So it is almost a patriotic picture with red and blue with a splash of yellow on their hats!

Painting with watercolors while listening to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Take two!  We did this project again using a completely different song:  Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

Bach wrote this piece for the church but we often associate it with something dark and scary.  But don't tell your children that!  While you listen ask them what they think when listening to this piece. 

 Is it happy or sad?

What colors does it make them think of?

Is there a story going on in the minds?

For this song, we got out the watercolors to make our pictures.  This time my girls thought the song made them think of a dark forest.  So they drew trees, a bear and a waterfall.

Composers write music to convey feelings and emotions.  Take the time to really listen to music and you will find the ups and downs in the music and the story the composer is trying to tell you.

Children learn best when they are having fun!  Teach them to listen carefully to music by having them draw or paint a picture while listening to a piece of classical music.

Visit the other Fun with Music articles!

Introduction

Sing with Your Child

Classical Music and Creative Art Project

Kid-Made Instruments and the Great Outdoors.

5 Classic Musical Games

Guest Post on Ready. Set. Read!

This week I wrote a post for Ready. Set. Read!,a great blog written by Jackie, a reading specialist turned SAHM who shares tips and tricks for turning children into readers.   

Jackie has been writing a series titled Road Trip Reading and she came up with this great idea to include some music ideas for those long summer road trips.  And that's where I come in! 

Check out my ideas at Road Trip Music for Kids!  The ideas include the classic Peter and the Wolf and The Carnival of the Animals.

Exploring Major Tones with Boomwhackers

It is important to have correct pitch when making music whether you are singing or playing an instrument.  You need to know if you are on pitch and if not, then how to get back on pitch.


  Boomwhackers make it fun to practice pitch and tones.  Boomwhackers come in a C Major Diatonic Scale Set.  There are all kinds of accesories such as caps to change the tones to an octave lower and little mallets for hitting the boomwhackers if you don't want to hit your hand or the floor.  But the most important items are the boomwhackers.

In this video, I introduce the children to the boomwhackers and we practice singing "So, Mi, Do". 

First we play and sing So, Mi Do.
2. Do, Mi, So.
3. So, So, Mi.
4. So, So, Do.

You can make up numerous variations.






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Have fun!

High and Low Sounds: Melt Like a Snowman, Grow Like a Flower

Children learn with their whole bodies.  There are a bunch of fun music and movement activities to teach children to hear and identify high and low sounds.

You will need a piano or other instrument that you can play high and low notes on.  Before you begin the games be sure  the children know what high, medium and low sounds are. 

Play a high note and have the children put their hands on their heads.

Play a medium note and have them put their hands on their tummies.

Play a low note and have them touch their toes.

Then go faster and start mixing up the order.  See if they can tell if you are playing high, medium or low notes.

Once they have gotten that down you can play Melt Like a Snowman.

Melt Like a  Snowman

The children stand up straight and tall.  Then start playing high notes and slowly walk your fingers down the keyboard.  As the notes go down the children start melting very slowly like a snowman melting in the sun.  They have to learn to melt slowly.  Don’t go too fast!  My students have fun melting across the floor.

Grow Like a Flower

Once you get to the bottom of the keyboard and your children have melted across the floor, it is time to Grow Like a Flower.

Start at the low notes and start walking up the keyboard.  As you play your children can grow from a tiny seed in the ground, sprout and burst into a flower.

These activities help children identify high and low sounds with high and low body positions.  They are perfect for teachers to use in a classroom setting and simple enough for parents with no musical background to do at home.

Game: Match the Sounds

This "Match the Sound" game helps children listen carefully and pick out differences in the sounds.  The children in my classes have always enjoyed playing it.  It can get messy if they open the eggs quickly.  So be prepared!

Start with a bag of empty Easter eggs.

Gather different objects to put inside the eggs. Ideas: pennies, buttons, beads, beans, rice, cut-up straws, safety pins, barrets and cut-up toothpics. 

Caution:  be careful using small objects with little children!

Fill at least 2 eggs with the same objects.

The Game: Have the children take turns shaking the eggs and finding two that sound the same. Carefully open the eggs to see if they guessed correctly!

Have fun!

For more spring ideas check out the Linky Party hosted by Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do you hear what I hear?

The other evening we were driving home with the classical station playing on the radio when I heard my 4 year old daughter say from the backseat, “That is a flute.”  “That is a cello.”  “That is a violin.”  “That is the flute again.”

She was naming the instruments as they were featured in the song.

I was delighted that she could recognize and name the different instruments.  She is actually paying attention to all the music we play at our house and studio!

You can do this at home!

There are several ways to practice hearing the instruments played in a piece.

One way is to do what my 4 year old did and just start naming all the instruments you hear and recognize.  The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a great one to start with since each section of the orchestra gets featured one at a time.  It is easy to pinpoint which instrument is playing.  Hint:  The first four sections are woodwinds, brass, strings and percussion.

Another way to practice hearing instruments is to pick an instrument and follow it all the way through a song.

My Little Musicians classes really enjoy following the cuckoo clock throughout The Toy Symphony by Leopold Mozart.  I have them raise their hands over their heads every time they hear a cuckoo.  They really enjoy using their bodies!

Another great cuckoo clock song is Polka Francaise by Strauss.  I have the students do a little hop every time they hear the cuckoo clock.

Make it a habit to point out which instrument is playing whenever you listen to music.  You may be listening to rock when there is a guitar solo.  Point it out!  Say, “Listen to that guitar solo!”

When you label the instruments, your child will learn to recognize their sounds and will soon be delighting you with their knowledge of instruments.

Give it a try!

If you enjoyed this you might like Family + Music = Love  and Take a Nature-Sound Walk

Take a Nature-Sound Walk

A good listener is almost always a good speaker and communicator.  So it is important to strengthen a child’s listening skills.

There are so many sounds that we get used to hearing everyday and we eventually stop hearing them.

A fun way to practice listening and reawaken our sense of hearing is to go on a nature sound walk.

You can go for a hike on a bike trail, go to a park or zoo, or take a simple walk through your neighborhood.

As you walk, ask your child what he hears.

Can you hear:

A bird or different types of birds?

A fire truck?

The wind?

Car horns?

Music from a radio?

A train whistle?

Peacocks?

Dogs?

Cats?

Leaves crunching under your feet?

Children love being outside and a great bonus to this activity is spending time with family.  Being in the open air, experiencing nature with a valued mom, dad or other special adult is a healthy and memorable experience for a child.  And practicing listening skills is an added bonus.