Fun Google Doodle

There is a doodle that celebrates Oskar Fischinger's 117th Birthday.  He was a film maker who created wondering visuals connecting music and art.  Here's the link, I had fun playing with the doodle.  I bet Mrs. Janke would love it too!  Music and art connections happen all of the time.  Do you have any ideas of how music and art are connected?  Send me an email with your ideas!

Dance, Dance, Dance

Have you been moving to music at home?  Do you dance when you hear your favorite song?  Here are some moving ideas:  Play the freeze game, have a family member stop the music and you have to freeze in a statue shape!  When you make your statue experiment with the components below.

• Balance- which body parts are in contact with the floor?
• Facing- which direction is your body facing?  Is your head facing the same direction?
• Levels- which level of space are you exploring with your body?

Next try exploring balance, facing and levels when you are moving!  In this video, Someone You Loved, The Piano Guys have added dancers.  Watch as the dancers explore different levels, different facings, and balance.  It's so beautiful!  I hope you enjoy it.

  

Peter and the Wolf

Hi Lakeshore!  We study Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev in first grade so many of you have acted out the story and learned about the instruments in the orchestra.  Here is a beautiful video of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performing this popular story.  Enjoy Peter and the Wolf.

Dream Drum Girl

Hi Lakeshore!  Today's post is a book called Dream Drum Girl by Margarita Engle which is based on a real person,  Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, Cuba's first female drummer.  Listen to the story first, then listen to her group play in the video below.

Dance with the Piano Guys!

Hello Lakeshore!  Today, I want you to show off your dance moves!  I miss dancing with you!

Lullabies

Hi Lakeshore!
I bet you know what a lullaby is?  If you are thinking, "It's a song to help you fall asleep," you are correct!  Here are a few lullabies you can listen to and sing a-long.

In Lady, Lady, I like to use a shaker instrument to add a sweeping sound.  At school we use goat hoof rattles, at home we have to make do, see what you have around your house to create the soft swishing sound.  I found a little bag with metal marbles in it and an egg shaker.

This lullaby, Hush Little Baby, is special to me because my mother sang it to me when I was a little girl.  I remember sitting in her lap in a rocking chair and laying my head on her chest.  I could hear her heart beating and her voice reverberating as she sang!  Grab a plush animal or doll and rock it to sleep as you listen and sing a-long.

I love this old song, Mama, Buy Me a China Doll.  This song is about a country girl who sees a doll she can't afford in a peddler's cart.  The doll has a face made from porcelain, or china.  Have you seen a fancy cup and saucer, or a china tea set?  These toys would have been very breakable, this was before plastic was invented!  Liza Lou, the girl in the song, tells her mother how they could afford the doll.  It's a silly, yet heart warming tale.  If you would like to make a rag doll like the one I was using in the song watch this video on how to make your own, no sew rag doll out of scrap fabric and string.  Pioneer Rag Doll

Fun Group

Have you heard of the group Walk Off the Earth?  They take popular songs and add their own twist to them.  Here are some fun videos to view.  In the video, High Hopes , they have used some unusual instruments.  Can you find them-  there's a gigantic thumb piano, a theremin (which follows the movement of your hands) and an instrument I've never seen before that Gabriela calls Gary!  What!!!

In this video they aren't playing any instruments, just having a contest Hold On.    Enjoy