This year practice has been very flexible: do the homework assignment, listen to the CD and sing along, practice the bell songs a few times, and repeat any games and activities from class that you love. You didn't have to record if practice was daily. It was easy and fun!
During these last few weeks, practicing becomes a bit more intense (and still fun); now your child will need to practice exactly the bell songs she's be assigned to perform for the recital. It will be important to practice EVERY day for the week or two leading up to the show. This gentle spurt of effort is a great way to prepare Blue Bugs for the joys of becoming Green Turtles, since they'll be expected to practice at least 5 times/ week. Explore strategies for helping your child enjoy this daily practice now, and get her excited to continue daily practices next fall.
10-Day Practice Log
My daughter is very motivated by coloring, so I designed a 10-day practice log, scheduled to end on the day of the recital. Click on the image to download one for your eager musician. If she plays her songs 3-4 times every day for 10 days, she definitely will be perfectly prepared for the show.
Click the image to download the practice chart.
A Few Things They Learned
The recital is more than just darling children singing songs; it's an opportunity to delightfully reminisce about the fabulous skills they've learned this year! I chose my favorite ten characters to feature in the practice log. Maybe you'll want to revisit their songs as you color in each space. Let's see what they taught us:
Bill Grogan's Goat: We learned how to find a beat, feel the beat internally, and accompany singers on the harp while keeping the beat. We even listened and identified out the common melody notes Sol-La-Ti-Do.
Frog Went Hoppin': We learned how to read leaps on the staff, and play a song with leaps on our bells. We identified the bug-bug-slug rhythm of the ostinato.
Oooo Halloween: We expanded our vocal range and practiced singing with a pleasant head voice. We carried the beat internally and were able to surprise our friends.
Hickety Pickety Bumblebee: We sang a minor 3rd interval (Sol-Mi) on correct pitch and played the song on our bells with 3 different melodic endings that we learned to identify by ear or notation. We learned to play this song in the key of C (Do is C) and F (Do is F).
Jungle Drums: We were able to keep a steady beat while subdividing. We noticed the mathematics of subdividing and played our rhythm while others played different rhythms.
Bug Rhythms: We learned to read rhythms and play them correctly with or without using our voice.
The Dinosaur Song: We learned how to read steps and skips and play this song using steps and skips on our bells. We learned that songs have melody, and we identified and sang the solfeg. **For the dinosaur enthusiasts: Yes, I have been told that dinosaurs of that diplodocus-like shape did NOT have spikes, but all the dinosaurs that DO have spikes are not really shaped for climbing up and sliding down. So, this drawing is a dinosaur dressed up as a stegosaurus for Halloween.**
The Red Balloon: We learned to sing a major scale ascending and descending, and identify a major scale by ear or notation. We learned all the solfeg and accompanying hand signs.
Five Fat Turkeys: We were able to pick out the melody and identify sol-sol-do in this song. We learned to keep the beat while singing and doing hand actions, and we played this song on the autoharp while reading from a chording sheet.
BINGO: We clapped and audiated rhythms, and even identified the bug rhythms used in this song. With careful listening, we discovered the melody, too, and notated the sol-la-ti-do at the end!
Have a wonderful time coloring and I wish you the best at your very first Let's Play Music recital!
-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music Teacher
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