Music

Instruction in Solfege continues, as children sing up and down scales with do-re-mi syllables and numbers. Kindergartners enjoy playing rhythm instruments and xylophones, and are able to play as a ‘band’ with their peers as conductors. Children at this age enjoy finding and playing patterns in music. By first moving rhythmic patterns kinesthetically, kindergartners can to hear and reproduce these patterns in their singing and playing.

As emergent readers, kindergartners are also drawn to musical notation - a quarter note is a ‘walk note’ or ‘ta’, eighth notes are ‘running notes’ or ‘ti-tis’, a half note is a ‘long note’ or ‘ta-ah’. Many children enjoy combining these basic notes into patterns for their classmates to perform.

During the year, students spend time with a classical children’s work, such as The Nutcracker Suite or Peter & the Wolf. Instrument families are introduced, and occasionally the kindergarten class welcomes a musician into the classroom to demonstrate his or her instrument to the children.

During the early childhood sing-alongs, kindergartners host the preschool 3’s and 4’s children into their classroom, where they share the joy of singing with each other. On Valentine’s Day, the kindergarten classes also host their families for a Valentine’s Concert.