Making Musical Art

Today we managed to avoid the rain by going to the park and taking our snack with us for a special picnic. We knew it was going to rain later and so as soon as we arrived we put on a smock and completed our morning jobs super fast! On the table we saw lots of card tubes, straws, markers and tape. Ayaka then showed us how to make a special whistle instrument using the cardboard tube and straw. The tube had a square hole in the side which gave us a clue about how to make some music with it. First we used the markers to decorate the card tube. Some of us even drew musical notes on the side which made them look good. Next we used the tape to attach the straw near the square hole and squashed one end of the straw so that it made a sound when we blew through it. It was real fun and we made a musical instrument we can play anytime we wish. Nile, Kai and Lucinda enjoyed using the musical instruments on the small table especially the castanets and harmonica. On the main carpet area Jeremy, Wesley and Lucinda played ‘Twister’ with a little help from their friends so they could use their left and right hands. After a quick tidy up we went to the park and had our snack together before playing in the sandbox, on the slide and on the swings. Jeremy, Kai and Kosei enjoyed washing the toy truck in the park and came back many times to the tap to get more water. We did our calendar today and then in a small circle we practiced doing one note on our instruments, then two and also practiced watching the way the teachers used their hands like a conductor to stop the music. Ayaka then showed us a special art and music activity on the table. For this activity we needed to move our bodies in time with the music. We saw there was a tray of water with some special inks and paper. We put on some slow, gentle music and then chose 3 colored ink each. We dropped a few drops of ink onto the water surface and it floated. Using a chopstick we stirred the ink slowly in time to the music and then dropped a sheet of paper onto the surface of the water. When we removed the paper from the water it left a beautiful pattern on the paper. We will use the paper to make a ‘Father’s Day’ card before the weekend. While a few of us were marbling the paper the rest of us were playing a listening game on the table where we had to listen through headphones for particular sounds. On the cards were lots of pictures of things that make sounds including: a cow, a cat, lightning, a baby crying, a man snoring, a motorbike, a helicopter etc. When we heard the sound we looked at our card and if we had the sound and picture we could place a counter on the card. We played a similar game with nursery rhymes too. Have a great afternoon,