Tag Archives: music

Expressive Arts

Musical mornings!

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Today was a musical morning at Cart Mill. We have been learning all about percussion. We have learned that a percussion instrument is an instrument that makes a sound when it is hit, shaken or scraped. We have been using our information sheet to help us learn which instruments are part of the percussion section.
We had a look in our instruments baskets and picked the percussion instrument we wanted to play.

The xylophone was the most popular choice and we all took turns playing it.

We discussed how each instrument should be played. Do we hit, shake or scrape them?

Next we experimented with the sounds each instrument made. Was it a loud sound? Was it a nice sound?

We discussed pitch, rhythm and tempo. We played our percussion instruments fast, slow, and softly.

We followed the instructions of the conductor just like in an orchestra so that we knew when to play.

We sang songs and made our very own Cart Mill percussion band.
What other instruments can you think of that are percussion instruments?

Expressive Arts

Let’s make banjos!

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Today the children were super creative and made their very own banjos!

We gathered all the resources needed and got started. Music ignites all areas of child development so why not create our own musical instruments to play.

First we glued the lollipop sticks together then coloured and decorated them.

“I’m going to make it a rainbow”

Then we painted the lids

“I’ve painted it my favourite colour”

Lastly we used elastic bands to put around the lids.

“It’s tricky”

The children’s end product! Fantastic!

”this sounds cool”

There are many benefits to making your own musical instruments, some of them include:

  • Increases and develops pride and self-esteem
  • Enhances and promotes creativeness and self-expression
  • Rhythm and coordination
  • Fine and gross motor development
Expressive Arts

Shake, shake rattle and roll!

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The children have been buy in the studio creating their own musical instruments .

The children wanted to create different sounds and used everyday ingredients to make their shakers.

They were developing their hand to eye coordination as they carefully filled the bottles, using spoons and funnels.

The children were experimenting and comparing sizes, describing capacity using  full and empty and describing weight using heavy and light.

We decided to number the bottles and the children were singing “10 green bottles sitting on a wall”

The children enjoyed singing and dancing using the shakers to create sound and music.

Can you hear us play ?

Expressive Arts, News, Outdoor Learning

Outdoor fun!

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Today the children in the discovery room were enjoying the fresh air in the garden. They had great fun at the woodwork bench using the tools. With the protective gloves on the children loved hammering and they were developing their fine motor skills using the screwdrivers. Great fun was had at the new music wall. The children quickly noticed that hitting the pots with a wooden spoon made a different sound from hitting them with a metal spoon! As always the motto was ‘the louder the better’! We definitely have future musicians at Cart Mill!!

 

 

Expressive Arts

The Studio Band!

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Today in the Studio the children were experimenting with music! One child had been talking about pipe bands and playing the “big drums”.  We put pipe band music on the active board for the children to listen to and watch. They then had a shot of playing the instruments and tried to play and march in time to the music. The drums were definitely a favourite choice! Playing the drums is calming for children. Playing musical instruments allows the children to express their emotions and develop their coordination whilst having great fun! The Studio band was very loud and great fun was had by all!