Peter and the Wolf

Playing a matching game with our "Peter and the Wolf" character and instrument cards.

Peter and the Wolf visuals that I made....in the musical story each character is represented by a particular instrument. They used these cards to help them as they played the matching game.

A closer view of the matching cards I made.

Playing with some instruments

Using some extra time to make musical patterns.

I am leaving town on Friday to head back to Indiana. My dad is dying of leukemia...a long-fought battle that he braved with the greatest of courage and patience. We are going home to say our goodbyes. Kevin and the girls will stay for a week....I will stay until he passes, so I plan on being gone for the rest of October. I will miss my Klassical Kids sooo much. They bring joy to my mornings. For the Tuesday and Wednesday class we will be learning all about "Peter and the Wolf"...a fun musical story by Sergei Prokofiev.

A new week!

New Composer Notebook!

This week our focus will be Haydn and his "Surprise Symphony". It is going to be a fun week of learning dynamics....forte (loud) and piano (soft). and I finally got real binders for the kids...they have been asking for them the past couple of weeks. The paper folders have lasted a month, now they are ripping and not too cute. So, I am ready for some musical fun!

Benjamin Britten's, "Playful Pizzacato"

Our composer of the week was Benjamin Britten. He wrote a fun song called, "Playful Pizzacato". Pizzacato is the term used to describe plucking a stringed instrument. The children had fun playing on my little lap harp. They understood what pizzacato meant and I had fun hearing them try to say it... I did apologize to the moms for any variations of the word, 'pizzacato' that might come out of their children's mouths! : )

So, in honor of "Playful Pizzacato", we had "Play Day"...we did musical activities that were all about playing and having fun. I think we were successful.

While listening to "Playful Pizzacato" the children followed a listening map to help them hear the different parts of the song. Afterwards they made their own 'listening maps' and we had fun using instruments to play their music.

Making a listening map....then the children follow the map to know what instruments to play.

Coloring their favorite thing to play while listening to music.

Throwing balls into the cans ...part of our 'play day'

Playing hard and having lots of fun!

Playing instruments using her 'map'

Beethoven's "Ode To Joy"

This week at Klassical Kids we listened to Beethoven's, "Ode To Joy". What a fun time we had!

We were all about feelings: I read a book to the children about feelings, we 'jumped for joy', we made our own book of feelings. We also learned about quarter notes and how to draw them. The children were fantastic at this! They each got to play their pattern with their rhythm sticks. It is amazing what these kids can do.

Next week will be "Play Day" as we listen to Benjamin Britton's, "Playful Pizzicato".

Making quarter notes

Using Rhythm sticks to

play his quarter note pattern.

Making quarter notes.

Playing, "Follow the Leader"

with patterns on our drums.

quarter notes...

Taking a snack break!

Hard at work on quarter notes

Our little book we made:

Showing off some

great quarter notes!

Making musical patterns

with quarter notes.


making quarter notes.

Drawing Quarter Notes on the staff.

As they listened to "Ode to Joy"

tey drew in the 'feelings' book.

Claude Debussy: "Golliwog's Cakewalk"

Pretending to be toys in a toybox.

We had to do this activity twice, due to popular demand!

Upcoming Class Themes

Here is a look at what is to come this month at Klassical Kids...

Claude Debussy's, "Golliwog's Cakewalk"
'Bring a friend' week. Bring your favorite stuffed animal to do our cakewalk with!

Gustav Holst's, "Jupiter"
We will do activities having to do with space.

Zoltán Kodály, "Viennese Musical Clock"
Having fun with all things time-related!

New Montly Fee

In order to make Klassical Kids a little more budget friendly, there is a new montly fee. Each class will be $5.00....so, the monthly fee will range between $15-$25 a month (depending on the number of weeks per month). I am doing this class because I love to teach music...it is my passion. I hope this fee change helps you out.

The kids loved watching video clips of the 'Carnival of the Animals' songs on my computer. It was a fun way to introduce the different songs to them.

Heidi made a 'pin the tail on the turtle' game for our party. She also made a great 'Carnival of the Animals' sign. She was a great helper to me during the month. With Sierra being homeschooled this year, due to Chronic Fatigue, she is going to be my helper for the upcoming school year. The kids are going to love her.

For our Carnival of the Animals party the children got to pick their favorite activities to do. The 'balance beam' was a huge hit. They can walk across it forwards, backwards, sideways, and other silly ways that are too complicated to write about.

Along with the rythym sticks the children made rythym cards. With these they can make their rythym patterns to practice at home.

Trying out his newly decorated rythym sticks.

Enjoying snacks during our 'Carnival of the Animals' party.

The kids got to decorate rythym sticks to take home.

2008-2009 Schedule

Here is the schedule for the 2008-2009 school year. As long as I have room in each class I will continue to add students throughout the year.

August
Tuesday Class: 5,12,19,26
Wednesday Class: 6,13,20,27
Friday Class: 8,15,22,29

September
Tuesday Class: 2,9,16,23,30
Wednesday Class: 3,10,17,24
FridayClass: 5,12,19,26

October
Tuesday Class: 7,14,21,28
Wednesday Class: 1,8,15,22,29
Friday Class: 3,10,17,24,31

November
Tuesday Class: 4,11,18,
Wednesday Class: 5,12,19
FridayClass: 7,14,21

December
Tuesday Class: 2,9,16
Wednesday Class: 3,10,17
Friday Class: 5,12,19

January
Tuesday Class: 13,20,27
Wednesday Class: 14,21,28
Thursday Class: 16,23,30

February
Tuesday Class: 3,10,17,24
Wednesday Class: 4,11,18,25
Friday Class: 6,13,20,27

March
Tuesday Class: 3,10,17,31
Wednesday Class: 4,11,18
Friday Class: 6,13,20

April
Tuesday Class: 7,14,21,28
Wednesday Class: 1,8,15,22,29
Friday Class: 3,10,17,24

May
Tuesday Class: 5,12,19,26
Wednesday Class: 6,13,20,27
Friday Class: 1,8,15,22,29

Klassical Kids Registration

2008-09 School Year

Ages:For preschool children ages 3-5

Class days/times:
Tuesdays: 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Wednesday: 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Fridays: 9:00-10:00 a.m.
(pick the class day you prefer)

Class Fee:
$35.00 a month

Class Description:This is a once a week music class that will continue through the 2008-09 school year.Each week we will learn about a new composer and their music.Sign up now for classes beginning in August.Email me at: Betsy.pace@us.army.mil for registration form.

Rhythm Cards

This week I gave each child some rhythm cards. They made up their own pattern of 'strike' or 'silent'. They got to perform their pattern for the class using the rhythm sticks. They also enjoyed being the conductor while the class played their rhythm pattern.

Jingle Bell Freeze Dance

Yesterday the children made jingle bell bracelets. They did a great job following directions as they put them together. After the bracelets were made we played Freeze Dance with the jingle bells. Everytime the music stopped the children had to 'freeze' in whatever postition they were in.

Walking the Plank

Yesterday we listened to Saint-Saens, "The Aquarium". As part of our water-themed day the children 'walked the plank' as they listened to the music. This was a big hit. They worked on balancing skills and took turns being the leader.

Klassical Kids

What a joy these little ones are! They are so smart, funny, and very well behaved. They are like a happy dose of sunshine.

Coloring Concert

We had a 'Coloring Concert' while listening to "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens. The children are learning basic facts about this composer. They may need a little prompting, but they can tell you his name by looking at his picture, where he was born, when he was born, and what instrument he played. During our coloring concert we had to stay quiet...just like we would if we went to an actual orchestra concert. They did a great job!

Square Jumping

Last we had fun with 'Square Jumping'. For this activity we listened to "Baby Kangaroo". The children jumped according to my directions....inside the square, outside the square, forward, backwards, etc...

Learning About Rhythm

Last week we started learning about rhythm. We used our 'stop' and 'go' cards to make rhythm patterns. The kids did an amazing job following the patterns!! They learned to strike their rhythm sticks when I pointed to the 'go' sign and to put their rhythm sticks in silent position when I pointed to the 'stop' sign.

Musical Maggie

At our first class we talked about different ways our bodies can make music. We assembled 'Musical Maggie' on the board as we talked about each body part.

Lion Orchestra

The children had fun following the conductor as they played their rhythm instruments.