Some additions to the programme this week included exploring ‘low’ and ‘high’ voices through animal puppets. This is helpful as children learn to use their higher voices for singing

Feet Feet is a fun rhyme that helps with beat keeping. Most of the children are not yet keeping the beat in their feet, and we don’t name it ‘beat’ until they have reached this developmental stage. Instead, we call it ‘keeping in time’ and ask them to ‘match their feet to mine’. This is part of the Kodaly approach to never name an element until the children can actually demonstrate competency and understanding of it. They need to experience an element before it is named.

The lycra is a favourite for the children, and the game ‘Waves on the Sea’ is very useful for learning the concept of high and low. Of course, this is really a metaphor, because music is not really ‘high’ and ‘low’. It consists of large slower, or smaller, faster frequencies, so it is no wonder children need help to learn this abstract concept.

We did another rhyme/song combination, great for beat keeping and fun, Mix a Pancake, and One Crispy Pancake. (See week one for the reason we use rhyme/song combinations).

The other new rhyme was ‘I had a Little Pig’. The children are echoing simple patterns with one or two sounds on a beat. It was an opportunity for me to assess how they managed that. (They did well!)

Nikki Berry