Drum Explorations: Ms. Kattan's curriculum letter

Hello, my name is Iman Kattan and I am an intern in your child’s classroom this semester. I am in the classroom all day Friday. As an intern, I am learning how to run a classroom and interact with students. I regularly write and plan lessons for the children in the classroom. So far, I’ve observed that the children in the classroom really enjoy making music with instruments. As a student teacher, I take children’s interest and plan lessons around it. The children have been doing small group activities planned around music, instruments and movements. So far, the children have explored different size drums, finger cymbals, and guitars with another intern. The children are learning the concept of rhythm, performing, pitch, beats and movement.

The big idea for our lessons on music and movement is to develop children’s knowledge about how to manipulate sound using instruments. The implementation of previous lessons included children exploring different size drums and finger cymbals. The children have been experimenting with sound and movement. We have been doing the inquiry lessons in the gross motor room, so the children have lots of room to move instruments and their bodies to make music. Some of the children have moved instruments around to see how it affected the sound produced. They noticed that the sound changes when they hit it with a different amount of force and angle. The children also danced while they played instruments and moved their bodies. They experimented with the concept of loud and soft sounds. They used different methods to make soft and loud sounds. They used more force to create louder sounds and less to make softer sounds. I have observed children using their bodies to make sound. They used their hands and fingers to make sounds. I plan to expand children’s learning by planning future lessons on making sounds with different tools. Some of the materials I plan to provide include bells, straws, and different size drumsticks. The children will be able to test out different materials and how they change the sounds produced. The children were engaged and explored the instruments by making music, moving their bodies and singing along. They noticed the amount of force they used affected the sound projected by the instrument. The children worked on their fine and large motor skills while working with the instruments. They also learned to differentiate between loud and soft sounds. To further this learning, the children will continue to explore sounds, movements with instruments. In the next lesson we will explore different materials including small and large rocks, sea shells, and feathers. They will use these materials to see how they can change the sound produced by the drum. For future lessons I plan to talk about the lessons with parents and encourage them to join us. I will start the discussion when I see them at drop off and pick up. Family members can continue and extend the experience by finding different materials they have at home and experimenting with them. This lesson was constructed with the ECEC’s preference for the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. This insures that the all the lessons planed are hands on and created with child’s interest in mind. 

Mrs. Schmidli's Curriculum Newsletter

Dear Caregivers and Parents,

My name is Alina Schmidli and I am one of the winter interns who has been working with your children on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Sarah Kurtjian’s class. After spending some time with the children I noticed there was an interest in light. This all started when a student turned the classroom lights on and off. In the first lesson, I brought flashlights and a variety of tools children could use. I wanted to see why the children were interested in the light. We looked at using mirrors, magnatiles, and a tile with the light. Once the students had their lights, they began to shine them all over different surfaces. The children were looking at the effect of the light. This is where I believe the children were interested in manipulating the light with various tools. They realized the light switch controlled the light. They tried to use the magnatiles to change the color of the light. The children also noticed when you shine the flashlight in the mirror you could see yourself and the light.

             For my second lesson, I decided to have the children look at the magnatiles on the light table. The children were very interested to see what was going to happen with the light table. Once the children got to the learning center, they were asking about the flashlights. I told them we were looking at transparent objects on the light table. A lot of the children noticed when they put their hands over the magnatiles it would change the color on their hands. A child was able to tell me she noticed when you put the red magnatile on the light table it caused the light to be red. Others were interested to see what happened when they put their feet and hands on the light table. Some of the children noticed the solid magnatiles weren't casting a light like the other magnatiles. They noticed these magantiles were different.

             I believe the children are looking at ways to cover up or stop the light from shining. I plan to extend on student's ideas by providing children with an opportunity to block the light with sand. We are going to be exploring the following questions, “How can we cover up the light? Is there a way we can make it so we cannot see the light?” This activity will help children to see ways they can stop a light from shining. Students will be able to understand that for every cause there is an effect. This exploration will help children better understand how light can shine through different materials by observing and engaging in the learning activities. A provocation I want to explore is looking at paper, paint, play dough and fabric to see how these different tools affect the way we can cover up the light.     

            The ECEC works on ways we can focus on partnership and collaboration. We would love it if you would come in and be a part of some of our learning projects. Please feel free to volunteer in our classroom or use this project as a scavenger hunt to find materials in your house we could use. Here are a to few suggestions of materials you can bring, (plastic cups, disco ball, light up items, mini lights, tap lights, Christmas lights, flashlights, or any other see through materials). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me or Mrs. Kurtjian.

Winter 2014 Curriculum: Ms. Sluschewski

Hello! My name is Ms. Sluschewski and I am the intern in Ms. Kurtjian’s classroom on Monday and Wednesday! My responsibilities include collaborating with the teaching team on curriculum decisions, planning and implementing lessons, and working with your children on various projects throughout the term. 

I noticed an interest in instruments, music, dancing, and performing when I entered the classroom. It is a constant parade in here! The children had little experience with string instruments before this semester, so I thought it would be beneficial to introduce them to the guitar. We began talking about the strings, how they made sound, and if we could make different sounds with the strings. After intense exploration and experimentation, the children concluded you could make different sounds if you plucked or strummed on different strings. Next we talked about the frets. The children wondered what they were for and how we could use them. We watched several videos about frets and took turns pressing down on the frets to create even more sounds. Our next point of interest is the sound hole. Many of the children think something must be inside the hole helping it make music. Our guesses so far include a sound bug or a ball. We will be exploring the sound hole in the next couple of weeks to identify its’ purpose and role in sound production. 

Throughout the exploration, their vocabulary has grown more sophisticated and their explanations of how the guitar creates sound has developed greatly. Their curiosity has evolved into full-blown interest as we discover how to play the guitar, create different sounds, and perform. 

What started as a learning group of a few children has turned into a Monday and Wednesday class exploration. We watch videos, read books, draw interpretations, and work with our guitar every week, as we become musical masters. I encourage you to talk more with your child about string instruments-particularly guitars, and contribute to our exploration any way you feel comfortable. They love sharing what we are learning and will give you a lesson or two about creating sounds with a guitar!

In the picture above, notice the children turning the tuning knobs on the guitar and plucking and strumming the strings. 

We spent a few weeks focusing on pushing the frets down on the guitar while strumming to create different sounds! 

Our favorite way to use the guitars is to "rock out." The children love shaking their heads, making crazy facial expressions, and acting like a rockstar. 

Please let us know if you have 

any musical instruments you 

would like to donate to our 

classroom collection, any wisdom 

or knowledge about music you 

would like to share with us, or 

if you would like to come in and 

observe any of our lessons! We

would love your participation and 

always value your collaboration. 


Check out the

documentation panels throughout 

the room if you’re interested in 

reading and learning more about 

our guitar exploration! I also have 

drawings and observation notes I 

would love to share with you- just 

let me know!


-Ms. Sluschewski