What is that sound? Part 2

For the past Tuesday and Thursday afternoons the children have been exploring sounds.  We have been comparing many different types of materials and coming up with plans for creating new mediums for making sounds.  In our research we studied atypical instruments and many made with common materials.  We saw pictures of drums made out of garbage bins and violins made from tin cans.  It was fun to figure out what the instruments were made from. 

Through this investigation, the children seemed to have an interest in videos and pictures of instruments made out of pvc pipes.  We have used pvc pipes to test out motion of marbles and water, making mazes, and connecting like puzzles, but we never thought to test out sound.  This seemed like a good idea to the children.  We started to research pipe instruments and became overwhelmed with what we saw!  

We finally came up with a plan of what we wanted to pursue.  

We made a list of what we would need

1.  8 straight pipes

2.  lots of curved pieces

3.  2 pieces of wood

4.  tape to put it all together

From there, we went to work.  We spent 3 days of putting the pieces together.  I did not have the time to go to the hardware store to get 2 pieces of wood, so we used what we had.  The end results were pretty amazing!

After the children finished and were satisfied with the results, I took it home to secure it.  After explaining to the children what was done (with a drill!) we were ready to get to work.  We discussed changes that were made to the instrument.  We drew our experiences on paper.  We shared our stories as a group.  I think the part that was most exciting with the children was the creation of the instrument.  Those ideas were shared the most.  The children went back to stories of how they used tape, how they connected the pieces, and how they arranged everything.  The fact that what they built could make noise was just an added bonus!

"loud pipes are the bigger pipes.  Smaller pipes are softer sounds."

"The pipes are big and then small.  They make noise."

"Long pipes"

So make sure to stop by the ECEC Program Exhibit on the 16th from 5-6:30 to test out the instrument and see what else we have been up to!

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 

Watercolor Painting

Many of you have probably seen the work your children have been doing with watercolor painting.  Last semester we focused on the strokes and movements our brushes made and how we used them with different shapes of paper.  

Rectangle

After exploring first with this new shape of paper, I noticed the children exploring their space.  To do this, they used long lines.  It is a quick and easy way to go from one end of the paper to the other.  I wondered if making lines was easy for them as they were getting used to the materials. 

“Look, look, lines!”

“I make lines like this!”

“My water is turning black.”

Square

I decided on something less long for the next shape to see if lines would be as significant.  What I saw were lines, but also an exploration of “marks.”  I saw some dots, splotches, and collections of paint.   It was interesting to compare the strategies of each child now that they had two examples of work to compare.  This was something that was carried on throughout this exploration.

“I like drawing snakes.”

“My paint is falling down.”

Circle

After seeing more lines, I was beginning to think the edges of the paper was having a large effect on the technique.  What I saw with circles was of course, more circular marks.  It was obvious the children were inspired by the paper because they mimicked it with paint.  What were straight lines, turned to curved ones.  I saw dots, splotches, and circular collections of paint.  Some children experimented with the defined bottom/top of their paper by twisting  it around as they worked.  The children had a lot to say.

“I make dots, big and blue.”                  “Do you like my circles?”

“I did a circle when I did this.”                “I’m painting a laugh.”

“I’m going to draw the circles like the paper.”

Triangle

Seeing the children experimenting with the edge of their paper and the absence of a defined top/bottom made me think of a triangle.  It was long, it had edges, and deciding on which edge to “use” was up to the painter.  Here I saw a lot of experimentation with the space.  Children used many of the strategies at once in their own way. 

“I like to paint all the colors together.”

“I made circles and lines.”

“I’m making a triangle!”

With this knowledge under our belts from last semester, I have seen more "creations" with the materials instead of random marks.  The children have started talking about making more than just patterns.  

Now that we mostly know how to use the materials, we can get started on becoming more intentional with our strokes.  Even starting to plan our paintings.

I have started this process by asking the children what they would like to paint a picture of each time they come to the table.  This helps them become more aware of a plan.  Some children have an idea in mind, and others do not talk about it or might not have an idea.  This comes in time.  My hope is that with more discussions and individual attention, the children will be able to become more aware of their work with these materials.

Some of our work so far:

What is that sound?

Instruments have been a big hit in our classroom since the beginning of the semester with certain groups of children.  That idea of sound has been carrying on to our Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.  We have been exploring what it is that makes the best sounds.  We have been looking at more specifically, the type of material that makes sound.  

Ms. Camardese and I have been inspired by these interests and have been looking into the idea of creating our own group instruments for everyone to use.  These afternoons we have been getting together to explore this idea of materials and sound.  Starting with metal, the loudest material we could think of!

We chose familiar materials like keys, pans, tongs, and triangles.  This gave the children the chance to reflect on what they knew about these sounds already.  We compared them with materials we did not know much about like tuning forks, wind chimes, and metal xylophones.

While asking the children to describe their thoughts, we discovered it was harder than it looked.  The children just enjoyed the moment, testing out different sounds with different materials.  Metal pans made a clanging, while tuning forks made more of a ringing sound.  We could hear the vibration!  Overall, the metal sound was loud and sharp.

It was hard to describe with our words, but I could already see the children starting to form their opinions on what materials they liked the most.  In order to create instruments, we need to know what type of materials produce what kind of sounds.  Our intention is to explore other materials and what kind of sound relationships can be formed.

Welcome back!

Welcome back!

New semesters bring new changes.  For the next few months we have a group of new teachers in our classroom.  Ms. Haleigh Sluschewski is here on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Ms. Nawal Darwish is here on Wednesdays.  Ms. Alina Schmidli is here on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  And Ms. Iman Kattan is here on Fridays.  Four new interns with 4 focused projects!  Take a moment to check in with them to see what they have been working on with your children.  Hopefully blog posts will be coming soon from them.

We are continuing our work with instruments and focusing on guitars.  One of the things we have been discussing is where the sound comes from.  It seems to be a mystery right now and maybe we will get some answers soon.



Light is a new idea that we are exploring some days.  Manipulating the light with various materials has been the start of something quite interesting.  What does it mean to be transparent?  How can we make the light move?

I am introducing the idea of painting with different types of paint brushes.  We have been building many things with blocks, and starting on the idea of making different types of sound with various materials.  

There have been a lot of investigations happening and soon we will go into more detail of each of them.  

Stay warm and enjoy the snow!