We ‘visit’ four natural environments (two per semester): The Home,
Woodland, Cattail Marsh, and Meadow. Using these themes we cultivate the
child’s musical development through songs, tonal and rhythm patterns,
poetry and stories, movement activities, listening games, instrumental play
and manipulative games. Rudimentary music skills such as pitch matching,
beat competency, ensemble development, and music notation are
developed using sounds taken from the child’s home environment and
natural surroundings. We focus on training the ear, coordinating body and
voice, establishing fundamental musical proficiency, and building skills that
impact all academic learning.
We do this by dramatizing folk tales, introducing the instruments of the
orchestra, and developing ensembles to cultivate self-discipline and social
skills. This promotes independent and group involvement, and establishes a
foundation for music literacy. The year develops incrementally.
