First grade week of 9.12-9.16

We practiced our stand-up song and warmed up, then we practiced "Santa Lucia" with hand movements to help the kids get the words into their heads. Once we finished it (and they NAILED it!), we listened to "Nila, Nila," a Tamil folk song we'll begin working on next week. We listened to the melody as we'll sing it, then we listened to a Tamil version with the same words but very different melody. At the end of class, the kids who demonstrated the best RISE behavior helped demonstrate how to play some percussion instruments. They showed us basic quarter-note rhythms and educated us on the concepts of slow/fast and loud/soft. (Don't know what RISE behavior is? Ask your kids to tell you more.)