October 2025: Music

Dear Grade Families, 

We’ve covered a lot of ground on our musical journey around the world! Our first theme was animal songs, and now we’ve moved into autumn songs.  Some of the students’ favorite activities include playing a calypso beat to “Tingalayo” from Jamaica, dancing a chicken dance and singing in Arabic to “Ha Seessan” from Lebanon and Syria, playing the German circle game to “Häschen in der Grube”, dancing a folk dance to the Welsh song “The Ash Grove” and dancing with a parachute to “Arirang” from Korea. Other highlights included Kurt Kistler coming to share his family’s instrument collection with the students, Ki Pri spending a day with the class as they became Foley artists and set sounds to picture books, and the many wonderful student performances during our Spotlight days. 

Looking forward, First Grade students are practicing their songs in preparation for the approaching Lantern Walk, and First Grade parents are invited to come sing these songs with us during class on October 29 from 10:45 am to 11:30 am. First graders and Second/Third graders also begin playing their penny whistles and recorders this week. The Fourth and Fifth graders are making progress on ukulele, and the Middle Schoolers are advancing on guitar and beginning their first bucket drumming piece. We look forward to sharing our music with our families during Lantern Walk and Thanksgiving Luncheon! 

Warmly, 

Stephanie