This past week in class we created various rhymes to help teach the class a little bit about ourselves while also learning how to be able to keep a beat. First we performed our rhyme to the class by means of a steady beat which we learned was a constant repetition of sound... Later we were taught how to play our rhymes using a rhythmic pattern which is a combination of short, long, and silent sounds put together. We were given even more practice with these concepts but using our hands to clap the beats of songs such as, "Hey Hey Who's in Town," as well as, "Three Blind Mice." On Friday we switched gears and began learning how to play the recorder. At first it was very hard to play together as a class because not everyone had the same sound but later on we were able to figure it out. We were taught how to play "Three Blind Mice," by using the B, A, & G notes. It was great to begin playing the recorder again because it as been so long since I last played one. I knew how to place my fingers but I was still rusty on which of the notes was what.
There were a few different ways that we gained this knowledge this past week. The past week we were shown what a steady beat was and therefore knew what to play our rhyme to. This week we were mainly taught by demonstration and discussion. The teacher would show us the beat that she wanted us to play and then we would mimic that back using our own rhyme. One student had a very interesting and unique beat to his which led us in to the discussion of what a rhythmic beat is. While we were learning to play the recorder we were shown the different positions that our fingers had to take in order to create the correct sound. Later on we were taught the song that she wanted us to play and the teacher made it very interesting by having the circle play different notes at a time. This gave a chance to see how we could come together while being given different tasks. This really also gave us a chance to get to play each note and see how they all come together.
I think that it is important for us to learn these different get to know you songs because it teaches us how to attempt to make the kids feel comfortable when they walk into the classroom. It allows us to learn how to be more diverse in keeping the kids entertained. The key concepts that we learned such as steady beat and rhythmic pattern are two of the most important when learning the fundamentals of music and serve as the basis to many things that we may need to learn later on. I believe that these ideas help to teach us different ways to expand the elementary education classroom.
I think that it is important for students to be able to learn these concepts and ideas for many different reasons... Music is something that kids will be exposed to for the rest of their lives. Without knowing these simple ideas it will be very hard to continue their music education. Many kids realize that music is something that has a great effect on them and as they get older they like to create their own music as a way to express themselves. I also feel that after seeing how our classroom interacted, I think that this would be great to have the kids be able to work together. They can help each other come up with a rhyme just as we did while also learning how to keep a beat for someone else so that person doesn't feel uncomfortable. However, they would not be able to do this if they didn't learn these concepts early on. I am a little bit confused when it comes to the recorder. Although I do believe that the recorder is a very fun instrument to learn I am not exactly sure why this would be important to have in the classroom unless you were an elementary ed music teacher.

10 Children's Songs:
1) "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"
2) "Row Row Row Your Boat"
3) "ABC's"
4) "I've Been Working on a Railroad"
5) "The Ants Go Marching"
6) "Baby Beluga"
7) "Yankee Doodle"
8) "Bingo"
9) "Down by the Bay"
10)"Wheels on the Bus"