"The arts are an even better barometer of what is happening in our world than the stock market or the debates in Congress."
--Hendrik Willem van Loon,
Dutch-born American historian and journalist
Closing the "Global" Achievement Gap
In Tony Wagner's book, The Global Achievement Gap, he lis
ts 7 survival skills that our kids will need to succeed in the "New World." One of these skills is Curiosity and Imagination. We couldn't agree more. Music is one of the best if not an essential pathway to developing this skill. Daniel Pink states in his book, A Whole New Mind, that developing our capacities for imagination, creativity, and empathy will be increasingly important to our competitive advantage in a future he describes as being "high concept and high touch." Every elementary classroom in every grade needs music in their weekly curriculum!
First Note Homework
Most of us remember homework as something we didn't like, but when you are a Kindergartener and you hear the word "homework," you don't groan. Instead, your eyes light up knowing that you are a big kid now! So we are adding home activities that encourage family members to get involved and share the love of music. For example, after learning how to play the shaker in the classroom, the kinders would be asked to make a shaker out of things they find at home. It helps instill pride in their accomplishment to create something and opens up the possibilities of sounds in our environment. It allows the young learner to view his/her environment with a new found perception while involving family members to play along!
We are also working diligently on matching our Learning Targets in the First Note Curriculum to the National Music Standards.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
