Dear Little Stars Families,

Music is really in the air in the Little Stars Room as it is currently the focal point of the curriculum. Some books with a music theme read recently include the fun counting book “Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin” by Lloyd Moss with playful illustrations by Marjorie Priceman; the engaging “Boom Bah!” by Phil Cummings with pictures by Nina Rycroft, about a group of animals that make home-made instruments and end up in a marching band; “Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop” by Chris Raschka, a delightfully illustrated book that captures the rhythms of be-bop in its inventive narrative; and the perennial favorite “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin, Jr. Along with these wonderful books, the Little Stars have been singing lots of their favorites – “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “The Wheels on the Bus,” “1-2-3,” “A-B-C” – plus learning a new Spanish song, “La Feria de Cepillin” (trans: “Cepellin’s Fair”), which has in it lots of instruments for the children to pretend to play:

la guitarra – guitar

la trompeta – trumpet

el acordeon – accordion

el piano – piano

el tambor – drum

As I mentioned last week, the Little Stars made their own marching band last Friday, parading through the halls of the Collective and singing “The Wheels on the Bus” for the Rainbows and Bears while playing an array of percussion instruments – drums, maracas, tambourines, etc. They have also been playing a lot of musical chairs – without the removal of any chairs (we don’t want any Little Star to feel left out!) – and having lots of fun scrambling to sit down when the music stops. Some discussions they have had were responses to the questions: “What is your favorite instrument?” – with drums and guitars leading the pack – and “What is your favorite song?” – with “Down By the Bay,” “Down By the Station,” “Elmo the Musical,” “B-I-N-G-O,” and “Frozen” added to the favorites listed above.

Some other activities have included making Musical Drawings by drawing with a crayon on a piece of paper while listening to music and responding to the fast and slow tempos, then switching crayons with a classmate when the music stopped – and adding water colors the next day to fill out the drawings. The Little Stars also made a stage out of blocks and took turns standing on it and singing their favorite songs to their friends.

A couple requests:

1) If your child has any favorite CDs at home, please bring them in for the Little Stars to enjoy! We love to hear everyone’s favorites.

2) Please remember to have your child wash his/her hands when entering the classroom each morning. We’ve had lots of viruses going around, and washing hands is one easy way we can cut down on germs. Thanks!

And finally, Shameka is away this week for vacation, but Molly has been filling in and having a wonderful time with the Little Stars.

Enjoy the week!

Martha