2nd Grade Music Classroom 

I have to apologize. This post comes MUCH later than I originally intended! Life sure does get busy here at MLE. But, here we go...

The 2nd graders have been working on several new concepts this year in music. Here is a quick overview of what they have learned! 

Our first few weeks of school found us working on past concepts of quarter notes and rests and paired eighth notes which helped us transition to our brand new note: Half Notes! We learned that these notes are longer than quarter notes and get 2 beats of sound!

We continued work on independent singing and part work and can now sing a round successfully in 3 parts. A musical round occurs when multiple voices sing a song in unison but begin at different times so that different points in the melody coincide. We sang and played with songs such as Sally Go Round the Sun, Row Row Row your Boat, and Now We'll make the Rafters Ring!

Ostinato is an all new concept for 2nd graders this year. An ostinato is a rhythmic and/or melodic pattern that repeats itself. Students improvised and composed their own ostinati while we worked on this new concept. Classes were even able to vote on and pick their individual themes for their ostinati compositions!

Our most recent adventure has taught us the most advanced rhythmic concept yet... The sixteenth note! Students are now familiar with its name, its rhythmic duration, how to count it and how to read it! We have been experiencing 16th notes through the use of several different flashcards, folk songs, a folk dance, and a new game called "KA-BOOM!" that the kids are begging to play each day! 

Please feel free to ask your students about this new game at home and see what they think! :) 

The 2nd grade music classes have been growing into strong musicians all year and will continue to prepare for new 3rd grade concepts next year as the school days draw to an end! 

ALL PARENTS: Please keep posted, as next week we will be utilizing Boomwhackers across all classrooms in K-2 music! It is sure to be a bright and colorful time! :)

***For more information on Boomwhackers, please see the following post from last year which offers a complete explanation!

Enjoy the up and coming spring weather! 

Musically yours,

Mrs. Abby Hoselton

Shoo Turkey!

As the Holiday season is upon us, please enjoy this Turkey themed activity we enjoyed in Kindergarten music class last week!

Thank you!

1st and 2nd Grade Parents and Families,

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my deepest thank you to all who were in attendance at last nights Holiday program. Your presence and kind attention to concert etiquette where greatly appreciated!

I do not have words for how proud I am of my students and the music they made last night and it would not have been possible without your kind and respectful demeanor.

Thank you again for allowing my students to feel successful in their performance and thank you for your respect as an audience member!

With great appreciation and gratitude,
Abby Hoselton

Holiday Program Decision

Thank you again to all of the families who responded to our Holiday Program RSVP. After tallying the totals and discussing it with Mrs. Harlan, it was decided that we keep the program in the Gymnasium this year.

The concert is on Thursday, December 3rd at 6:30 PM in the HS Gymnasium.
**1st and 2nd grade will be performing on this concert as 3rd grade is now taught by Mrs. Nelson and gets their own concert date in the Spring months!

Thank you again for all of your assistance in making this decision! A note will be sent in the coming Wednesday Folders regarding details about the concert night!


Thank you again,
Abby Hoselton

Holiday Program

Thank you so much for your kind responses to our RSVP to the Holiday Concert. The numbers that we received back were extremely helpful in making our final decision. A note will be going home next week with further information about the who's, what's, and (most importantly) where's of this years Holiday Program. Thank you again for your support and responses.

`Mrs. Abby Hoselton 

What's happening in the Music Classroom - 1st Grade 

The 1st grade Music classes are stepping into true musical learning with Rhythms!

We are currently preparing to name and practice Quarter Notes and Eighth Notes! We have sang several songs and played several games preparing us for this new concept by simply introducing the different sounds we hear in each pattern of music. This past week, students have been singing songs and identifying if each beat in the song has "one sound"(quarter Note) or "two sounds"(paired eighth notes). We use Beat Charts on the SMARTboard to help us identify these sounds using pictures, as seen below!

Students sing through our songs as a class and individuals place the proper beat pictures onto each beat line. We then clap and say the song together with the completed beat chart to check for correctness.

Students are doing a fantastic job and I am excited by the quick progress they are making!
Next week we will name these "one" and "two" sound concepts with the words "Ta" and "Ti-ti" - Kodaly syllables used to help students count and understand rhythms.

We also continue to review the classroom rules daily and welcome each other into the room by singing the echo song "Hello There". Ask your child to sing this song for you at home! We are starting to have students sing a solo and be the leader of this echo song and they are all doing such a fantastic job!


1st grade is starting out so strongly and musically! I cannot wait to see where we go this year! :)
Mrs. Hoselton



*2nd grade parents! Stay tuned (no pun intended) into my blog where next week, we will be exploring the 2nd grade music classroom! :)

Starting out Strong!

We are getting off to a GREAT start at Maple Lake in the Music Classroom. I have K, 1st, and 2nd Grade musicians this year who are all working hard and having fun! 

Kindergarten:

In Kindergarten Music, we are focusing on finding our singing voices. We do this by vocalizing from high to low and back again. I have a Bumble Bee friend who visits our class daily to help us vocalize our voices. We follow our Bee friend's path up and down with our voices on a "bzzzzzzz" sound. The students love our little Bee friend and I love how well we are finding our head voices (the upper register of the singing voice)

We have also started to explore vocal timbre, or the tone color and quality of our voice, by visiting the farm! Students are showing me their best barnyard animal impressions with a few friends to help us! Pig, Duck, and Dog are in the classroom to help us remember which animal sound to make at what time! Students are also suggesting different animals sounds to make while we work on the different qualities of our voices!

We continue to learn our Rules and repeat them each day after our Welcome Song! 

Our classroom has 5 simple rules to make sure we can play, sing, dance, and learn safely and effectively. The classroom rules also help us spell M-U-S-I-C so we know exactly where we are and what we are about to do, Make MUSIC! :) 

I use a different form of classroom management to help ensure we can learn as efficiently as possible. Whole Brain Teaching is a new kind of management style what kinestetically teaches rules, expectations, and procedures. Each week brings us a new piece to our Whole Brain Teaching puzzle. So far, we know our attention getter - "Class! Yes!" and our focuser - "Hands, Hands, and Eyes!"! We will continue to add to our puzzle in the following weeks with our teaching tool and live mirror concepts. 

Kindergarten is SUCH a smart class! They are learning very quickly and having a Great time! We will soon be learning about and putting a name to the pulse of music, i.e. the Steady Beat! 

!Stay tuned for more on Kindergarten from the Elementary Music Classroom!

Musically Yours,

Mrs. Hoselton

***1st and 2nd Grade parents, remember to stop by next week when we explore what your students are doing in music class at the beginning of this year!