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! 

Summer Recap

Hello Parents and Guardians,

I hope this posts finds you and your families well. As summer winds itself down and I find myself back in the classroom, prepping for the coming school year, I thought it would be a good time to recap what I have been working on this summer to better inspire and educate your children in the music classroom.

This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to enroll in the St. Thomas Univeristy's Kodaly Institute!
Now, I realize that this doesn't mean a whole lot to many, if any, of you so let me explain:

What is Kodaly?
Kodaly Concept:

• Is a philosophy of education and a concept of teaching. 
• Is a comprehensive program to train basic musical skills and teach the reading and writing of music.
• Is an integration of many of the best ideas, techniques, and approaches to music education. 
• Is an experience-based approach to teaching.

I am enrolled in a three year, Graduate level program that takes place for two weeks each summer on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. I have completed level I of  III and will continue with the completion of my full Certification the next two summers.


Why am I getting Certified in Kodaly Method?

As a music educator, I want to bring my best self to the classroom so that the students can receive the best musical education possible. Kodaly Certification challenges my musical skills in several different ways! I am becoming a better conductor, singer, my ear training and pitch matching has improved, and I am just a better musician all around! 
This certification also requires me to build a full music library with high quality, authentic folk song repertoire which will make my teaching more engaging, playful, and effective as well as expose students to their own culture as well as cultures all over the world.
This certification is going to make me the best educator I can be for your students and their musical futures!


What this means for your students?

Your students will be taught musical concepts through singing, music making, and play. Students will learn in a safe and encouraging environment with each lesson which adhere to the National Standards for Music Education! 

Please follow the link below for an amazing layout of the Kodaly Concept for the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (OAKE)
 https://www.oake.org/about-us/the-kodaly-concept/ 



Please feel free to email with any questions about my experience or ask me at Open House in September! I am so energized and excited to bring this new concept into the classroom and straight to your children! 

I am excited for the new year and the new experiences I will build with your students!
Enjoy the rest of your summer,

Abby Lynn Hoselton 

P.S. On August 8th, 2015, I became Mrs. Hoselton when I married my wonderful husband, Paul! :)

Thank you! Enjoy your Summer!

Well, it is the last hours of the last day of school here at Maple Lake Elementary! I just want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support in your children. Each one of them has been a tremendous joy to teach and I could NOT have asked for a better place to call "home" for my first year of teaching.

I know that my job is to teach your students but it was your students that taught me the most. I am so excited to begin my second year here at Maple Lake and make changes to further your child's education and excitement in music. Please keep a close eye on my blog throughout the summer for pictures of my transforming classroom, sample lessons and activities, and news about what is to come in the 2015-2016 school year! There is a BIG surprise in store for your students when they get back here in the Fall! I am SO excited! :)

Although school is out for the summer, that doesn't mean that your students have to let go of music for the next three months. There are simple ways to add music to your child's summer activities.
A few fun tips:

- Give you child a few glasses for water. Fill them to varying amounts and have your student's gently strike the filled glasses with a pencil. If they put them in order from fullest to emptiest, they have just created their very own "Water Xylophone". Let them play around and see if they can play simple tunes like "Twinkle, Twinkle" or "Mary had a Little Lamb".

- Have students make a hopscotch board using note values in each square (Quarter, Eighth, Whole, Half). Have the students throw a dice and hop to the note values that add up to the number they rolled. Math and Music! A double wammy! :)

- Finally, allow singing regularly in your home. Ask them to sing a few songs that they learned in music this year! Let them put on a talent show or play pretend with songs! :) There is opportunity for music everywhere.


If your child is REALLY enthusiastic, look online for several music camps that are available in the area. There are camps for all interests and ages! Give it a quick Google search and you would be surprised what you find.



Thanks again for an amazing first year! Remember to stay tuned for sneak peaks and glimpses into what your students will have to look forward to in Ms. Klumb's music room!

Musically yours,
Ms. Abby Lynn Klumb

Spring has Sprung in Music Class with a RAINBOW of fun!

April showers bring may flowers, as the old saying goes. But along with those showers comes rainbows! And a rainbow of color and excitement has hit the MLE Music classroom this spring! BOOMWHACKERS have arrived! :) 

Boomwhackers are tuned percussion tubes. They are lightweight, hollow, color-coded, plastic tubes, tuned to musical pitches by length. They are used as musical instruments in the percussion family. 

These fun, easy to play instruments produce sound by striking the ground, a table, or your own body and the students and I have LOVED experimenting with them. We have used them in 3rd grade for Note Naming relay races, in 1st grade for "Name that Tune", and we have used them in 2nd grade for a special Star Wars and Super Mario Borthers play along! 

We plan on continuing to use our Boomwhackers the rest of the year for special circle games, rhythm reading, and Orff ensembles. 

Keep checking in for pictures and videos of these exciting, fun, and engaging lessons using our new colorful Instruments! And ask your students about what we have done already with these easy to play tubes!

Happy Spring!

Miss Klumb