FIDDLE-DEE-DEE WEEK 5
NEXT WEEK – Bring their favorite stuffed animal so we can have them sing Good Day. If they get to practice this at home, it builds their confidence to participate in class.
This was MOUSE week !!! Creeping, Peeping, Sleeping, and Running, mice sure seem to have a lot of fun. One thing I noticed this week is that all the children are feeling more comfortable moving around with the other children. They are getting used to this environment and feeling more at ease with their own place in the group. At home this week, engage your child in now familiar activities such as Itsy Bitsy Mouseykins, Tall as a Tree, and the Lento y rapido dance (Home CD 1, track 20). Have fun playing with Hickory Dickory Dock. The more you can use “mouse” actions, they more engaged the child will be in making up new verses with you. Up/Down, Around, Over, Under, Swing “Tick, Tock, Rock, Rock!!”. I handed out a sharing sheet this week with lots of ideas for mouse play. Have fun pretending to be a mouse with your child this week. Take them to a pet store to see real mice and talk to the pet store owner about their habits. Squeak away!
Also, this would be a good time to renew (or continue!) interest in the Fiddlesticks. You and your child can share them by each holding one and tapping them together as you listen to The Tailor and the Mouse (Home CD 1, track 25). What other ways can you find to play the Fiddlesticks? Try gently tapping them on several different surfaces (a carpeted floor, a bed, a plastic bucket, etc.) and compare the sounds. Perhaps you can even compare their sound to the sound of other items such as two spoons tapped together. Notice, also, the different sound you can make by shaking them! I would love to hear about your “at home” sound explorations! Merry Melodies, Debbie Mondale