Year 1 music: Yummy instruments

One of the highlights in a world music unit is learning about exotic instruments. We grow up in a once-colonized city; most of us are quite familiar with Western music instruments. It's almost children's common sense to know what a violin or a piano is. Therefore, introducing Western music instrument in a lower primary music class may not be the most attrative topic to children. Why not show

Arts curriculum around the world

Curriculum and policy is a major area in educational study. I happen to be very interested in comparing music curriculum of different countries. These curriculum have helped me a great deal as a music teacher when I do my year plan. Click here for HK's Arts curriculum documents.I'd like to share a few online sources where I usually go to when I'm looking for arts curriculum. Hopefully, later, I

TATE GALLERY UK sponsored by BT Group

Tate Gallery is a modern art gallery in the UK. Its four galleries are the home of British art from 1500 to present day. The galleries also hold frequent exhibition of modern British art; its website has been used as a plateform for internet arts exhibits.Tate Kids is part of the outstanding Tate Online project sponsored by the BT Group (British Telecommunication company). This online learning

Year 2 music: Disney Song 1 (Little April Shower from Bambi)

Drip, drip, drop,Little April shower, beating a tune as you fall all aroundDrip, drip, drop,Little April shower, what can compare with you beautiful sound.Drip, drip, drop,When the sky is cloudly, your pretty music can brighten the day.Drip, drip, drop,When the sun says, "Howdy", you say "Goodbye" right away.Drip, drip, drop,Little April Shower, beating a tune everywhere that you fall.Drip, drip,

Andy Goldsworthy: a brilliant environmental-artist/sculptor

I fell in love with Andy Goldsworthy's art work when I first saw it in a creativity class I attended some time ago. When he creates, he experiements with various natural materials, such as stone, grass, flower, feathers, snow and clay. Since his work is "mortal", he would use photography to capture them. In fact, the wearing away of the product is part of the projects.Many schools have included

High Art for children - is this too much?

This painting is by painter Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678). Its title is inspired by a Flemish proverb "As the Old Sang the Young Play Pipes." Do young children need to know about these facts when they look at this picture? - No. Then is this an appropriate painting to show young children? - Ya, why not? Sometimes, we are intimidated by fine art. We're afraid that we may not be in any position to

Year 1 music: The vegetable orchestra

In my school, every child plays a musical instrument. They're involved in different music groups like bands and orchestra. Most of them knows what does an orchestra looks like; they are familiar with Western instruments.Therefore in class, I feel no urge to introduce Western music yet; that's why I tend to teach more world music and I love looking for funny music videos so that their perception

Before they can write creatively...

When reading a story to toddlers or kindergarten children, we would always go through the whole book, over and over again. They enjoy it because children at this age are always fascinated by how an event happens - how it starts, what happens next and how it ends. They may not have the language skills to tell a complete story, but they are becoming aware of the pace and the progress of a plot.By

Easter Holiday Suggestion #2- The Adventures of Peter Rabbit

There is only so much that I can teach in a music lesson. In fact, I believe a big part of a child's musical expereience should happen out of music class. That's why I like making recommendation to children of what's suitable for them to see in Hong Kong.Since my Year 2 happens to be learning Peter and the Wolf in the Music and Drama unit, I strongly recommend them to see the HKPO performance of

The magical kaleidascope

Do you recall seeing these images when you were a child? The kaleidascope used to be one of my favorite toys. To me, as a child, looking into a kaleidascope was like looking into a magical world. The construction of this toy is so simple, yet the many images, which one kaleidascope can produce, are so complex and fascinating. During a visit to Bali last year, I saw a delicate kaleidascope which

Music in the first 3 years

"Getting in Tune" is my favorite publications by Zero to Three; I recommend it to ALL parents. It talks about the musical development of babies and how music and movement relate to bonding and creativity development.Please click here for the .pdf version of "Getting in Tune" (be patient, it takes a while to load)

Year 2 music: Peter and the Wolf (Part.1)

Peter and the wolf is a brilliant composition. No matter how many times I've taught this, I'm still impressed by Prokofiev's creativity. This is still the best work I've come across that gives children a perfect start to learn about instruments, orchestra and program music.Not only is the music wonderful, the story is simple yet so carefully writting to trigger children's imagination - the

Year 2 music: Peter and the Wolf (Part.2)

I know Year 2's are dying to see Part 2 of the movie. Here is it:Part 2/2:This is the 3-D version for your comparison. If you're interested in this version to watch the whole thing, it's uploaded to Youtube in 4 parts.One more resource that I'd like to share is a link where you can find the synopsis of the original story by Prokofiev, his profile and the sound clip for each character's theme.http

PANWAPA sponsored by Merrill Lynch

A while ago, I've introduced an interactive gallery sponsored by HSBC. As I've mentioned, I really appreciate big corporate's investment into online educational resources because the the cost of website maintenance is high and non-profitable educational institutes may not be able to bear it. Today, I'd like to introduce a site called Panwapa. (A word from an African language meaning "here on this

Let the children design their schools

Joined Up Design for School is a project that allows schools' most frequent users - the children - to participate in the (re)design process of their schools. It explores how good designs can improve the quality of life in school by listening to children's voices.I'm impressed by how the 4-7 years old voice out their demand for a new reception area through coversation, exhibition and voting. It

THE LITTLE BEAR series by Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth

This series of book is written by one of the awarding-winning children book authors, Martin Waddell, who has also written "Owl Babies".I like Waddell's stories because there's something about the storylines that children love. Many of his books' hidden message is "no matter what happens, momm and daddy are always there for you; they would never leave you." Perhaps this is the reason why children

Does it matter?

When I interact with children, I always always keep this passage from The Little Prince in mind: When you tell them (the grown-ups) that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collec butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has

Creativity Development in Wales - a pilot program

In 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government introduced a brand new curriculum into schools called The Foundation Phase; it is a framework for children's learning for 3- to 7-year-old in Wales. The curriculum incluedes 7 areas of learning, which includes:- Personal and Social Development, Well-Being and Cultural Diversity- Knowledge and Understanding of the World- Mathematical Development- Language,

幼兒與藝術

我很鼓勵家長送小朋友上畫班或手工藝班。即使是未懂走路的小孩子﹐他們正出於一個觸角非常敏感的階段﹔父母可以開始讓他們碰碰顏料﹑膠水﹑泥膠等不同物料。

其實坊間很多幼兒藝術班正為孩子提供這接觸藝術的機會。但每當我看到街上那些剛剛懂走路的小孩一臉茫然捧著他們的“製成品”﹐我都會覺得奇怪。他們拿著的可能是一隻用紙碟製成的小雞﹑一架用“廁紙筒”造的私家車﹐甚至是一隻跟他們身高差不多的海洋生物。我們都知道﹐這些製成品只是滿足成年人的道具 - 兩三歲的小孩子需要的不是一件製成品.

藝術是一種反映人們對世界的認知的渠道﹐對小孩子亦然。幼兒的創作不需要原因﹑不需要結果﹑更不需要方法。紙碟和小雞﹑廁紙筒和車﹐在小孩子眼內可能根本沒有直接的關係﹔這些製成品只反映成年人的創意(而且是不高的創意)。你放一張白紙﹑一些顏色筆在孩子 面前﹐他們會認真地畫﹐他們要一筆一筆地證明顏色筆與白紙的關係﹔說到這裡﹐

The Creativity Checklist

1. Creative individuals have a great deal of energy, but they are also often quiet and at rest.

2. Creative individuals tend to be smart and naive at the same time.
3. Creative individuals have a combination of playfulness and discipline, or responsiibility and irresponsibility.

4. Creative individuals alternate between imagination and fantasy at one end and a rooted sense of reality at the

學琴=中產﹖

最近有家長問了以下兩條問題﹕1) 為何絕大部分家長選擇一門藝術給子女時，都會選擇音樂，而不是繪畫或其他？2) 為何學鋼琴比起學其他西洋樂器流行﹖答案可以很淺易﹕“音樂考試與比賽較繪畫比賽流行﹐指標比較容易定位。” “鋼琴老師容易找﹐琴行也梗有一間o係左近。”但我想嘗試換個新角度回答問題。如果我說﹐問題的根源與經濟與社會有關﹐你會否覺得我誇張﹖五﹑六十年代的香港普遍貧窮﹐生於那個年代的孩子﹐絕大部份都沒有機會學樂器。到了這班孩子投入社會的時間﹐剛好是香港經濟起飛的美好時代。他們組織家庭﹑生兒育女﹔雖然節儉﹐但他們有能力投放適當的資源在子女的教育上。除了基本的學費開支﹐中產家庭都能騰出金錢給子女參加課外活動﹐通常是體育和藝術。他們通常會選擇學西洋音樂﹐而且絕大部份都會選擇鋼琴。音樂教育的文獻有提及過這種用樂器來證明社會階級提昇的說法。從前﹐只有上等人才有能力買一部鋼琴放在家﹔到了今時今日﹐

The cost of being creative

有時候﹐成年人在小孩子 面前應該覺得慚愧。

Year 1 & 2 music: I see music! (1)

Young children needs alot of visual aids to help them learn; videos, pictures, patterns help them interpret.Children cannot stay focus in a classical concert especially when a long long piece is being performed - that is because they don't have enough information to interpret what's in the music.This make introducing classical music to young children extremely difficult:There are two rules I

Lullaby and "Motherese"

"Motherese" is the term used in child devlopment research which refers to the special inflection, tonality and language used when caregivers (usually, but not necessarily mothers) interact with babies. Usually, we call it "baby talk". It is an interesting topic because it seems like the characteristics of "motherese" are similar across many different cultures.Naturally, mothers talk and sing to

World Music - Putumayo Kids World Playground Series

I'm a big fan of bringing world music into the classroom; it makes teaching and learning fun. I can talk about things other than music and children are happy knowing about them. I have students studying GCSE and IB complaining about the world music component (although they don't mind this as much as the composition component). Well, if all they've been exposed to from primary school onward only

Year 2 World Music - Israel

In November 1990, Ethiopia and Israel reached an agreement that would allow Ethiopian Jews to move to Israel under the context of family reunification - Operation Solomon marked an end to a dark era in the history of Ethiopian Jews, when children have lived day to day separated from their parents, not knowing their fate.The book on the left is called On the Wings of Eagles, this book tells this