Clase de música continua para niños más pequeños que tocan y cantan ukelele

Welcome to my on-going ukulele class for kids ages 3 to 7 ! I welcome learners of all identities and backgrounds into my classes. 
This is an on-going class, so you are welcome to join on any week and you will not be behind. I will review the basics at each class, so your learner will not need to have attended any of the previous classes, in order to join in. 

 In this class, your child will learn the basics of playing the ukulele in a fun and interactive way. Our activities will include singing and playing along with familiar children's songs and practicing rhythm and chord drills.  and experimenting with different strumming patterns and melodies.  The kids will have virtual jam sessions with their peers. We will also do story telling, while the students add musical accompaniment. 

Music concepts will be taught, such as tempo, dynamics, as well as musical form. They will practice playing and singing loud and soft. We will learn about tempo, by playing fast and slow. 

Rhymes are a great way to teach rhythms to children, so we will learn some rhymes and play along with them. 
They children will do clapping games, to practice rhythms and then strum the rhythm patterns on their instrument. 
We will learn about musical form, by doing a different action movement to each section of the song. For example, we may strum along with the A section, and then clap a steady beat to the B section. 

You are welcome to have rhythm sticks, and I will incorporate them into the lessons. I will privide you with a link to purchase rhythm sticks, but you can also use safe household items for your learner to play rhythm with. 

Please have your ukelele tuned for the class. You can use an electronic tuner, if you have one. I recommend Uke Buddy online tuner. I will provide you with a link to Uke Buddy. String instruments do not stay in tune for long, so you will need to tune it for each class and when they want to practice at home, in order for the chords to sound right. 

Weekly Breakdown - 

Week of January 1 : Introduction to the ukelele: Sing-a-Long and Strumming 

 Students will learn about the different parts of the ukulele and how to hold it properly. 
We will practice finding the frets and playing some basic chords. This will be new or review for practice, depending on whether or not you are new to the class. 
Sing-along: Students will practice singing and playing along with simple children's songs such as "Are You Sleeping Brother John" and "Old McDonald had a Farm" 
We will learn about musical form, using the sond "Old McDonald had a Farm" by doing something different for the different parts of the song. 
Rhythm activities: Students will use rhythm stick or household objects, such as a drum or plastic spoon, to create a basic beat and then they will play  that beast on their ukuleles.
Movement games: Students will incorporate physical activity with a song, by dancing or marching along to the music. If your learner prefers not to stand up and dance, I will provide a seated movement activity for them to join along. 

Week of January 8 : Musical Form, Movement and Strumming

Introduction to the ukulele, new or review : We will review how to hold the ukulele and how to find the frets, as well as what each hand will be doing, when they play along with the songs. 
Sing-along: Students will practice singing and playing along with simple children's songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Row Row Row Your Boat" 
Movement Activity : The students will learn some movements to Row, Row, Row Your Boat and incorporate them along with the song, while I play and sing on my ukelele. 
Loud and Soft : The students will learn about dynamics in music, by singing and playing at different volumes. 
Chords: The students will pratice strumming the C major chord and practice finding the right fret to play the chord. 

Week of January 15 : Rhythm Patterns and Sing-a-long

Introduction to the ukulele, new or review : We will review how to hold the ukulele and how to find the frets, as well as what each hand will be doing, when they play along with the songs. 
Sing-along: Students will practice singing and playing along with simple children's songs such as "This Old Man" and "Here we Go Round the Mulberry Bush"
Rhythm Activity: The students will learn a rhythm pattern that they will practice with their rhythm sticks. Then they will practice strumming that rhythm on their ukelele. 
Songwriting: Students will create their own lyrics and melodies for a song and practice playing along with one or two chords. 

Week of January 22 - Storytime music with chords 
Introduction to the ukulele, new or review : We will review how to hold the ukulele and how to find the frets, as well as what each hand will be doing, when they play along with the songs. 
Storytime: Students will play along with a story, and use different musical sounds for each character in the story. 
Rhythm Activity: The students will learn a rhythm pattern that they will practice with their rhythm sticks. Then they will practice strumming that rhythm on their ukelele. 
Freeze Game: We will play a freeze game to practice listening skills along with music. The students will strum a chord and listen carefully for when I say to freeze, and then restart again when I say to un-freeze. 

My teaching method is fun and relaxed. The students are all welcome to participate at their own level. 
Once your learner has learned all of the skills taught in this class, I can recommend the next level class for them. 
Since this is an on-going class, we will stick with the basic music skills and ukelele basics.