This week, Kinder has been creating sequences and reinforcing the connection of shapes. Throughout the unit of friendship, they are emphasizing on the importance of collaboration to create art.

MUSIC IN SECOND GRADE

It was wonderful to meet the 2018-2019 Second Grade: getting to know the new students and meet again the ¨veterans.¨  They are beginning to bond with their new classmates, full of anticipation for the new experiences to come.

We started our musical year with some melodic and rhythmic activities as a point of departure to, as a group, draw conclusions and discuss about this year’s expectations and objectives: the more they are directly involved in making music the better will they learn about music.

The students reviewed the concept of beat by singing some songs and rhymes such as “Apple, Peaches, Pearls and Plums,” while adding body percussions or walking to the beat. In the traditional rhyme “Bounce High, Bounce Low” the children engaged in a game were they had to bounce a ball and pass on it to another classmate to the beat while singing the song. For some of them it was not easy to control the impulse of bouncing the ball their own way. They needed to integrate their listening to their motor response by adjusting to the “steadiness” of the beat while singing the name of the next child they chose. In the context of the fun game, there were many skills involved: self-regulation, listening, singing together, responding to the beat, and thinking skills such as anticipation, decision making and thinking in action. And of course there was a lot of fun and group interaction.

One of the objectives this year is to learn conceptually and label some of their previous musical experiences. This is a fundamental step to music literacy. In this other activity, students learned the concepts of unison and echo singing through the traditional round “Gutten Morgen.”

Students walk while singing in unison.

 Students walk with a partner. One member of the couple sings the first voice and the other one sings an echo response.

I'll see you next week!

Welcome to this new school year. My name is César Castillo, music teacher from third to fifth grade. Today still in my thoughts  I look back and remember that small school with which we started this great project called Metropolitan School of Panama and seen it grow now fills me with great pride to be part of this dream come true.

During our first week, our students have been reflecting on the essential agreements for the music classroom. Our students are ready for Musical Instrument Classes and some of them already had the opportunity to enjoy a didactic concert presented by the teachers.

Making New Friends in Kinder!

Making New Friends and Getting to Know Each Other

Drama is a subject that requires a bit of confidence and willingness to share your creativity with others. The students and I are just getting to know each other as Drama is a class that is given for the 1st time in Kinder. In EC 3 & 4, creative play is a part of their classroom time but in Kinder, the students attend classes such as Drama, Music and Visual Arts on their own, in the company of their classroom Teacher Assistant (TA).

This week has been a wonderful time of the students and I sharing little things about ourselves and learning each others' names. We have been giving (and getting!) lots of hugs and greeting each other in the hallways or during recess.

In Drama class, we have been playing name games and sharing what some of our favorite things are, whether it be our favorite food, toys, games, people or places. These are exercises that help us to form a bond with each other, find similarities and create an environment of trust. These elements are extremely important as acting requires a great deal of trust and team work, particularly when we begin to share our ideas or prepare a performance for an audience.

The next Unit of Inquiry that the Kinder students will be focusing on is about Friendship and how these kinds of relationships are built. This week, we began to have discussions on what are the kinds of things that friends do with each other, as well as the things that we would not do to a friend.

The students engaged in an exercise called "Think, Pair, Share", where I asked them to think in silence about the kinds of things they might do with a friend. Then, they were asked to turn to the person next to them and share their thoughts with them. 

Finally, the class was asked to share their ideas with me and I wrote their ideas on the board......

To finish up the class, we played some circle games while learning the song "Make New Friends". The lyrics are simple and the melody is lovely. We will continue to discuss and share the ways that we can make new friends in our classrooms and become better friends to the ones we have already established.

   Hello my name is Mr. Leonte Bordanea Drama teacher of 3rd to 5th grade.    So happy to be back on this new school year at the MET.

   You will find our new Drama Studio on the second floor, just beside PYP teachers lounge, on your way to music classes.

     We are so excited to put on stage our first production.  A enthusiastic cast of students of the 5^th grade, will present on Ateneo Theater in City of Knowledge, our first Musical.

We are on auditions for the main roles all this weeks, and the name of the production will be announce soon!

EC4 Stamping and connecting

This week , EC4 students have been creating their own patterns with their hands. Stamping and the use of finger pressure has helped them create these colorful pieces at the same time they can feel the different types of paint in the Art Room.

WELCOME TO OUR MUSIC BLOG!

I am Juana Ramos, Elementary Music Teacher. I wish my Kinder to Second Grade students and their families a rewarding school year.

Everything is ready for sharing new experiences of joy and learning through music making.

Back to School....and Drama Class!!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Ms. Odette and I am the PYP Drama Teacher for Kinder, 1st and 2nd Grades.
The students have already shown a great deal of excitement to begin working on new stories, activities, games and exercises. I am also very excited and can't wait to start sharing the ideas I have for this new school year with your children!

You can also follow our progress on the MET Instagram account dedicated to the arts here at our school!

https://www.instagram.com/metschoolartists/

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Odette

A creative start

A happy and creative beginning to all the Met Artists !

This year, inn the Visual Arts content from EC4 to 2nd grade, we will be constantly using transdisciplinary connections using integrating teaching through the arts.

We look forward to having fun as we create and learn through multiple art mediums.

Please make sure you follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metschoolartists/

Arts Integration, Art and Technology and Cultures of Thinking in the Art Classroom

 Welcome to a new school year! We are very excited to share knowledge and practices aligned with our transdisciplinary program. Learning science, engineering and math concepts through the arts is one of our goals for this school year. Connections with music, movement and drama define our arts program, so we are eager to share this collaborative journey with all of you. Here are some examples of the bibliography that we are studying and putting into practice this year. 

We are looking forward to all the beautiful and inspiring projects planned for this school year!

Reggio Approaches to Learning

Integrating the Arts throughout the curriculum

Art and technology

Maker spaces in the classroom and Agency through design

Creativity and Passion Projects