{"id":161,"date":"2010-11-14T16:50:54","date_gmt":"2010-11-14T21:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/?p=161"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:48:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T23:48:31","slug":"reinforcing-the-classwork-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/reinforcing-the-classwork-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Reinforcing the Classwork at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Dalcroze classes are now in full swing (ok, pun intended), and the kids have heard and experienced music with a variety of tempos, rhythms, and dynamics. They\u00a0 have been encouraged to express those changes in movement. Children naturally learn in many different ways. Some like to watch in class and ‘do’ at home. Some are more active in class. All learning styles are appropriate and children instinctively give themselves what they need at this age. So, the more opportunities they have to hear, experience and respond to music, the better. Parents are often interested in ways to continue the work at home. I’ll share some possibilities in this article.<\/p>\n

In the stories I create for movement in the class, I attempt to take full advantage of children’s natural connection to the world of animals. The composer Camille Saint-Seans uses the same phenomenon in his “Carnival of the Animals”, a\u00a0perennial favorite for children since its composition in 1886. The different temperaments and\u00a0tendencies of various orchestral instruments are matched with an appropriate animal. Using a recording at home, it would be possible to reinforce many of the experiences we have been having in class.<\/p>\n

You might start by simply playing a track, and asking your child to become any animal they like. The simple act of moving like that animal as the music plays is enough to get a wide variety of nuance as the dynamics, rhythm and tempo change. There are no wrong answers. Of course, you can also tell them the name of the movement. Each short piece has a specific way of moving, and many exhibit one or both sides of a musical opposition (slow\/fast, high\/low, etc.) You might enjoy seeing what they respond to as they listen. Here is a list of some of the musical features of each movement that might catch kids’ attention:<\/p>\n

1. Introduction and March of the Royal Lion<\/span>: A stately and proud march, something kids love to do. Contrasts between high and low (in pitch) between the two pianos; loud dynamics.<\/p>\n

2. Hens and Roosters<\/span>: Starting and stopping.<\/p>\n

3. Wild Donkeys<\/span>: Fast and loud.<\/p>\n

4. Tortoises<\/span>: Slow and soft. (contains a musical joke – Offenbach’s popular Can-Can played very slowly)<\/p>\n

5. The Elephant<\/span>: Heavy with a medium tempo. (more jokes: music by Berlioz and and\u00a0Mendelssohn\u00a0originally\u00a0written for flutes, now given to the low basses)<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Kangaroos<\/span>: the opposition of short and long; starting and stopping.<\/p>\n

7. Aquarium<\/span>: Light, gliding, running.<\/p>\n

8. People with Long Ears (Donkeys)<\/span>: Lots of oppositions. Fast and slow; high and low (meaning pitch); loud dynamics.<\/p>\n

9. The Cuckoo in the Woods<\/span>: Phrase length awareness. The piano plays phrases (musical sentences) of different lengths. The “cuckoo” of the clarinet marks the end of each phrase.<\/p>\n

10. Aviary<\/span>: High, light, fast, soft.<\/p>\n

11. Pianists<\/span>: moving between high and low (pitch).<\/p>\n

12. Fossils<\/span>: Short, light, quick, loud dynamics. Twinkle Twinkle is tucked into this movement, along with a few other French folk tunes which may or may not be recognized. But this movement is really just about the dance!<\/p>\n

13. The Swan<\/span>: legato (smooth and connected), gliding, soft.<\/p>\n

14. Finale<\/span>: All of the animals are brought back. See how many you can recognize.<\/p>\n

There are many recordings of this piece, and it is often packaged with other orchestra kid’s favorites such as “Peter and the Wolf”. I have a fondness for Leonard Bernstein’s recording with the New York Philharmonic from the 60’s. He does talk about each movement before he plays it, and his voice might not be every young person’s cup of tea these days. He uses young musicians whom he introduces on the recording however, and the idea of that might be inspiring for some. Pictures books related to the piece abound, and this could be of further inspiration.<\/p>\n

This type of play can be done with many kinds of music, not just Carnival of the Animals, and not just orchestral music. So plug in the ipod, pull up something interesting, and enjoy some active listening with your child today!<\/p>\n

Michael<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dalcroze classes are now in full swing (ok, pun intended), and the kids have heard and experienced music with a variety of tempos, rhythms, and dynamics. They\u00a0 have been encouraged to express those changes in movement. Children naturally learn in many different ways. Some like to watch in class and ‘do’ at home. Some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128],"tags":[113,94,130,132],"class_list":["post-161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dalcroze-reference","tag-children","tag-early-childhood","tag-for-parents-families","tag-parents"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ohMj-2B","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":455,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/7-9-year-olds-september\/","url_meta":{"origin":161,"position":0},"title":"7-9 Year-Olds: September","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"September 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome parents and family members of the new Dalcroze class for 7 to 9-year-olds at the Lucy Moses School. I am pleased we were able to expand our program to include older children this year! Because it is sometimes difficult \u2013 even for adult Dalcroze students \u2013 to be able\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":362,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/what-were-working-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":161,"position":1},"title":"For Parents: Classes for 4-5 year-olds","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"October 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Parent: \"What did you do in class today?\"Child: \"I was a cat.\"Parent: \"Oh.\" It is difficult for young children to express exactly what they are 'learning' in a Dalcroze classroom. What happens in the room after we take off our socks and shoes and close the door? Of course, in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":447,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/infrequently-asked-questions-about-early-childhood-dalcroze-classes\/","url_meta":{"origin":161,"position":2},"title":"Infrequently Asked Questions About Early Childhood Dalcroze Classes","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"July 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Aside from one or two perennials, I don't get asked too many questions during my Dalcroze classes for young children. With busy toddlers demanding attention, there just isn't a lot of time for chatting. (There are one or two questions I am commonly asked. See if you can guess what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":418,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/a-basic-structure-for-4-5-year-old-dalcroze-classes\/","url_meta":{"origin":161,"position":3},"title":"A Basic Structure for 4-5 year-old Dalcroze Classes","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"August 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Lucy Moses Summer Intensive 2013 participants, and anyone else interested teaching music to young children! As requested, here is an outline of the structure I use for my classes for young children. Though I do follow this basic plan for most of my classes, this represents only what works\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10529,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/what-will-1st-2nd-graders-experience-in-a-dalcroze-class-part-1-of-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":161,"position":4},"title":"Skills and experiences for 1st-2nd Grade Dalcroze: Movement (Part 1 of 4)","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"August 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The focus for this list is movement. In each Dalcroze class, I give a short warm-up at the beginning. The focus is usually on some kind of movement technique, and I often use the warm-up to provide an introduction to the musical subject of the day (for example beat and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19086,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/invisible-subjects\/","url_meta":{"origin":161,"position":5},"title":"Invisible Subjects","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"June 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes, to see the whole, we need to look at the parts. But suppose some of the parts are difficult to see? This is one of the things that makes Dalcroze education so notoriously hard to describe. 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