Atrium: Lesson 1
This will be a quick recap on the first day of violin classes. When 12:30 rolled around, we began bringing in the compact little cases into the Explorers room while the kids were having lunch. The first group (3rd graders) had 6 kids, so we formed a semi-circle with their foot charts and cases placed in front of each corresponding one. We started off with how to take care of instrument when we take it out of the cases and put the sponge on, rest position and playing position. Then we dove into singing the Pachebel matrix and plucking Re and La on the fiddles as we sang. We went through as many simple rhythms patterns we could think of while the recording played in the background and incorporated some dynamics too. For the final activity, the kids drew on reflection sheets while listening to Pachelbel Canon in the background. There was some really interesting documentation captured by Randy as you can see in the videos and pictures below.
This morning was a good one at the Atrium School where the Explorers (persona of the 2nd and 3rd graders) were each fitted with an appropriate sized violin and shoulder sponge, and his or her own foot chart. It was my first contact with them so it was nice to connect the faces to the list of names.
While Beatrice worked on the fitting of violins, I helped each kid make their own foot chart. Foot charts are important, especially in a group setting, because it centers their attention and maintains personal space. We used manila folders and drew their different feet positions: rest position in blue, “unzip” position in red, and playing position in green.
