| Howdy, It’s Saturday, June 22, 2019, and time for Music. I would like to invite you to check out the Recommended Websites: If you have used any of these resources let me know what you thought of them and why you felt that way. Creating Music Age Range: 4-10 (Grades K-6, with parental supervision) This site is a place where children can experience creative play in the making of music. The website is a commercial enterprise. It was designed to promote CD-ROMS that teach children about music composition (you can purchase them, if desired). However, you don’t have to purchase a thing to play the free sample games. When you get to the website you’ll see a menu of free musical activities to try that include: Playing With Music – Beethoven and Scales Hearing Music – 3 different games About Pitch – Listen to samples of different pitches Make sure you have your speakers on as the instructions are given orally – and you want to hear the music you make! Recommended Website: Spanish for Kids and Beginners Age Range: 6-10 (Grades 1-4, with parental supervision) This ad-supported website provides interactive exercises that teach young children Spanish vocabulary from basic to intermediate level. As you do the activities you can listen to the correct pronunciation of the words by a native Spanish speaker. When you get to the site you’ll see a menu by level from 1-3. Click on any lesson you want to learn including: Basics Calendar Family Home Animals Counting Time Verbs And more! To complement and reinforce the vocabulary you will also find a selection of free PDF downloads. This is not a comprehensive language course. It’s a simple way to introduce learning the Spanish language, or to practice skills that you’ve already acquired. Parents that don’t speak Spanish can learn right alongside their children. NOTE: “Spanish for Kids” is part of a larger website. We did NOT review other parts of the site. The kids’ section requires adult assistance to navigate. The site has random ads and Google advertisements that if clicked on, will lead to outside websites so PARENTS, AS ALWAYS, SHOULD PREVIEW THE SITE AND SUPERVISE USE. Recommended Website: Will Kemp Art School Age Range: 9 and up (Grades 4 and up approximately; children with parental supervision) This website provides free art lessons and video tutorials on how to draw and paint. The artist, Will Kemp (read his bio at the website), provides free articles (blog posts) on every aspect of drawing and painting including instructions illustrated with terrific photographs. There are a variety of free video tutorials on how to paint with acrylic paint, too. When you get to the website, you’ll see the current blog post. Since the artist (who lives in the United Kingdom) has been blogging for a while, it is helpful to use the horizontal menu at the top of the page and click on “New? Start Here.” The artist clearly explains how to navigate this site and access lessons for expressing and improving your artistic potential in the simplest and quickest way possible. From the menu, you can access the articles with lessons and tips by topic including: Acrylics Oils Drawing Free Videos You’ll also see “Shop Courses” on the menu where Kemp offers video art courses for a fee. But you don’t have to purchase a thing to access the archive of free instructions, tips, information, and artistic insight. Recommended Website: Songs for Scouts and Scouters Age Range: All (All grades; children with parental supervision) Summer is on its way! Time for traveling and camping – and singing in the car and around the campfire! This website maintains a database of lyrics to favorite and familiar (and some not-so-familiar) scouting songs. There are: camp songs action songs gross songs repeat after me songs short songs, silly songs, and chants holiday songs and much more When you get to the site just click on the category of song that interests you and a new page opens containing a menu of song titles. Click on any song title and read the lyrics – or print them out and put them in a binder to take along on your next trip or outing! No more singing a bar or two or your favorite song and humming the rest – you can sing your favorites all the way through to the end, round after round, verse after verse. Recommended Website: School Radio: Music Age Range: 3-11 (Grades PreK-6, with parental supervision) This website from BBC School Radio will help you teach music to your children using stories, videos and lots of resources. When you get to the site, you’ll see icons of the song topics giving age range and a short summary including: Jack and the Beanstalk Little Red Riding Hood The Great Fire of London Viking Saga Songs The Tempest Treasure Island and much more Each one has an introduction and most have an animated video with lyrics to follow along with the song. Plus many of the programs are supported by “Teacher’s Notes” in pdf files that you can download for free. They include lesson plans, follow-up activities, and curriculum ideas – as well as links to other resources to enhance learning. Enjoy! Recommended Website: OnlineFreeSpanish Age Range: 6-18 (Grades 2-12, with parental supervision) This ad-supported website offers engaging, FREE, introductory Spanish lessons for children and their parents that includes games, activities, printable coloring pages, and worksheets! When you get to the site you’ll see currently featured activities, followed by an icon menu that includes: Levels 1-4 – Enjoy Spanish lessons that teach the alphabet, numbers, colors, parts of the human face, fruits, pets, bugs, geometrical shapes, holidays, and more. Click on any level, then any lesson icon and a new page opens where you can watch an animated video lesson. Be sure to turn on your speakers to hear the correct pronunciation of words as they come up on the screen. Print – Choose from an assortment of fun printable materials that reinforce learning the lessons. There’s a picture dictionary, word search puzzle, and coloring pages of farm animals, fruits, bugs, numbers, and more. Tablets – Content for iPad and Android tablets that teach Spanish numbers, colors, and so much more. Back on the home page, you’ll find the Spanish Word of the Day and Today’s Date. Then scroll further down to find the interactive games listed by category. You can also sign up to receive the free newsletter that will keep you updated on “new activities and games, tips, and other free cool stuff.” Enjoy! Thank you, Glenda, Charlie and David Cates |
