Musical Mariposas!

Music plays a big role in our daily routines in Mariposa. In fact, one of our first signals of the day is the song “Come Join the Circle.” We love the peaceful and intentional tone that the song sets for our first gathering. In song, we wish each other “Good Morning to You” and then sing about the days of the week to orient ourselves and begin our calendar ritual. The children know these songs like the back of their hands – I bet they could lead their grown-ups through our morning circle songs and rituals at home.

Our second circle of the day generally focuses on movement, movement, and storytelling – we may play a game, learn a song, dance, or read a story together. In the past weeks, the Mariposa children have enjoyed creating a playlist of their favorite songs. Their choices ranged from theme songs to favorite TV shows to music recorded by their parent’s band! One song quickly rose to the top of the Mariposa charts: “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. With its swelling chorus and evocative imagery of construction equipment, “Wrecking Ball” invited expressive dancing and lip syncing. Christin and I also enjoy teaching songs like “The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night,” “Butterfly Butterfly,” “Hey Ho the Rattlin’ Bog,” and “5 Little Speckled Frogs.”

On Tuesday mornings, teacher-musician Chrissy Hoffmann visits our class. Chrissy blends music with movement lessons; the children practice clapping and dancing to various rhythms, and there is usually an opportunity to embody different animals or incorporate imaginative play into the songs. Chrissy is a former classroom teacher, and many of her songs, like “B-I-N-G-O” and “5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,” build literacy and math skills. Mariposa students also practice self-regulation through songs that get very loud and very quiet or silly and calm.

We are very lucky to have Grampa Clyde, local musician and grandfather to Izzy, perform for us every week. He brings joyful renditions of familiar favorites like “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes” and “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” and the Mariposa children bring their most exuberant dancing. It’s a highlight every week!

Later in the spring, Mariposa students will get to learn to use instruments during 5 workshop sessions with musicians from the Freight and Salvage. This opportunity is funded by the TBS Norman Johnson Fund for the Arts. In fact, we’d really love for Mariposa grown-ups to join us at the TBS Block Party on April 13th at 6pm at the UAC and help us fundraise for the Norman Johnson Fund – it allows Mariposa to have valuable arts enrichment experiences! RSVP for the Block Party here.

Thoughts from Mariposa Friends: What’s your favorite way we do music in Mariposa? (Thurs 3/28)

“I like pre-sung songs like the ‘Wrecking Ball’ song. I also really like ‘We are the Robots’ by Kraftwerk.” -Aristides

“I like Grampa Clyde” – Mally

“I like when people play instruments in the classroom like the guitar and the ukulele” -Whit

“I like the ‘Wrecking Ball’ song.” -Kai

“I like the ‘Fire Truck’ song that Grampa Clyde sings.” -Cole

“I like ‘Mama Mama I Want a Mango’ song that Christin sings.” -Athena

“I like dancing and twirling my big twirl.” -Mayumi

“I like doing the ‘Fungi’ song that Louisa sings.” -Guy

“I like playing music on the speaker, and I like the ‘It Feels Better When I’m Dancing’ song.” -Iona

“I like when Grampa Clyde sings, ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.'” -Zohra

“I like when Grampa Clyde sings my favorite song, ‘This Land is Your Land.'” -Izzy