Welcome to Musicologie Junior Online Week 2! Musicologie Junior is an online music exploration and music education class for infants, toddlers, young children up to age 5, and their adults. Each week we explore a melody, a rhythm and an instrument. We have a dance party, and we read a musical storybook.
Here’s how to participate: If this is your first time, start with Week 1. Otherwise, watch the Week 2 video above and then download the Musicologie Junior at home materials below to do the daily at home activities with your little one. An important note about kids younger than 18 months: Studies show that kids that age do not absorb much information from screens or videos. However, they DO absorb information when they watch you. So, it is very important that you are singing and dancing with them at home, and using the rhythm and melody cards. Your child IS learning every time they watch you, even if they can’t yet participate. Use the activities during the week to engage with your child, modeling and reinforcing the things you’re learning in the weekly video.
Week 2 Downloadable Materials
Downloadable materials include printable rhythm of the week and melody of the week cards, as well as a PDF version of the week 2 at home activities.
Week 2 At Home Activities
Do these daily activities with your child at home to help reinforce the concepts we introduced in the video, and to have fun exploring music together.
- Melody of the week: Do Re
- Rhythm of the week: Ta Ta
Day 1 – Rhythm of the Week
Pat/clap the rhythm of the week with your child, holding up the Rhythm card for them to see and explore.
Day 2 – Melody of the Week
Sing and sign the melody of the week with your child, holding up the Do and Re cards for them to see and explore.
Day 3 – Listening
Go to our Listening Playlist. These pieces feature our instrument of the week– the Accordion!
“La Foule” by Edith Piaf
“La Bambo” by Flaco Jiminez
“Road to Nowhere” by The Talking Heads
Day 4 – Exploration
Age 0-1: Sing Zoom Zoom Zoom and shake those homemade shakers from last week! Help your child to cross their body’s midline by shaking from right to left, or criss-crossing their arms, or touching opposite toes. For the littlest babies, you can hold a shaker to the right or left of them and encourage them to reach with their opposite arm for it.
Age 1-4: Sing Zoom Zoom Zoom and encourage your child to cross their body’s midline by shaking those homemade shakers from last week on alternating sides, or criss-crossing their arms. Then, for the countdown, reach up high and bring arms down a little bit with each number until blasting off!
Day 5 – Exploration
Play the Fast and Slow Game!
Turn on fast and slow songs and ask your child to move their body fast or slow to the music (or hold your child and move together). Press pause every so often and FREEZE!
Slow songs: “Clair de lune” by Claude Debussy, “At Last” by Etta James, “When You Say Nothing At All” by Allison Krauss
Fast songs: “I’m So Excited” by The Pointer Sisters, “Shout” by the Isley Brothers, “Minute Waltz” by Frederic Chopin, performed by Lang Lang, “Sabre Dance” by Aram Khachaturian
Songs that gradually get faster: “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg
Day 6 – Dance Party!
Pull up our Dance Party Playlist and dance together!
Song for Melody of the Week: “Wait So Long” by Trampled by Turtles
Songs for Rhythm of the Week: “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie, “Boom Clap” by Charli XCX, “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
