Our Curriculum › Music › Kindergarten
Music K
A full year of kindergarten music: feeling the steady beat, hearing melodies go up and down, making up simple musical ideas, drawing music pictures, performing with feeling, and saying what music they like and why. It ends with a family show.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
10 units
Each opens to its lessons
A year-end family show
Plus their own picture songs
Standards
National Core Arts Standards (music)
What's taught, unit by unit
The steady beatDays 1–8
What a beat is, steady versus not steady, finding the beat in songs and around the house, keeping it with body sounds (clap, pat, stomp), and fast and slow beats. Ends with a review day.
- 1 · What Is a Beat?
- 2 · Steady or Not Steady?
- 3 · Finding the Beat at Home
- 4 · Beat With Body Sounds
- 5 · Fast Beat, Slow Beat
- 6 · Beat Is Everywhere
- 7 · Keep the Beat While You Do Something Else
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Melodies that go up and downDays 9–15
Melodic contour: a tune can go up, go down or stay the same. Children show it with their hands, trace it like a hill, find it in family songs, and see how it looks in real printed music.
- 9 · What Is Melodic Contour?
- 10 · Hands Show the Shape
- 11 · Contour Like a Hill
- 12 · Same Note, Same Note, Same Note
- 13 · Find the Shape in a Family Tune
- 14 · Real Music on the Page
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Making up musical ideasDays 16–30
Inventing their own movement ideas (matching the beat, a shape, animals, weather) and short musical motives made from voice or body sounds, such as a motive for their name. Ends with two review days.
- 16 · Make Up Your Own Movement
- 17 · A Movement That Matches the Beat
- 18 · A Movement That Matches the Shape
- 19 · Silly Animal Movement Ideas
- 20 · Two Movements Together
- 21 · Weather Movement Ideas
- 23 · What Is a Musical Motive?
- 24 · A Motive With Body Sounds
- 25 · Echo Game With Motives
- 26 · A Motive for Your Name
- 27 · Motive Plus Movement
- 28 · A Motive for Your Favorite Animal
- 29 · Movement and Motive Review
- 30 · Grand Review: Beat, Contour, Movement, and Motive
Plus 1 review day, not listed.
Music pictures and sharing themDays 31–60
Drawing and reading simple music pictures: big circles for loud, dots for soft, wavy and straight lines for melody. They put two to four in a row to make a picture song, perform it, and share a finished piece at a family concert.
- 31 · What Is a Music Picture?
- 32 · Big Circles for Loud, Small Dots for Soft
- 33 · Wavy Lines Show a Melody Moving
- 34 · A Straight Line Shows a Melody That Stays the Same
- 35 · Inventing Your Own Picture for a Sound
- 36 · Order Matters: Putting Two Pictures in a Row
- 37 · Reading a Picture Song Left to Right
- 38 · My Favorite Sound Symbol
- 40 · Worksheet Practice: Draw Your Own Symbols
- 41 · Organizing Three Symbols in a Row
- 42 · Clap the Picture Song You Read
- 43 · Loud Then Soft: Organizing by Feeling
- 44 · Combining Wavy and Straight Lines in a Row
- 45 · My Picture Song Has a Beginning, Middle, and End
- 46 · Reading a Family Member's Picture Song
- 47 · Worksheet: Match the Symbol to the Sound
- 48 · Creating a Four-Symbol Picture Song
- 49 · Practice Performing Your Picture Song in Your Head First
- 51 · What Does Finished Mean for a Music Idea?
- 52 · Practicing Your Picture Song for a Family Member
- 53 · Getting Ready to Share: Quiet Space, Cue Your Family
- 54 · Demonstrating Your Finished Clap Pattern to Family
- 55 · Demonstrating a Movement-and-Sound Idea to Family
- 56 · How Grown-Up Musicians Write Music Down
- 57 · Practice Showing Your Picture Song Beginning to End
- 58 · Worksheet: Draw Your Finished Picture Song to Show Family
- 59 · Family Concert Day: Share Your Finished Piece
- 60 · Review and Celebrate: My Music Picture Journey
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
Kinds of musicDays 61–75
Listening to lullabies, marching bands, nursery songs, dance music, drum music, voices alone, guitar, orchestra, silly songs, animal songs, movie songs, music from another country, and celebration songs. Ends with a favorites chart.
- 61 · Everyone Has a Favorite Kind of Music
- 62 · Lullabies: Soft Bedtime Songs
- 63 · Marching Band Music
- 64 · Nursery Rhyme Songs
- 65 · Dance Music
- 66 · Music With Just Drums
- 67 · Music With Just Voices
- 68 · Music With Guitar
- 69 · Orchestra Music: A Famous Old Song
- 70 · Silly Songs
- 71 · Animal Songs
- 72 · Movie and Cartoon Songs
- 73 · Music From Another Country
- 74 · Birthday and Celebration Songs
- 75 · Unit Wrap-Up: My Music Favorites Chart
High and low, loud and soft, same and differentDays 76–90
Hearing and naming three pairs of opposites, first in single sounds, then in whole songs. Lots of sorting games and a listening challenge, with a review at the end.
- 76 · What Does 'Opposite' Mean in Music?
- 77 · High Sounds and Low Sounds
- 78 · High and Low With Instruments
- 79 · Loud and Soft: What's the Difference?
- 80 · Loud and Soft in Songs
- 81 · Same or Different: Do These Two Match?
- 82 · Same or Different: Copycat Patterns Game
- 83 · Sorting Game: High or Low?
- 84 · Sorting Game: Loud or Soft?
- 85 · Sorting Game: Same or Different?
- 86 · Listening Challenge: High or Low?
- 87 · Listening Challenge: Loud or Soft?
- 88 · Listening Challenge: Same or Different?
- 89 · All Three Together: Big Contrast Review Game
- 90 · My Music Ears: Everything We Learned
Music that shares a feelingDays 91–120
How voice quality (smooth or scratchy), loudness and speed are chosen to show a feeling like happy, sleepy or silly. Children build sounds for each feeling, then perform with expression for different audiences, including a final performance.
- 91 · Music Can Share a Feeling
- 92 · Your Voice Can Sound Different Ways
- 93 · Smooth Voices for Gentle Feelings
- 94 · Scratchy and Growly Voices for Big Feelings
- 95 · Choose Your Voice Quality
- 96 · Loud and Soft Share Feelings Too
- 97 · Practice: A Loud, Excited Song
- 98 · Practice: A Soft, Calm Song
- 99 · A Famous Loud Beginning
- 101 · Fast and Slow Share Feelings Too
- 102 · Practice: A Fast, Silly Song
- 103 · Practice: A Slow, Sleepy Song
- 104 · A Song That Changes Speed to Tell a Story
- 106 · Voice, Dynamics, and Tempo Together
- 107 · Build a Happy Sound
- 108 · Build a Sleepy Sound
- 109 · Build a Silly Sound
- 110 · Build a Calm, Peaceful Sound
- 111 · What Does It Mean to Perform?
- 112 · Perform a Song With Real Feeling
- 113 · Perform a Rhyme With Real Feeling
- 114 · Who Will You Perform For?
- 115 · Matching Your Performance to Your Audience
- 116 · Perform a Calm Song for Someone Resting
- 117 · Perform a Happy Song for a Celebration
- 118 · Practice: Expression and Audience Together
- 119 · Get Ready for Your Big Performance
- 120 · Unit Review and Final Performance
Plus 2 review days, not listed.
Saying what music they like, and whyDays 121–150
Giving an opinion about music with a reason using "because": loud or soft, fast or slow, happy or calm, and the sound of the drum, piano, violin and flute. Shared with family and finished with a look back.
- 121 · Do You Like It? Learning to Say Yes or No
- 122 · Loud Song, Soft Song
- 123 · Why Loud Music Makes Me Feel Big
- 124 · Why Soft Music Makes Me Feel Cozy
- 125 · Loud or Soft? You Decide
- 126 · My Loud-or-Soft Favorite
- 127 · Fast Song, Slow Song
- 128 · Why Fast Music Makes Me Want to Move
- 129 · Why Slow Music Feels Restful
- 130 · Fast or Slow? You Decide
- 131 · My Fast-or-Slow Favorite
- 132 · Mixing It Up: Loud, Soft, Fast, Slow
- 133 · Music and How It Makes Me Feel
- 134 · Happy Music
- 135 · Calm Music
- 136 · Happy or Calm? You Decide
- 137 · A Song That Makes Me Feel Excited
- 138 · A Song That Makes Me Feel Sleepy
- 139 · Meet the Drum
- 140 · Meet the Piano
- 141 · Meet the Violin
- 142 · Meet the Flute
- 143 · My Favorite Instrument Sound
- 144 · Which Instrument Do I Like Best?
- 145 · Two Songs, Two Opinions
- 146 · Giving a Reason for My Opinion
- 147 · Music for Morning, Music for Night
- 148 · Music for Dancing, Music for Resting
- 149 · Sharing My Music Opinion with Family
- 150 · My Music Favorites — A Look Back
Year in reviewDays 151–172
About three weeks of revisiting the year's ideas one at a time: beat, melody shape, inventing, music pictures, high and low, voice quality, dynamics, tempo and giving opinions. Mostly repeat practice, with little new content.
- 151 · Welcome Back: Remembering a Whole Year of Music!
- 152 · Remembering the Steady Beat
- 153 · Remembering How Melodies Go Up and Down
- 154 · Make Up Your Own Beat Movement
- 155 · Make Up Your Own Tiny Tune
- 156 · Put It Together: Your Own Musical Idea
- 157 · Remembering Music Pictures (Iconic Notation)
- 158 · Draw Your Own Music Picture
- 159 · Practice Performing From Your Music Picture
- 160 · Show Your Finished Idea to Your Family
- 161 · Remembering How to Talk About Music You Like
- 162 · Remembering High and Low Sounds
- 163 · Remembering Loud and Soft Sounds
- 164 · Remembering Same and Different Patterns
- 165 · Listen and Talk: What Do You Like About This Song?
- 166 · Remembering Voice Quality
- 167 · Remembering Loud and Soft in a Performance (Dynamics)
- 168 · Remembering Fast and Slow (Tempo)
- 169 · Practice Performing with Expression
- 170 · Perform a Favorite Song for Family
- 171 · Remembering How to Say Why You Like Music
- 172 · Practice Telling Why You Like a Song
Kindergarten music celebrationDays 173–180
Planning, rehearsing and putting on a family show: choosing favorite pieces, making a picture program and an invitation, a dress rehearsal and the show itself. The last day looks back at the whole year.
- 173 · Planning Our Kindergarten Music Celebration
- 174 · Choosing Our Favorite Music Memories
- 175 · Making a Music Picture Program for the Show
- 176 · Practicing Our Whole Show
- 177 · Dress Rehearsal Day
- 178 · Invite Your Family and Talk About Why
- 179 · The Kindergarten Music Celebration Show!
- 180 · Looking Back at Our Whole Year of Music
By the end of the year, your child can
- Keep a steady beat with clapping, patting and stomping
- Show with their hands whether a tune goes up, down or stays the same
- Make up a short movement or sound pattern and perform it for family
- Draw and read simple music pictures for loud, soft and melody
- Sing or play a song loud or soft, fast or slow, to show a feeling
- Say what music they like and give a reason using "because"