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Second Grade Eurythmy
Fall term
It is a pleasure to work with the children of the second grade in Eurythmy. They have
entered the year with a greater maturity and are eager to learn and develop new skills.
This year second grade Eurythmy lessons will be centered around a fairy tale " The Town Musicians of Bremen," several of Aesop's Fables, and a play based on "Words from an Old Spanish Carol." In addition, the children will work with verses and prayers that relate to the part of the second grade curriculum that centers on stories of noble men and women.
To quote from an article on second grade: "If the circle is a picture of first grade, all whole and unified, each part sustaining the rest, the second grade may be seen as two parallel lines. For the child is no longer carried by the dreamy sense of security in all that encircles him, but begins to experience a delicate quality of “apartness”, of “identity”. At this age, criticalness may suddenly appear, along with a tendency to squabble endlessly, or feel persecuted by “everybody”, bereft of friends. The fables point out the foibles suddenly appearing all over; the Saints’ legends calm, console and reassure."
Our fall lessons began with the fable "The Lion and the Mouse." For this story we acted out the parts of the rumbling lion, the quick and nimble mouse, and the hunters who come to capture the lion. The children enjoyed performing speech Eurythmy gestures and various musical dances in a way that characterize each part.
The class is currently working on a play to "Words from an Old Spanish Christmas Carol."
Shall I tell you who will come
To Bethlehem on Christmas Morn,
Who will kneel them gently down
Before the child, newborn?
One small fish from the river,
With scales of red, red, gold.
One wild bee from the heather,
One gray lamb from the fold,
One ox from the high pasture,
One little mouse from the field,
One goatling from the far hills,
One white, white bird.
I choose to do this Spanish Carol with second grade students because I believe it brings a feeling of quiet reverence as well as a fun way to explore the qualities of the various animals through movement.
The play includes Speech Eurythmy gestures to the words of the Carol, which are interspersed with Tone Eurythmy to the theme and variations of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by W.A. Mozart. The play ends with the students silently performing the Speech Eurythmy gestures for the word Halleluiah and exiting to the Carol “Noel.”
I hope to have the children of the class present this to their families shortly after we return to school from the winter holiday.
If you have any questions for me, please send them through the contact page. Best wishes to all the second grade children and families for a happy school year.
Second Grade Eurythmy
Fall term
It is a pleasure to work with the children of the second grade in Eurythmy. They have
entered the year with a greater maturity and are eager to learn and develop new skills.
This year second grade Eurythmy lessons will be centered around a fairy tale " The Town Musicians of Bremen," several of Aesop's Fables, and a play based on "Words from an Old Spanish Carol." In addition, the children will work with verses and prayers that relate to the part of the second grade curriculum that centers on stories of noble men and women.
To quote from an article on second grade: "If the circle is a picture of first grade, all whole and unified, each part sustaining the rest, the second grade may be seen as two parallel lines. For the child is no longer carried by the dreamy sense of security in all that encircles him, but begins to experience a delicate quality of “apartness”, of “identity”. At this age, criticalness may suddenly appear, along with a tendency to squabble endlessly, or feel persecuted by “everybody”, bereft of friends. The fables point out the foibles suddenly appearing all over; the Saints’ legends calm, console and reassure."
Our fall lessons began with the fable "The Lion and the Mouse." For this story we acted out the parts of the rumbling lion, the quick and nimble mouse, and the hunters who come to capture the lion. The children enjoyed performing speech Eurythmy gestures and various musical dances in a way that characterize each part.
The class is currently working on a play to "Words from an Old Spanish Christmas Carol."
Shall I tell you who will come
To Bethlehem on Christmas Morn,
Who will kneel them gently down
Before the child, newborn?
One small fish from the river,
With scales of red, red, gold.
One wild bee from the heather,
One gray lamb from the fold,
One ox from the high pasture,
One little mouse from the field,
One goatling from the far hills,
One white, white bird.
I choose to do this Spanish Carol with second grade students because I believe it brings a feeling of quiet reverence as well as a fun way to explore the qualities of the various animals through movement.
The play includes Speech Eurythmy gestures to the words of the Carol, which are interspersed with Tone Eurythmy to the theme and variations of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by W.A. Mozart. The play ends with the students silently performing the Speech Eurythmy gestures for the word Halleluiah and exiting to the Carol “Noel.”
I hope to have the children of the class present this to their families shortly after we return to school from the winter holiday.
If you have any questions for me, please send them through the contact page. Best wishes to all the second grade children and families for a happy school year.