Beethoven Is For All Ages!

   
     We had a spontaneous lesson this morning - also called taking advantage of a teachable moment. A 3 1/2 year-old was humming Beethoven's 5th while playing with the dolls. I asked her where she heard that music. She told me she had watched a video about a ballerina who gets kidnapped. "My sister says that music is scary," she said, singing again, "dum-da-da-dumm, dum-da-da-dumm. They play that music when the ballerina gets kidnapped."
     "Hmmm.....," I thought. "Let's go with this."
     I found a recording of the entire 5th movement and played it during snack time. She was thrilled to hear the melody she'd been singing. "Yes!"she cried, "that's it!"
    After snack, we watched a video of an orchestra playing the same movement. Rapt attention from the three-year-old and a two-year-old; they were enthralled. I pointed out all the different instruments as they appeared in close-ups. The two-year-old kept asking where the bagpipes were - this was two days after St. Patrick's Day - apparently he had been exposed to Celtic music! I finally explained there were no bagpipes in this orchestra. "Oh," he said, somewhat disappointed.  :)
    The interest was still there, but people were getting a little wiggly, so I played another orchestra piece in the background while we continued other activities. I was also able to show them a real violin that one of my children used to play - they were delighted to see it, and learned that no, it's not a little guitar, it's a different kind of stringed instrument.
    So, unexpectedly, we had an introduction to classical music, the orchestra, stringed instruments as opposed to other kinds of instruments - and still had time for the scheduled day's activity - planting seeds. It was a lovely "detour" in our day that only added to it in every way!