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The Aquarium

By Saint Saëns

Hi there,
This activity tells a story about the fish and musicaly we will focus on the tones that go down.
Please take a couple of minutes to listen to the music by yourself and get to know the sounds  that your child will learn in this activity.

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Anchor 1

Learning About The Fish

Ask your child:
Fish swim in big groups
We get oxygen from the air!
Fish get oxygen from the water!

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The breathing fish

This is how the breathing fish looks like!

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Watch the video and ask your 
child to imitate the mouth of a breathing fish
First listening
First listening 
  • The composer Saint Saens loved watching the fish in his aquarium and decided to write a music story about the fish.
  • Watch the music video with your child and whenever the tones go down, tell your child that the fish is diving.
  • At the end asked him/her to tell you if the music was calm and quiet or loud and temperamental?
  • Why the music was calm ? Because it talks about the quite world of the fish in the water. Fish are not making noise like people! 
  • Ask you child to tell you the story of the music and why did the fish go down?

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Musical seesaw

 Musical seesaw

  • Do you know that musical tones can go up and down? 
  • Please listen: 
    Up                       Down
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  • The composer used  tones that go down  to show us that the fish dives down deep into the water
  • Please listen 

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Second listening

Our hand can be a fish!

Second listening 
  • Let's imagin that our hand is a fish!
  • Let's  imitate  the "fish" swimming and diving without music.
  • Please watch the video and move your "fish". When you hear that  the fish is diving,  your child's "fish"  will swim down too!

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Facts about the fish

Some interesting facts about the fish

Ask your child:
Is it dangerous  to be a fish? Why?
Who likes to eat fish?
People like to eat fish and fisherman catch fish with a net or a fishing rode!
Bird,cats and bears like to eat fish
and big fish like to eat small fish 

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Third listening

A Drama game

Third Listening
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Let us imagine that the room is an ocean and your child is a fish.
Let us imagine that you, the parent, is a hungry bird!
Whenever the "bird" hears the  tones that go down  in the music, the "bird" will try to catch the "fish".
If the "fish" lies on the floor in the descending tones, it means that it dived very deep and the bird can not catch it.
If the "fish" does not go down at the descending tones, the "bird" eats the fish 

 Do it again and change roles

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Art work

Art work

Forth Listening
Print the attched fish images and ask your childe to color it and cut each fish seperatly

Print  me

  • Ask your child to pick up one fish and help that fish "swim" in the air with the music.
  • When your child hears the descending tones, he/she  will put their fish down and choose a new one to swim with.
  • At the end ask your child to count how many fish did he/she help swimmimng?3
  •  How many  times in the music  did you hear the descending tones: 3 times

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Aunder the water

Let's have a glimps at the world under water!

There are different fish in the ocean!
Watch the sharks, the turtles and more!

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The Piano

The Piano

In this music we hear the Piano playing and especially  we hear its sound at  the descending tones.
Please watch the video and learn how the piano produces its sound.
 
 
There are many types of keyboard musical instruments:
The Accordion,the electric Organ and the Melodica

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Fish makeup

Simple ideas for "A fish face" make up:

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 "A fish make up"
makes the musical activities much more fun!
 
 
Fifth listening

The fish and the corals :

Fifth Listening
Corals are sessile animals that "take root" on the ocean floor. It's no wonder that many people think corals are plants!
 Small fish can hide in the little holes of the corals !
  • Prepare a fishing rod from a pencil and shoelace!
  • Look for "holes" in your house that can be "corals"and fish can hide them.
You can either make "a fish make up"on your child's face or ask your child to use Dadi's big T shirt or any other fabrick and turn into a fish.
Put the music on and let "your fish" swim.
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Your fish will try to hide inside the "corals" at the descending tones and you will try to catch him/her.
If you touch the "fish" with your "fishing rod"in the descending tones, you can "eat the fish...".
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Sixth listening
Sixth  listening

Playing musical instruments with the music

 "Bottle rattles"
  • Take 3 plastic  bottles and fill half of each one of them  with different materials like: rice , noodles, chick-peas  etc.
  • Take another bottle and fill half of it with water.   
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You can play the water rattle only at the descending tones.
You can play the other rattles in the rest of the music
Decide who will play the water rattle and who will play the other rattlers.
 

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The rainbow fish

"The Rainbow fish" by  Marcus Pfister 

Please watch the wonderful story about the Rainbow Fish

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The rainbow fish
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