In Australia, Spring begins on the first day of September. When I first arrived from Japan this was very strange to me – how can it be so perfect as to coincide with the first day of the month? But then surprisingly I experienced this strange phenomenon- when the month changed so did the weather! Now I find myself unexpectedly looking forward to that “first day”.
Father’s Day is September 3rd in Australia, so this week we made a card with a photo and a musical theme. One of the children was so proud of hers that she said “This is mine, I don’t want to give it to Daddy!”
The last composer for August was Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918). We listened to “Clair de Lune”, one of his most famous compositions. Most of the children were listening to this piece for the first time, and some of their impressions included “night song”, “haunted feelings” and “a bit scary”. I hope they can continue to enjoy music like this, with their hearts more than their heads, with freedom to believe that whatever they feel in the music is right for them.
