Peanut is such a lovely character!
Peanut thought she enjoyed playing the piano. But with piano exams around the corner, piano practice is just one more thing added to an endless list of things she has to do when she would rather play outdoors. Soon, she begins to think of the piano as a big, brown monster. Even worse is that she simply cannot understand what her piano teacher means when he tells her to play with feeling. How is she supposed to play with feeling when the only thing she’s feeling is hungry?
Humour and excitement come together in this lovely little hOle book. Here’s what we’ll do with Peanut Vs the Piano at my reading programmes!
Likes and Dislikes
As this is the first book we will be reading at the February edition of my reading programme, talking about what we like and dislike is a fun way to begin. I often find that talking about what we like stays formal and informative. It’s when children talk about what they dislike that they begin to open up. While some children say they dislike milk, others say they dislike Maths, writing, waking up, brushing their teeth …
Looking at the book cover, what guesses can they make about how Peanut feels towards the piano? And does the piano look like it likes Peanut?
Music
I love doing activities that link reading with the world around us. In a book that’s all about music, I look forward to exploring songs and instruments together. I’ll give each child a couple of minutes to play a song, if they know how to play an instrument, or sing something for us. I’m sure it’ll be fun!
Listening
When we read Mira the Detective, we enjoyed exploring sounds together. This time, I intend to do something different. Instead of identifying sounds, we’ll take the activity in another direction. What do we feel when we listen to something? Can music make us feel something? At a writing workshop I organised recently, the guest speaker Veda Aggarwal conducted an activity along similar lines. I know it works beautifully with older children, but I wonder how it will be with ages seven and eight. I’m waiting to find out!
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