Sound Bite

Learning can happen anywhere! In this episode of Charlie & Company, the “school zone” is a place where Miss Ellie says, “Classical music makes me want to sway and spin.” Today, Charlie and Miss Ellie visit an auditorium and meet a high school orchestra, as they search for clues to answer the “puzzle it out” question of the day. Nestor Fields does a lesson on bigger and smaller, using musical instruments; Socrates The Owl helps us learn how to categorize, using families of instruments found in an orchestra; and Violet Ringtail, Charlie’s favorite raccoon, gets us to use our brains to hear and see patterns. We meet the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families. But hmmm…where does the harmonica fit in? Once the puzzle pieces are all in place, sing along with Brian Vander Ark and Miss Ellie: “Listen to the symphony. The music rises. The instruments come in all shapes and sizes.”

Features:

• Custom live actionanimation video

• Recurring, familiar series characters

• “Puzzle it out” problem-solving theme

• Relatable, youth symphony setting

• Sing-along learning song

Skills: compare and contrast; bigger and smaller; musical instrument families; vocabulary; focus; fine motor skills; problem-solving; attention; following directions