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A homemade cart for barred percussion instruments.
November 23, 2013

DIY Orff Carts – Get those bass instruments moving!

So, I’ve got three amazing bass barred percussion instruments in my room.  Two bass xylophones and a bass metallophone.  I love them for the timbre they bring and kids love playing them because they’re “the hugest ones!”  All in all, these instruments are fantastic… but they’re not fantastic to move […]
A fun video to show after teaching the fingerplay.
November 22, 2013

Film Friday – Little Bunny Foo Foo

This is one of my absolute favorite videos to show my first grade students and they LOVE to watch it.  I stumbled across this my first year of teaching and have used it ever since!  Kids love to see a song or story that THEY KNOW turned into a video […]
Here are some of my favorite little tricks to smooth transitions and get kids learning more quickly.
November 20, 2013

2/4  Tiny Tricks to Make Life Easier

You can never have enough tricks up your sleeve when you work with kids.  It’s bad enough for classroom teachers who see the same 20-30 kids day in and day out.  At least they have time to teach kids procedures that help to alleviate some of the crazy behaviors.  They […]
Five Fat Turkeys - Adding a B section and playing with the form of the song.
November 18, 2013

Five Fat Turkeys – ABA form

“Five Fat Turkeys Are We” is one of my favorite songs to teach to little folks during the holidays.  It’s a fun song with a great story and most importantly it gets kids to think critically. I love asking kids questions and telling the story of the song in a way […]
November 16, 2013

Paper Bag Alien Hats for Concert

Have you ever found yourself looking for that perfect costume to finalize your concert plans?  I needed a simple and FREE alien costume for my upcoming concert called “Space Invaders” (learn about the concert here).  What to do!?  I work at an elementary school in a low-income neighborhood and we […]
Best Boomwhacker playing ever! Videos to inspire your students!
November 15, 2013

Film Friday – Plastik Music  — Boomwhacker Craziness!

If you love boomwhackers, then you need to see these videos!  Plastik Music is a musical group that takes famous songs and arranges them for boomwhackers and a variety of other found/converted/created instruments.  Here’s a quick blurb from their website: “From Mozart to Motown, Plastic Musik puts a RADICAL twist […]
Children standing on a stage for a school performance
November 14, 2013

Preparing for A Concert or School Performance

I’m always looking for new tips and tricks to make concert preparation easier.  I feel like I perpetually get burned out and stressed out when planning for a school performance because there are so many details to work out.  Anything that I can do to alleviate some of the stress […]
This song about a funny dancing clown is a perfect way to encourage creative movement.
November 9, 2013

Punchinello – Improvising Movement

“Punchinello, you funny fellow!”  This is a song that I do each year with my first graders because it’s so much fun and has some awesome curricular connections.  In my district, one of our first quarter curriculum goals says that first grade students are supposed to learn a song to sing […]
A perfect video to teach dynamic differences like piano and forte.
November 8, 2013

Film Friday – Teaching Piano and Forte!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE using videos to reinforce concepts that I’m teaching in class.  Videos grab the attention of students and inspire them to look deeper and connect.  I especially love it when I can use music videos of contemporary artists to explain […]
The Big Red Sub Binder - stocked and ready to go!
November 6, 2013

2/4 Tuesday:  Substitute Planning!

I took a personal day for a doctor’s appointment last Friday and as I was preparing for the day I hit that slump of “What should I plan for this sub…  who knows if it’s going to be a music person or not…  Ugh!”  I find it really hard to […]
Pumpkin on the Vine - Perfect song for fall with ABA form!
November 5, 2013

The Pumpkin on the Vine – Identifying ABA Form

One of the things that is required in our district curriculum is teaching first graders to identify ABA form in song.  Last year I couldn’t find any songs in my Thanksgiving or Fall repertoire that I really loved that were easy for my kids to see ABA form.  So, I […]
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