Have you ever had one of those classes that is just straight up squirrely and can’t find a way to sit and pay attention? Has there been a moment when you needed something to calm down a class and teach them to relax and refocus? Do you want to […]
“I can do this. I can do this! I’ve only got one more week…. ONE MORE WEEK!” Does that mantra sound familiar? I know that many of you are also psyching yourself up for one more week of high-energy kids who are sugared up from holiday parties and are […]
If you’ve read any of my blog so far you know that I love teaching folk songs. Folk songs are great songs with catchy tunes, are excellent for cultural and historical references, and usually have some sort of movement or dance component. What an exciting way to expand vocabulary! What an […]
I love teaching this fun little folk song, “I’ve been to Harlem” a.k.a. “Turn the Glasses Over,” to my students! I learned the basic version of the song at my Orff Level 1 training a few years ago and have been playing with how to teach the lesson ever since. This year […]
Teaching the four voices (speaking, shouting, singing, and whisper voices) to my Kinders and 1st graders is something I’ve been doing for years. The four “vocal timbres” are in almost every district curriculum I’ve seen and every textbook I’ve ever looked at. “Why do we teach this concept?” you ask. […]
I had so much fun with this lesson today that I just had to share. I’m continuing to work on sol-mi songs with my Kindergarten friends and had it in my lesson plans to go back and revisit “Rain, Rain, Go Away!” I always love teaching this song around this […]
If you have a rabbit puppet, this lesson is for YOU! I’ve been buying more puppets and experimenting a lot with puppet use for instruction in the classroom lately. I definitely got inspired when I recently attended a local Orff chapter workshop with Lynn Kleiner of Music Rhapsody. She uses […]
I think that we all have the one class that walks in the door a little squirrely every time. They fidget and chat and need something to help them focus before you’re going to get ANYTHING done in class. You can start with echo clapping, a poem, a game song, […]
I’m always looking for tips and tricks to make classroom management a little easier. Last summer at my Orff Schulwerk levels training I learned a truly wonderful idea about using ties to simplify folk dance and movement instruction. Since then I’ve thought of a lot of different ways to use […]
Teaching drums to my kids is one of my favorite things to do! They can’t get enough of the drums and see it as a special treat. I love it because I can sneak in SO much content and so many concepts and the kids just think that they’re banging […]
Holiday carols are so much fun! I love introducing my students to carols because they give you a chance to spark the kids’ interest and teach them about other countries, time periods, and (in some cases) different languages. In that regard they are much like folks songs because they open […]
I love Pharrel’s “Happy” song and I know that my kids do too! This summer I was brainstorming a way to use the Happy song in my classroom and it struck me that I could so easily use this fantastic song to teach form to my students. I developed the […]
