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1st Grade

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Beanie Buddies - Great for steady beat, rhythm practice, and more!
October 18, 2014

Beanie Buddies – Great for K-1

In my Orff Level I training we came across a couple fun activities for Beanie Babies that got my brain spinning and thinking about what could be done with those little critters.  Probably a lot of you already use beanie babies or stuffed animals for a variety of things.  In […]
The Master Sticker - Fun Positive Reinforcement Trick
September 1, 2014

The Master Sticker

The “Master Sticker” is a little trick that I happened upon one day when working with my younger kids.  I was pulling the classic “I’m watching and listening and I’m going to give stickers to the kids who I think are really following directions and singing so well!”  We’ve all […]
Line Up Tricks! Make it fun!
April 18, 2014

Loving the Line – Tricks for Lining Up

Does it ever feel like the last 3 minutes of class can be the craziest?  You get students all settled down where they’re learning and following directions with no problems and the second you mention the words “line up” they turn into a herd of cats. Line up time doesn’t […]
Assessment, positive reinforcement, and one-on-one instruction all rolled into one fun trick!
April 8, 2014

Sticker Attack!

This little teacher trick came from one of those crazy moments when you just do something crazy, go with it, and see where it leads.  I had a kindergarten class show up at my door one day and they desperately needed something special to get them to pay attention and […]
The Leprechaun Song - Great for improvisation with primary grades.
March 13, 2014

I Caught a Leprechaun – New Fun Song!

I’ve made a podcast episode about this blog post.  Check it out on iTunes or wherever you download podcasts!  You can also listen to the podcast on the web through this link. Every year I tell my K-1 students about the Leprechaun that keeps showing up in my room.  I […]
Film Friday - Teaching steady beat with the band Mates of State.
February 21, 2014

Ball Pit Beats with Mates of State

  I love using popular musical genres to help teach classroom concepts.  Kids zero in when you pull up YouTube and get so excited to see real, live musicians performing right in front of them.  Why not use a engaging medium (music videos/YouTube) to reinforce the very thing you’re teaching […]
Fantastic Apps to help you teach high vs. low sounds.
February 10, 2014

Awesome Apps for the Music Room to teach High vs. Low Sounds

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite music apps to use in your classroom that teach high/low and relate to teaching notes of the staff.  So many teachers these days have iPads, iPods, or use their iPhones for classroom purposes.  There are a lot of apps with relevance for […]
Here's a new song you can use with your primary grades and ideas about how to build a concert around it.
February 3, 2014

Love Bugs – A New Valentine’s Day Song and Program!

I had an upcoming Valentine’s Day concert with my Kindergarten kiddos and needed a perfect song to tie everything together.  I did a little brainstorming, sat down at the piano, and came up with a silly little Valentine’s Day Song called “Love Bugs!”  I knew I just had to share […]
This song is a great way to teach body vocabulary and lots more with primary kids!
January 9, 2014

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes as an ELL Tool

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes is a classic song that many, many students learn early on in life.  Lots of you folks are lucky enough to have this taught at home or in your preschools so that students come in knowing the familiar tune and words.  For many teachers, teaching […]
Click here to learn how to make your very own yarn ball. It's perfect for rhythm passing games, movement, and lots more!
January 6, 2014

DIY Yarn Ball – The Perfect Classroom Tool

I discovered the large Yarn Ball this summer when I took my Orff Level One coursework at Baker University.  IT IS AMAZING!  Thank you Dena Byers for using/showing me this tool and Jennifer Donovan for teaching me how to make it! It’s a fuzzy poof ball that can be used […]
Singing voice with Enchanted - One of my favorite videos to show K & 1st
January 2, 2014

Film Friday —  Singing Voice through Enchanted!

“That’s How You Know” from Enchanted is one of my favorite videos to show to my little people because it is a great example of the difference between singing and speaking voice and shows the joy and power of music.  I use this video during the first quarter/semester to help […]
Frosty the Snowman: Blog post about critical thinking, using story books, music listening activities, and more!
December 12, 2013

Critical Thinking in Frosty the Snowman

  One of my favorite songs to teach at the holiday time is Frosty the Snowman.  I teach this to second grade (I’m learning at my highly ELL school that I can only teach about half of what many of the rest of you teach because it takes many of […]
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