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August 5, 2026

Making the Most of Rhythm Sticks in Music Class

Raise your hand if you’ve ever handed out rhythm sticks, done a few echo patterns, and thought, “Well…now what?” You’re not alone. Rhythm sticks are a staple in elementary music classrooms, but they’re capable of so much more than a quick warm-up activity. The rhythm sticks you’ll find in most […]
January 10, 2024

Bate, Bate, Chocolate

I find that I talk about food in my classroom all the time. It’s one common thing that unites all culture and peoples around the world because we all love to eat! Even my English language learners who might be brand new to the country learn food words really fast […]
November 19, 2023

Run, Turkey, Run! – Book Recommendation

With Thanksgiving only one day away, can Turkey find a place to hide from the farmer who’s looking for a plump bird for his family feast?  Maybe he can hide with the pigs . . . or the ducks . . . or the horses . . . Uh-oh! Here […]
Learn about how to use the story Groovy Joe Dance Party Countdown in your Music Classroom!
October 7, 2017

Groovy Joe Dance Party Countdown – Book Recommendation

“Groovy Joe is totally fun.  He’s a song-singing, tail-wagging party of one!”  Who is Groovy Joe, you might ask?  Groovy Joe is a dancing, singing, guitar playing dog and is the literary creation of Eric Litwin, the best-selling author of the original four Pete the Cat books, The Nuts, and now Groovy Joe.  […]
Naughty Kitty Cat - Great Song for K & 1
January 14, 2017

Naughty Kitty Cat – Circle Song

One of my favorite things about the Orff Schulwerk philosophy of teaching is the ability to go from something relatively simple to an experience that is complex and exciting.  You start with a song, add in movement, add in new layers, add in an ostinato, include a game, move students […]
Shoo Turkey Folk Song and Dance
October 30, 2016

Shoo Turkey – A Song for November

This post is also featured on the TpT blog! I stumbled across this awesome little gem of a song when I was looking through Bessie Jones’s book “Step It Down” a year or so ago.  The kiddos love the song but also go crazy for the accompanying dance.  I really […]
Zar and the Broken Spaceship
February 21, 2016

Zar the Friendly Alien and His Broken Spaceship

Do you know about Zar, the friendly alien, and his broken spaceship?  Zar has been a good friend in my classroom for years and has never failed to entrance Kindergarten, 1st, and even 2nd graders! I love turning to Zar when I have a group of kiddos who really need […]
Fishy Fun - Ocean Song Ideas for Kindergarten and 1st Grade
February 7, 2016

Fishy Fun!  Ocean Songs and Games for Primary Grades

I like a good theme, I won’t lie.  For the past week or so I’ve been teaching ocean songs and underwater games to kindergarten and I wanted to share some of the things that have worked really well.  Since it’s kindergarten I try and keep activities pretty short but do […]
Singing About Animals and enhancing the schema of students!
January 10, 2016

Singing About Animals – Enhancing Schema

I learned early on in my music teaching career that I can’t assume anything about kiddos.  I learned not to bank on the idea that kids have done something before or learned information somewhere else before coming to my classroom.  For example, you might think:  “Itsy Bitsy Spider is a […]
December 13, 2015

Jingle All the Way – Ideas for December

“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 […]
Use puppet pals to teach the vocal timbres
September 27, 2015

Puppet Pals:  Learning the Four Voices

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. […]
Rain Rain Go Away - Lesson Ideas, extension activities, and videos to use with your class.
May 8, 2015

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

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 […]
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