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November 12, 2023

Books for Native American History Month

I absolutely love using books in my classroom because they open up so many possibilities. You can add a song, poem, or rhyme to make the book come to life and sing/speak it every few pages.  You can teach a song that’s related to the content you read about in […]
August 1, 2023

Where and how to buy children’s books!

I use children’s books all the time in my classroom!  They build up a kid’s love for stories and they open up a child’s imagination to all sorts of things they haven’t experienced before.  I use books as a springboard for any sort of activity.  Want to bring in a […]
September 29, 2019

Hispanic Heritage Month Books for the Music Room

I once had a professor say that it wasn’t enough to learn about a culture by reading facts, figures, and statistics. This professor assigned novels written by members of certain communities so that we could hear stories and see the culture through the author’s eyes, learning from their perspective. Hispanic […]
Books for Movement Exploration
September 21, 2018

Children’s Books for Movement Exploration

I love children’s literature and any time I go to the mall, a big box store, or really anywhere that sells anything I always gravitate towards the children’s book section.  One specific thing that I usually look for are books for movement exploration.  If you really look and sift through […]
April 22, 2018

The Five Best Learning Centers for the Music Room

I think that every teacher has heard of “using centers” in the classroom and has probably been asked by an administrator, “How do you incorporate small group learning?”  The concept of learning centers is pretty straightforward:  students work in small groups (usually 2-5 kids each) to complete a specific task.  […]
Musicians to celebrate, books to read, songs, games, and lesson ideas.
January 28, 2018

Black History Month in the Music Room

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of black people in U.S. history.  Since the mid 1970s, people in the United States have used the month of February to take a critical look at the way that […]
Wooden blocks with nursery rhymes, ukulele chords, and guitar chords, to use in the music room.
January 14, 2018

Nursery Rhyme Blocks from Uncle Goose

I am constantly on the lookout for cool new gadgets, manipulatives, and resources to use in my classroom.  No matter where I go I somehow always find myself browsing through children’s books and toys looking for a way to adapt them for the music room.  I love to jot down […]
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.  […]
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 […]
Five awesome things I found on Pinterest this month!
December 15, 2015

Five Favorite Pins of December – 2015

I will admit, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest browsing ideas, getting inspiration, and seeing how other teachers decorate and plan for teaching.  Pinterest can be a really great tool to help you plan for your own classroom and inspire you to try new things.  Why not share […]
Two videos to get your students up and moving in music class!
February 13, 2015

Film Friday – Gummy Bear and Dinosaur Stomp

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, […]
Why should you teach folk songs, what resources to use, and how to go about doing it!
October 4, 2014

Why Teach Folk Songs? – Resources, How-to, and More

I remember when I first started teaching elementary music I spent my first few months teaching fun songs from the written textbooks that I had access to, favorite lessons from local music workshops, and memorable songs from my own childhood music classes.  But then I hit a wall.  When I […]
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Mark Sixma