Moose Alpaca - a TRIED & TRUE Favorite!

 

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The end of each school year is ... well... interesting.  Looking forward to summer plans but in the middle of stress and the behavior of students either escalates into chaos and typically well behaved students go bananas, or students simply check out mentally and emotionally.  Our caffeine and sugar stashes are exhausted and our patience and enduring kindnesses are at Defcon 2.  I have been teaching almost 30 years - it doesn't seem to get easier and children and (some) parenting expectations and consequences are not what they used to be.  It seems like we are in the tornado and definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto. 

So, breathe in, breathe out.  Don't be afraid to show videos - there are many play alongs, dance alongs, and other activities from Musication, Mrs. King's Musical Corner, Ready Go Music,  Swick's Classroom, and many more.  

There is magic in the number three, so today here are three things you can do to continue actively making music in the classroom and keep your sanity. 

Playful and Purposeful 1 - AKA "Nail it Down"

Take those music concepts and play with them.  Play games and review those sixteenth notes in a new way.  One of my favorite things this time of year is to make rhythm snakes.  Give partner pairs two different rhythm cards, practice with body percussion - assign each rhythmic element a different body percussion- chest tap quarter notes, clap eighth notes, pat sixteenth notes.  

Everyone places their rhythm card in a long "snake" on the ground - students read/perform rhythms, then put students into 3 groups- each group has one timbre to play- hand drums, woods, shakers. Each group is responsible for playing ONLY their rhythmic element. Switch so each person gets to play a different instrument from each timbre.  Make it more interesting and musical by adding one of these backing tracks from Music Will. 

Playful and Purposeful 2 - AKA "Gameify It"

Singing games are playful and purposeful and if you can turn it into a "Level UP" game with various challenges in each level - even better!  One of my favorites to teach second grade on up is Pass the Beat from my Sing a Song, Play a Game book.  Level Up by teaching the basic as Level 1, replace the word "beat" with a clap for Level 2, replace "room" with a stomp for Level 3 and replace "Pass" with a snap for Level 4.  

If you are not following me on instagram, here are a few other games we love to play this time of year. Click on the picture to go to the link. 

Soy una serpiente

Humpty Dumpty Campfire Song

Forty Years on an Iceberg

Lemonade, New York

Mouse Mousie

And more from a facebook live! 

Playful and Purposeful 3 - AKA "Campfire Sing Along"

This is a beloved tradition at my school - click here to see all the past posts. 

All posts with "end of year" label can be found here.

Hope this helps you know you are not alone and helps in planning your final weeks or month!  Happy almost end of the school year! 

End of Year Favorites

 Happy May, Happy End of the School Year (in the US) and Happy Almost Summer! 

Can we just take a moment to pause and realize how immensely difficult this year has been? The third abnormal year of teaching during a Pandemic. I think we all thought yay, we're back in school after the craziness of Global lockdown, remote teaching, teaching in person, being hybrid, back to remote, back to remote, constant change and never quite feeling like the sand stopped shifting. I don't think any of us were prepared for the behavior challenges our students would have, or that consequences don't have the same meaning or are absent from students lives.  Student interactions have changed radically - no touching, don't get closer than 6 feet, then 3 feet; sanitize or wash hands; mask up; don't breathe too close to me; don't sing; don't share instruments; don't touch anything! With this lack of interaction children didn't know how to be around other children, couldn't make a line, couldn't stand in line, couldn't stay in line. And the list can go on and on.  

Take a moment and breathe and say, "Well done." No judgement - we've all done the best we could each day and that might look different hour to hour or minute to minute. 

This summer I am going to be hosting a 4-part "Summer Camp" on my Patreon to playfully plan for next year!  I hope you will consider joining us! Come join us here! 

I always look forward to the end of the school year - not only because it is the end of the school year but because we sing songs around a campfire our last day in music and for the whole month leading up to it we sing camp songs, clapping games, and really fun and silly musical things that keep us laughing and singing all the way to the end. I do this with first through fourth grade (my highest grade level).  All of my campfire songs (a book of over 50 songs) is posted for my Patreon subscribers.  See all previous posts about campfire songs here. 

I am excited to build my campfire next week. Here is last years:

Don't know where to get started? Here are a few from GoNoodle:

Go Bananas:

Boom Chicka Boom:

Peanut Butter in a Cup:

Little Green Froggy:

Coast to Coast:

For my littles we are also singing and moving but with less of a narrow focus.  Kindergarten music focuses on ocean and butterfly themes, with lots of rich song material and children's books.  Click here for the google slides with books, songs, and videos. 

My students especially love Butterfly, Butterfly, which is a book that is out of print and currently $60.00 on Amazon! Here is a read aloud from youtube. 

Insert the song below at appropriate times and have students move like a butterfly while they are singing and sitting on a "flower" (floor) while you sing. 

My littles - Junior Kindergarten - sing a variety of songs and the focus is on vibration (their classroom focus for science this month), so lots of instrument playing. 

Both of these groups really love the Sylvia Pizzicato video from Musication.

I get out triangles, rhythm sticks, and shaker eggs. Students choose which instrument they want and then we watch and play when the bee lands upon each flower. This is also a great assessment opportunity to see if students know how to correctly hold instruments (triangles especially) and if they play with accuracy. Students holding triangles put them away and choose either sticks or shakers, those with sticks put them away and choose triangles or shakers, etc. Play again. Another assessment opportunity. Repeat and play a third time and students will have been able to play all three instruments and you will have three assessment opportunities for accuracy and understanding of playing technique!

Grades 2, 3, and 4 LOVE Pass the Beat and will play this (almost) all day long! 

Hope you enjoy some of our favorite end of the year activities!

Campfire Time!

Campfire Songs! 

A recent social media post asked if camp songs are still culturally relevant. The post challenged me to consider how and why I use "camp" songs and I realized I do use some "camp" songs but the emphasis is on singing around a campfire a wide variety of diverse and inclusive songs and they aren't all considered to be "songs learned at camp."  It is all about the kinds of songs used, not the experience of camping. The post also asked how others use camp songs in their classrooms and this was my response.  

Your post challenged me to think about why I use campfire songs with my students. First, the emphasis is on singing around a campfire (community singing) not about going to summer camp. It simply isn't  discussed and is not the focus. Appropriate, diverse, and inclusive campfire songs are repetitive, easy to learn, playful, memorable, and meaningful.  That does not mean that they are culturally exclusive if done with a lens of using culturally relevant song material (not exclusively American "camp song literature") that acts as a mirror, window, or door. For the last month of school students sing campfire songs that  feature call and response, canons and rounds, expressive singing, instrument play, movement, and ensemble singing. Playful songs from cultures not my own are included that are diverse and inclusive.  Each class on their last day comes in to experience a campfire and we sing around the (pretend) fire.  Some of my students talk about sitting in the backyard with fires, or of building fires while going camping with family and friends, and using fire to celebrate Diwali, Hanukkah, the Persian fire festival (related to Nowruz), and many other holidays and festivities. Many students share how they have sung these memorable songs to siblings and family members and they quickly become multi-generational songs for all to sing.

It is worth noting that campfire songs are made up of folk songs, spirituals, work songs, sea shanties, cumulative songs, call and response songs, fingerplays, movement activities, and often include folk dances and storytelling elements.  

 

Our ancestors, wherever they were in the world, sang while cleaning animal skins, paddling canoes, pounding grain, hoisting sails, or gathering food.  One person tapped a beat, another sang a melody, and others would join in or add harmony. Often, at the end of the workday, they might have joined around a fire to sing songs about love, family, travel, and hope.  

Singing songs around a campfire leads to ensemble singing, reinforces concepts and skills, and can be celebratory, inclusive, and meaningful.  They can lead to collaborative, enjoyable, memorable, and playful musical moments. It’s not about camping, at least not for me. It is about making memorable and enjoyable music with my students while celebrating the end of a school year.  

 

My students love this time of playful music making and ending our year in this way keeps the music and laughter flowing. 

A couple years ago I posted on a facebook live for how my campfire is made- here it is- How I Make My Campfire Video

This year it will be about TWICE AS BIG!!! 

Here are pics of how my campfire is made- all materials from Dollar Tree except the wire stands (which are my glockenspiel stands), and the brown construction paper (from school). 

Enjoy!

Ending the School Year with Purposeful Fun

It's the end of the year and once again many of us are questioning HOW to end the school year.  Do we show videos or musicals? Do we do singing games? A composition or writing project? How to finish strong?

Much depends on the culture of your school and your students. Much also depends on you.
Where are you at with meeting the needs and behaviors of your students?
 I had a wonderful teacher friend many years ago encourage me to meet students where they are at. If your students come in bouncing off the walls crazy, it is going to be difficult and painful for all to attempt to immediately make them sit, be still, and quiet.
I have found it to be so much more enjoyable for all to spend the time meeting them where they are at (Seven Jumps dance always is my opening activity when classes are like this), then leading them down the path to where we need for them to be. Doing so is purposeful yet playful, and encourages relational teaching and builds community.
Enforcing immediate compliance without time to transition into your class is similar to a prison guard trying to re-establish control during a prison riot and can lead to you and the students feeling like this:

Ugh.. or uh oh.. or grrr, right?

So, what to do?  Some use the following:

• Practice Songs/Concepts Already Learned
• Project Based Learning
• Prepare Concepts/Skills/Sequences for Next Year
• Active Music Making - Vocal or Instrumental or Both (Orff Pieces)
• Show Video Musical with Writing/Drawing/Fill in the Blanks
• Games/Fun

There are pros/cons to each one - some have more teacher prep, some leave the kids bored and disengaged at what is usually the craziest (and funnest, let's be honest) time of year, and others engage the students in a meaningful, purposeful, and memorable experience!

I choose to meet my students where they are at with playful, meaningful, purposeful fun!

The What:  

• Campfire songs
• Clapping Songs and Games  
• Singing Games and Other Games  

The Why: 

• Purposeful - Review Concepts and Skills Previously Learned
• Active, Engaging, and FUN!
• Memorable

The Process:

• Allow several class periods to teach songs (about 20-25 campfire songs/games/activities total).  
• Last day of music with each class we have a campfire sing along. I project a campfire from youtube (lots out there like the one below):

• Build a campfire using tissue paper folded and tucked into black plastic plant pots from Dollar Tree and flickering tea lights.  The logs are made out of construction paper and are taped into place around the plastic pots.  The sticks each have a white label sticker with the name of a camp song printed on it. Each student picks a stick one at a time and that is the song we sing. 
• 

My students LOVE this so very much and it makes our last music together truly special and memorable. When I announce we are getting ready for campsongs they are so excited and teach me new ones they may have learned at camp last summer!
No matter what you are doing with your students, I hope you are having fun!

Blessings,

Un Jour Dans Sa Cabane

I grew up in Maine, and still consider that "home" along with North Carolina.  My mother grew up in Maine in "the county" - Aroostook County, which borders Canada.  I grew up speaking a smattering of French with my mum and my "Auntie Jo" who had a very thick French accent and learned English as a teenager.  I love this fun song, and the "Zoom bala" part is really fun!

 Enjoy!

End of the Year; Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something TRUE

Yes, I know, the word is supposed to be blue, but for our end of the year purposes, it's going to be "true". 

As I write this, I have 5 days of school left - YAY!  And.. Nay.  I know what you must be thinking; are you crazy? Nuts? Over the edge looney?  No - I look forward to making music with the kiddos and although I am ready for summer break and all that means, I like where my classes are "at" now in their ability, skill level, and knowledge. I also remember well the four to six week re-learning and review process that happens at the beginning of each school year and the constant, "Remember quarter notes? Yes, we learned them last year".

So while I am excited for summer break, it has been several weeks of "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something True."

1. Something Old

Activities/Games/Songs that are Favorites.  Break out the parachute for the Trepak activity that was a hit in December, or the Rattlin' Bog song they loved in March for St. Patty's Day.
Camp Songs - I always sing camp songs at the end of the school year and my students have really come to LOVE these. I have several already on the blog; check the right side tags and you will find "camp songs".  If you are looking for a more "formal" resource. I just put together a HUGE set (19!!) of these with music notation, projectable/printable lyric slides and directions and though I usually offer things for free, this was a MAJOR undertaking, so it is on my TpT store and is on sale here!

Review Games - Candy Land Games I made using donations of Candy Land (ask and ye shall receive!). I have six of these games and the kids love them!

Kaboom- I really need to make new ones but basically it is a cup with 4 beat rhythms written on popsicle sticks inside.  Four of the sticks have "Kaboom" written on them.

Hula Hoop Conducting - Elizabeth of caldwellorganizedchaos blog has a great post about how she uses these and I play in a very similar way.  I love the games you can play with hula hoops and this is a great review of playing unpitched percussion or Orff instruments.  Let the children take turns, too.

 

2.  Something New/Something Borrowed

Recently found a new resource/lesson/activity?  Borrowed a lesson or activity from another teacher (or from a blog.. hint hint)?  Want to test drive it?  Go for it!  Now is the time to see how you need to tweak it and where it might fit best into your year long plans for next year?  Is it a rhythm lesson but you have an idea for how to make it a form lesson - try it now, tweak, and jot down notes on how you need to further develop it.  I keep a file called, "Things I want to try".  It is old school- a manila folder where I print out or jot down ideas, lessons, songs, listening pieces I need to develop further. 

 

3.  Something True

While it is true that this time of year is typically filled with fun activities, be true and authentic; sometimes the songs that were "deep" are the ones they want to sing again. My oldest students have wanted to sing, "Give Light" which I blogged about in December in this post.  The song resonated with them, and while it is not a "fun" song, it honors those with more serious personalities.  My second graders have chosen to sing "This Land is Your Land" as one of their song choices on their last day..  Another more serious song, and not as light-hearted as  "Found a Peanut", but I was true to their choice. 

Hope you have a wonderful end and a great summer- check back, I'll be here! :)

 





 

Mountains, Lakes, and Camp Songs - Musical Vacations

 A couple weeks ago I posted about taking your children on a musical vacation before summer begins.  Many of our students do not get to take fun family vacations in the summer, and so a virtual visit to the ocean and a camping trip might be a fun activity for your students.  I haven't met a child yet who did not like to sing silly camp songs and it is the perfect ending to your time together and keeps the kiddos singing right up until the final day of school!! So today we are heading to higher elevations - we are going to the mountains!

1.  I Love the Mountains

My students love this song and I was lucky enough to find a big book of it from Scholastic several years ago, with additional words including famous American landmarks such as Lady Liberty, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and Mount Rushmore among others.  I don't think it is available any longer, but this book is available from Amazon:

Get it here.

This is a link to the sheet music from Beth's Notes. 
Here is a link to the song, with instrumental and vocal sound clips. 

2.  Crazy Moose

I am a proud Maineiac, meaning I am originally from Maine, home to the beginning or end of the Appalachian Trail.  Beginning or end depending on when you start and if you through-hike the AT which can take many moons to complete!  I now live in NC, another AT site!  While taking a hike, in bear country, particularly in warmer months, it can be important to make a little noise to let the bears know there are people near by.    Singing songs also helps keep everyone hiking together, especially up those steeper parts of the trail.  "Neat-o repeat-o songs" are great for kids unfamiliar with camp songs and this one is perfect! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Alligator

Yup, this is the "lakes" part of our theme today.  Alligators can be found in marshes, wetlands, rivers, ponds and, you guessed it, lakes!  Another "Neat-o Repeat-O" song, this one is so funny!  To truly understand, you have to watch it: 

Here is the music and the version I learned (slightly different than the video):

Oh- and by the way, my third graders loved to play this on recorder- just make the low A into a high one.

 

4.  The Other Day I Met a Bear

Perfect song for hiking!

 

5.  For other camp songs, check out this previous post!

Hope you enjoyed your mini-vacation!  What other camp songs do you sing with your kiddos?

Song and Clapping Game!

Many of you may know this old camp song favorite, Flea Fly Mosquito.  At my session this past weekend at AOSA (American Orff Schulwerk Association) I showed how this can be used in a few different ways.
This is from my latest book, Hands to Hands Too, Hand Clapping Songs and Games from the USA and Canada. Available from Beatin' Path Publications at www.singsmileplay.com.



Process:

1.  Teach chant/song teacher is the leader, students are "all". 

2.  Teach clapping game at a slow tempo, with chant/song.

3.  Perform with partners.

4.  Divide class; half or the partner groups are "leaders", others are "all".

5.  Perform, then switch so other half of class becomes the leaders.

6.  Challenge time; one partner from each pair is "leader" the other partner is "all".

 

SO much fun!!!

Cross Clap – Cross hands and clap partners hands.

 

 

 

 

Spray – Pretend to hold can of bug spray and spray right to left.

 

Dead Bug – Back on the floor, arms and legs straight up in the air, a la “dead bug”.

 

Teacher Tip:  Try this one over and over, faster, slower, high voice, low voice, etc.

 

 

 



Books to Sing, Songs as Books

Picture it:  Inside a _______ bookstore (insert your favorite bookseller), deep in the children's literature section. Soft pitter patter of feet, moms reading quietly to children when suddenly a loud joyous laugh breaks through the (almost) silence.  Yup, that'd be me finding a new song/book book/song.  I love finding these little gems and there have been more and more published in the last decade or so!  Yeeeha!! 
Of course being a musician and music teacher I love songs, especially those "magical" ones that are timeless treasures, and I also love children's books and have a bit of an obsession with them- this is my bookshelf at school with *some* of my picture books.

 I am trying to keep the top shelf as songs which are books or, depending how you look at it, books that are songs.

Good news for me is they keep spilling over. Last year I finally changed how I was organizing them and now have them alphabetically. Phew- I used to have them by author and genre, but that just didn't work for me.
Second shelf has books that I have found or created music lessons to accompany them, with third bookshelf holding seasonal activities and books I have yet to create music for but have ideas. 


Aileen Miracle over at Mrs. Miracle's Music Room has a great post about ten of her favorites, which inspired me to make my own list of favorites. 

1.  I Got Two Dogs available here from Amazon.com. This song is addictive!  I ordered it a couple weeks ago and just played the song with my daughter on the ride home last week and it is hysterical!  "AGAIN, AGAIN", I kept hearing from the back seat! It is highly infectious and another gem from the amazing John Lithgow but I have to say, it's probably my favorite one he has written!

2.  Twenty Four Robbers by Audrey Wood, available here. 

OK, technically not a song with a melody (although I do know one to go with it), this skipping rhyme has a wonderful sing-song cadence to it and the illustrations are fabulous!









3.  Sing, available here.

Oh, where do I start?! "Sing! Sing a song. Sing out loud, sing out strong."
The song was first made popular on Sesame Street, then interpreted by a WIDE variety of musicians, from Gloria Estefan to the Dixie Chicks to R.E.M., as well as famous personalities such as Conan O'Brien, Katie Couric, Nathan Lane, and Liam Neeson!  Lively, happy illustrations accompany the book as well as a CD with the music.



4.  I Ain't Gonna Paint No More, available here.

Oh, this is such naughty fun!  My students love to combine this with "Johnny Works with One Hammer", eventually changing the lyrics to "Johnny paints with one paintbrush, etc.", reading/singing the book- oh they love the little mischief maker, then we play Trepak from the Nutcracker while pretending to throw and smear paint.  Finally, we make classroom statues while singing a song about statues and I visit the "museum" where various statues move, giggle, and snicker and "scare" me, while I pretend to be scared of the moving ones. Such wonderful fun!!



5.  If it's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws, available here.

Yup, "If You're Happy and You Know It" with polar bears, seals, beluga whales and other artic animals!  Sure to delight your kiddos and wonderful to leave with a sub!






6.  Day is Done, available here.

I happened to be wandering through Big Lots one day and found this for $3.00!!

This is Peter Yarrow's beautiful song, “Day Is Done."  As night falls, animal parents tenderly tuck their little raccoons, rabbits, field mice, deer, and child into bed.  Far more than a lullaby, though, this is a wonderful song (and book) to share for Earth Day; "you shall inherit what humankind has done, but all will be well when the day is done (as I am here)".

7.  Conejito, available here.

 

 

This is a folktale from Panama written by Margaret Read MacDonald.  In the back of the book you will find the song that will be sung each time Conejito  goes dancing and leaping (bailando y saltando).  This is a wonderful trickster tale and a few years ago I included a loose interpretation of the story as a program.  Here is the orchestration my students performed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  8.  Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name. Whew!  What a name!  Available here.

 

If you've seen my blog before, you know how much I love camp songs, especially for the last month of school!  This is one camp song that is also a book! Score!!! Outrageously funny, undeniably one of my students favorites. Ever.

 

  

9.  Take Me Home Country Roads, available here.

 

Really, I love all the John Denver songs that have been made into picture books, including "Sunshine on My Shoulders" available here, and "Grandma's Feather Bed", available here.  Country Roads is probably the one that my kids know best, and they love to croon along with the melody!! A great book to have on hand when you have those 5 minute moments of "I need something else here". All the books come with CD's, bonus!!

 

 

 

10.  Over in the Meadow, Over in the Jungle, Over in the Ocean, Over in the Grasslands, available here.

 I love these as they can all be sung to "Five Little Ducks" and children quickly sing along with the numbers (up to 10). We often break out some instruments and play the numbers.  I really like how the illustrations were created with Over in the Jungle and Over in the Ocean; the artist used polymer clay to create the entire image; incredibly impressive! 

Brand new in September 2016 is Over in the Grasslands: On an African Savanna!

 

Hope you have enjoyed the book tour and have found some new things to buy/ask for/have parents donate to your music rooms! Happy (almost) Friday tomorrow!!!