March from the Nutcracker Stretchy Band Activity

 Yes, I love the Nutcracker! There is so much fun to play with that is also a ballet and.. CLASSICAL music that children have most likely heard before! 

Here is a fun stretchy band activity for you and your students to enjoy! 

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Enjoy!

Jingle Bells (INSTRUMENT, Not Song)

 I love the distinctive sound of jingle bells.  

I no longer use the song, Jingle Bells, in my classroom as it is rooted in Blackface Minstrelsy and has some sexual innuendo in the song.  Read more about that here, here, and here.

So here are my top 5 ways to use jingle bells in the music classroom - note, these are all WINTER songs and activities about sleighing or wintertime, not specific to Christmas. 

1.  Five Little Jingle Bells from Lynn Kleiner. 

This song is the PERFECT replacement for Jingle Bells and my kids LOVE it! You can also see the video here from one of my Facebook posts. 

2. Make Jingle Bell bracelets!  

Use jingle bells (Dollar Tree often carries them in the craft or holiday section this time of year) and pipe cleaners.  Each student gets 4-6 jingle bells to thread onto the pipe cleaner. Twist the ends and trim for size. The Kindergarten and First Graders are often over the moon with their special bracelets.  This is also great fine motor control work and counting (I let them make two, one for each arm, so they have to get 10 bells, then cut them in half; 5 bells for each bracelet).

3. Jingle Bell Parade from Music K8.  Each student with jingle bells line up behind you and you lead them on a parade throughout the room. This works well for a concert entry or exit with littles, too.  

4.   Bucket Drumming with Jingle Bell Rock - the version of the song I use is from Music Connection from Silver Burdett Ginn, Grade 5, CD 10, track 10.  You can use other versions and adjust accordingly (most do not have the interlude which is easily omitted).

Jingle Bell Rock Bucket Drum Routine  Click for the full post including score and directions.

5.  Everybody Sing Jingle Jangle from Charissa Duncanson. Check out her post about the song here.

Play and Sing Along

Song only

Enjoy!

Books and Music for Ramadan

Ramadan is a holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world. It begins at sundown April 2 and ends May 1 this year. Through fasting, Muslims believe  their relationship with God will be strengthened, as it makes up one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

This 3-minute video shows children sharing information about Ramadan:

This book is the story of Najma, a girl who rises each morning of Ramadan to the drum beat of her neighborhood's musaharati. He wakes each family for the pre-dawn meal before the day of fasting. Najma wants be a musaharati herself one day, but the job has never been one for girls.  This is a lovely story of resilience, determination, and courage.

This is a great read aloud of the book:

Lisa Zargarpur wrote a beautiful article for the American Center for Elemental Music and Movement (ACEMM) with a song for Ramadan.  Check it out here! 

Hena Khan is one of my favorite authors!  

I fell in love with Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets a few years ago and wrote an activity I put in my Painted Music book.  

Here is a link to the pdf with the above images and the 2-beat building bricks.

Hena Khan has several other books I love! 

Ramadan Mubarak

Enjoy!

Candy! Candy! Rondo

 December is a month full of holidays and is a perfect month to talk about sugar! 

This is an International Candy Rondo idea focusing on first American candies and then involving the students in an exploration of international candies. Thanks to my friend Tammy for creating this idea- she created this as a Project-Based Learning activity with her students so you could easily have your students research a cultures candy and/or treats. 

Click here to make a copy of the google slides. 

Enjoy!

Diwali!

 Hello, friends - first, an exciting announcement! I have a new community full of music educators who are trying to simplify their planning and grow professionally. I welcome you to come join for exclusive video lessons, activities, organization ideas, children's literature lessons, workshops, and one on one mentoring opportunities. We are going to have so much fun learning and growing with each other! 

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Diwali is coming soon- November 4. Diwali (or Deepavali as it’s sometimes called) means “row of lights” in Sanskrit. During this festival, people decorate their homes with lights and oil lamps, called diyas.  The lights and lamps are said to help the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, find her way into peoples’ homes, bringing prosperity in the year to come. It is also a celebration of good triumphing evil.Diwali is a religious holiday and festival originating in India. People often think of Diwali as a Hindu festival, but it is also celebrated by Sikhs and Jains. The celebration lasts for five days and marks the start of the Hindu New Year. The exact dates change each year and are determined by the position of the moon but usually fall between October and November. 

Check out the Nat Geo page for more interesting facts. 

Last year was the first year I incorporated Diwali more fully.  I began by talking with some of my families who are Indian. I had some wonderful moms come in and teach me some Dandiya (stick) dances and we created a very simple one for our young students. There is some footwork involved in Dandiya dances but we focus more on performing with the sticks.  I also talked with a few of my students  who are Indian privately, asking if they wanted to speak or tell us during class about how they celebrated, or if any of them were performing classical Indian dance or song (I have a first grader who takes classical Indian singing lessons!) and invited them to perform. 

Book to Begin

This is a lovely book and a perfect introduction to the customs and celebrations.  This year I am recording two sisters who are Indian reading the book to show to all my classes. 

Diwali, Diwali Song

Then we learned Manju Durairaj's Diwali, Diwali song and sang the chorus together. 

Dandiya (Stick) Dance

We created a simple Dandiya dance on the chorus of the song.  All movements are to the beat. Facing a partner tap right sticks together, tap left sticks together, tap own sticks to the right, tap own sticks to the left. Step back with one foot and tap sticks behind back, step same foot forward and both stick face right (like windshield wipers) and tap both partners sticks making a # hashtag, then trade places while turning around in a circle. Of course this can be modified but this is what the Moms at school and I came up with.

I would highly recommend wooden sticks - aluminum ones are available from Amazon but my experience is they break far too easily. Rhythm Sticks or dowels could also be used as long as they are the longer ones (12" or so).

Here is a video of Dandiya Dancing.

And an excellent teaching video to show you the footwork and sticking. The first one is just right for beginners and children.

Concert with Indian Instruments, Songs

This is an excellent 30 minute concert made for children from Lincoln Center featuring Grammy nominated artist Falu. I like beginning at 7:47 and end at 15:00 if I am pressed for time as they talk about traditional solfege, then Indian solfege, then sing a song incorporating the solfege.

Sitar and Tabla - played by KIDS!

A fun little video about sitar made for children:

Garba Dancing

My students love to see both the women and the men dancing here - and they love the music!

More Books Featuring India and Indian Characters

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh - this is a google slide presentation featuring a video of the book, rhythms created from colors, along with discussion points for students about tone color. The end features several Bhangra dance videos.

The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk is sung to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus and is a great introduction to India.

Festival of Colors is just one of the most beautiful books and is about the Indian festival of Holi.

A Gift for Amma follows a girl as she goes through the vibrant rainbow colors of the market trying to find a gift for her mother.

10 Gulab Jamuns is the story of two brothers discovering a sweet treat from India.

Hope you enjoy all of these and Happy Diwali (in November)!

Sugar Plum Fairy Play Along

Yes, I love the Nutcracker. The music, the story, the ballet. All of it. I have many students at my school who dance in the ballet every year and I love introducing this to my kiddos although most of them have heard the music or seen the ballet.

To begin this lesson, I teach/review the song and game, "We are Dancing in the Forest". My Kindergarten students learn this and play the game, then are introduced to quarter and eighth notes through iconic then actual notation.  In first grade we review the song, read the notation, and then we are ready for how this plays into ballet.
What, you say? How does that song lead into ballet?  DANCING! We sing the song and students must pretend they are in a forest dancing and by the time the song is finished they must be back in their places. We try this a few times, and then I ask them to do this again and I sing the melody of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Repeat ad nauseum.
Then I show them this through the first musical theme:

Students turn and talk to a neighbor about what they noticed.  They will stand up and start showing what they noticed - it is so cute, they can't help but try out some moves! I put the music on and they try out some of the moves with the music playing - it is so sweet to watch them imitate some of what they have seen!
We discuss the meaning of ballet, that some football players take ballet lessons to work on balance and strength, and then I ask if they would like to meet a ballerina?  Then I show them this:

I really like that the video has male and female dancers and talks about body image and accepting who you are and what you have.
After that we watch and learn about a celesta:

Next I break out the foam snowflakes and trees. The snowflakes I got at Dollar Tree one season and the trees I cut out from craft foam (also from Dollar Tree in the craft aisle). See where this is going yet?  Snowflakes have 2 sounds and will become eighth notes, trees have one sound and will become quarter notes.  I put many patterns on the floor, students clap and say, then I break out the quarter note and eighth note cards and students place these above the snowflakes and eighth notes. 

Then they are ready for this visual.  The theme is incomplete and missing a repeat sign, but my first graders haven't learned that symbol yet and the focus is quarter and eighth note reading. Once we practice saying and clapping the theme, half the class gets triangles to play the them on, the other half dances.  Perform, then switch!  Such a blast!  

Hope you enjoy this one! My kiddos sure did! Happy Holidays!

Nisse Polka

This past summer I was in Finland at JaSeSoi Ry's International Music Village (Finnish Orff Association).  It was amazing and I loved my time both in Finland and making music with musicians and teachers from 14 countries.  I also fell a little in love with the Scandinavian lifestyle and their connection to the outdoors.  Did you know there are 188,000 lakes and more than 1,000,000 saunas in Finland?!
JaSeSoi Ry has put together an amazing resource online called "Nordic Sounds".  There are songs, games, and dances from Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Sweden!  Pronunciation videos, background info, teaching ideas and videos make this site exceptionally user friendly! Check it out here!
When I came back home, I began looking for more music and dances from this area of the world. Via Facebook, I came across a dance teacher in Portland, Oregon, who has been a tremendous help to me. Christie teaches Scandinavian dancing to children 5 years old and up to adults.  She has been incredibly generous and due to some technical problems with sharing music files, she even sent me 2 CD's via snail mail!
Many of the dances are new to me, including the one I am sharing today. This is called the Nisse Polka, though Christie calls it the Nissie Polka and her students call it the Caterpillar Dance.  The Nisse is a Christmas figure - read more below! Many thanks to Christie (again) for her help in putting all of this together and for being so willing to share!  On to the dance!

 Here is the dance performed by Christie's kids at a Scandinavian celebration.

Music with singers:

Instrumental:

Enjoy!

Candles Glow Speech Piece

Planning holiday concerts is always tricky. I want to have all of my students diverse celebrations represented.  I struggle with finding music that represents everyone and isn't too much Christmas, but just enough, or too much Kwanzaa, and not enough Hanukkah, or too much ________ or not enough ______.  It is a tough balancing act made tougher by the limitations of the theme of holiday.  It is not a "winter" concert as it happens right before we break for the holidays and most of my families celebrate Christmas or a combo of Christmas/Hanukkah or Christmas/Kwanzaa and a few families are Muslim, which is difficult.
Candles are a theme that is inclusive and not exclusive.  This year our theme is "The Warmth of a Winter Candle".  We are performing "Just One Candle", from Music K-8, which is really love and accessible to all. Students are also performing one of their favorites, called Give Light, in addition to several other pieces. I blogged about Give Light- an incredibly beautiful song, a few years ago. The music and post is here.

I wanted to put together a speech piece with several ostinati performed vocally and with non pitched percussion.  This could be used to create movement, or as a drum canon, or as an A Section with small groups performing question and answer improvisations on Orff instruments in a pentatonic key as alternating sections to create a rondo, or it could be used to create a melody.
I am going to let my oldest grade -4th, decide how to perform it.  I can't wait to see what they come up with! 
I love seeds of ideas.. let me know how you use it. It is presented a couple ways below- one with speech only, the other has a possible idea with body percussion.

St. Patrick's Day Song and Sneak Peak of New Book!

I LOVE singing games!  You can probably tell this if you have been on my blog for any length of time!  Children also love them (of course) and they encourage even your most reluctant singers to join in; perhaps it is the focus on the game and the lessening of focus and attention on "singing" as a skill.  They are wonderful, of course, whether you identify yourself as a Kodaly, Orff, Laban, or general music teacher as you can find songs that are within the Kodaly sequence, songs to teach specific concepts and skills, or to encourage solo singing or build sense of community.  Invaluable!

I am currently finishing a book of Singing Games from Around the World and was fortunate enough for one of my lovely Orff friends, Marilyn, to share an Irish one.  The story:  Marilyn was seated on a flight next to a wee Irish lassie and when she found out Marilyn was a music teacher, song after song poured out of her and she helped Marilyn to transcribe the notation and Gaelic!  How incredibly lucky!

1. Lamha Suas

Today I will share the English version Marilyn wrote, you will surely recognize the tune!  The Irish/Gaelic and this version will be in the new book! :)

2.  St. Patrick Was a Gentleman

Lyrics and sheet music can be found here.
I use this song as a dance:
Introduction - Bend knees or rest
Swing all eighth notes.
A -
Circle right 8 beats, circle left 8 beats:  FW 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 turn, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 center.
In, in, clap clap clap (ta ta titi ta), out, out clap clap clap (ta ta titi ta), repeat
Rest for 4 beats and get ready - hands at sides
B -
Right heel on floor, right toe on floor (say heel, toe) clap clap clap (ta ta titi ta)
Left heel on floor, left toe on floor (say heel, toe) clap clap clap (ta ta titi ta), repeat, rest until next A Section.
Form:  AB

3.  Getting Me Eire On!

I posted about this last year and have several other activities including my favorite Irish song, "Rattlin' Bog".

Click here for my previous post on Irish music and songs!
Enjoy!

Give Light

Our Holiday Concerts (I have 3 of them) this year are all a play on our school theme of "Reach for the Stars".  My older students concerts are called, "Songs of Night, Songs of Light".  In addition to a couple songs I wrote, and songs about candles, stars, and moons, we are also singing "Silver Moon Boat", "Oh Watch the Stars" and "This Little Light of Mine".  As I was completing the concert line up I found a very special song called "Give Light". You know how you find those songs you know are going to resonate in a very deep way with your kiddos?  I LOVE this song, it is probably my new favorite. Especially for this moment in time.

Our country is broken, divided, hurting.  Some would say we are having "growing pains" and others would describe it as birthing pains.  Any way we can describe it, yesterday, 11.9, felt oddly similar to 9.11.  Whatever your thoughts, feelings, and political affiliations, we can all certainly admit how fractured our country feels.    I recently posted this on my facebook account:
I. Can. Choose. I can choose to be offended by others who have different beliefs, opinions, political parties, and values. I choose faith, even when my faith in my fellow Americans, and in humanity, is at an all time low. I choose love, kindness, and the strength to speak out against bigotry, hatred, and devaluation. I choose to get on my knees and pray for all of us; red, blue, green and all in between. I choose to advocate for the millions of orphans in the world who are lonely and in need of families. I choose to celebrate our freedoms and not live in fear. I choose God, and the one nation under it. I choose to stand up and speak out. I choose. Do you?

You may agree, you may disagree. It's OK, we can agree to disagree and to move forward.  The song, Give Light, calls us to come together, to love one another, to teach peace and to give light to one another so "people will find the way". It has become a powerful illustration of just what can happen with a little light overcoming a whole lot of darkness.   It is not political, but the words were inspired by a fellow North Carolina freedom fighter named Ella Baker. 

When I found the song, I decided to send an email to the group that had recorded it (found them on youtube).  They were incredibly kind and told me story after story about how the song had been used by individuals all over the world fighting for personal and political freedoms.  The song here is presented with permission, c. 1996, words and music by Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino.
The final verse we changed after Greg shared a story with me about a widow wanting to use the song at her husbands funeral.  He was an organ donor, and so the final verse is "give life".
 We are singing it a capella to begin, then adding guitar.  We also added motions for each verse.
My students BEG to sing this and it will be a song I will use often, especially in the darkness, when a little light is needed.
If you would like a better copy, please email me at musicquilt@hotmail.com




And here is a group of fourth grade students singing Give Light.