Using iconic or rhythmic notation, various voices, elemental forms, movement, non-pitched percussion, barred percussion, movement, and improvisation, this is a "kitchen sink" lesson using everything in the classroom you CHOOSE to use. You can use this with your first graders to upper elementary, varying the complexity included in the lesson. You can get the full slide set with all of the visuals on my Patreon community.  Add your favorite book about winter and voila! A lesson with no prep!

Enjoy!

If You Find a Leaf

This is such a beautiful book by Aimee Sicuro! The slides are available (FREE!) here!

Alien Q and A

Improvisation is essentially spontaneous composition. The art and act of creating an expressive musical statement in real time adhering to some kind of structure.

 Question and Answer is a common improvisation technique in music.  In the world of Orff Schulwerk we begin with imitation and exploration of an idea or concept. Then we add label and improvise using that idea and concept. 

When students are ready to improvise, where do we begin? 

I like to begin with this:

Teach song and step the beat in place.

Sing and walk the beat. 

While singing, walk to face a partner.

Show 8 fingers and do a "countdown" demonstrating rhythmic alien language. 

Something like this:

With partner, decide who is going first (rock, paper, scissors to determine "winner"). Show fingers again, first partner improvises over the 8 beats using alien language. Second partner answers them with their 8 beats. Don't worry if they are not truly performing question and answer yet - it will come. 

Repeat several times before defining question and answer technique. 

Repeat game with question and answer technique.

Repeat activity with body percussion. Consider transferring to non-pitched percussion.

Hope you enjoy!

Ready, Set, Go!

 Hi everyone! I have been singing a lot of Hamilton lately and the one that seems to be stuck for me (perpetually) is "The World is Upside Down". I FEEL this so strongly right now. 

Can you relate? I also feel like we are playing the strangest game of Hide and Seek - Ready or not, here it comes!  The craziest school year we will probably ever experience. Masked, shielded, and distanced, high-risk teachers like me streaming from my music room into grade level classrooms half the time and the other half standing behind a large Plexiglas barrier with mask, face shield, and air purifiers sucking potential virus droplets from the air. Students in cohorts and assigned seats for contact tracing teams for WHEN, not if, a student or teacher contract Covid. *sigh* *Bigger Sigh* *BIGGEST SIGH EVAH*

On Singing

Let's be careful, folks, how we approach the concept of "singing" with our students. The very first class we will be having a conversation with students about how singing will look and feel differently for now, but this too shall pass. We will be singing in our "Heads, Hearts, Hands, maybe a little Humming, and at HOME!" The worst thing we can do to our students is intertwine the words "singing" and "dangerous" in a sentence- our children and impressionable, and we do NOT want to leave the impression that singing is dangerous. Words have great impact, and we all know it can be long-lasting.

Ok, off my soapbox! :)

We've got this, though!  We CAN get through this but only by leaning on one another for support, encouragement, and a million ideas! Here are a few things to get you started this year:  

1. Non-Verbal Cards for Remote/Digital Learning

Right click on these to save, print, and enjoy!  There are two volume buttons included as some platforms use a mic image like below, and some others use the mic in the 2nd picture. My friend, Michael printed each of these on one color and glued the bottom of each card to a popsicle stick to hold up and show onscreen. Great for letting students know to write a response in the chat, or that you have you "eyes" on them, or for when to mute or unmute. 

3. Greet and PASS

This is a year unlike any other and many of our students are going to want to return from 4-5 months of not being around friends and bear hug everyone in sight.  I am not crazy about the term, "Socially Distanced" but prefer the friendlier "Physically Distanced" way to express keeping ourselves apart from our neighbors and friends. I taught this to all my teachers this week and they have posted the words in their classrooms and are adding it to their morning meetings the first month of school as a fun and playful reminder of how to greet their friends and teachers each day.

Hope you have fun using these! 

Stay safe, stay smiling, and 

STAY MUSICAL!

Wide Mouthed Frog - Two Ways

I have blogged about this lesson before as I LOVE this book and activity and it is perfect for spring when we start to hear and see more peepers out and about! For those who have seen it before, HOLD ON because this post has some new things!
Happy Spring! Here in the South, we have green grass, budding trees, and daffodils are swaying in the wind!  
This time of year always reminds me of frogs, for some reason, and so I break out all my frog songs in addition to flowers, rain, chicks and bunnies.
For those of you with snow still, spring IS coming!!!
You are going to need this book, get the popup version- a MUST have!

A frog puppet is another perfect accessory but not "needed" for the activity. :)

As always, if you want the full pdf of both lessons, send me an email request at musicquilt@hotmail.com.
Happy Spring!

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April Showers Bring May Flowers

I am a gardener at heart  - love to dig in some dirt and make something grow!  I have about 200 perennial plants- at least. I really love irises- they are one of my favorites and work for my no-fuss gardening style- if I have to mess with a plant in order to make it grow, I am not supposed to have it.  This year my irises went a little crazy- I have about 15 different colors and need to divide and give some away. If you live in NC give me a holler!
I have always loved this rhyme - here's a little twist! Hope you enjoy!

Hula Hoop Activities

These are SO much fun! The full pdf has 20 pages with all the games listed.  Hope you enjoy them - if you would like the pdf, send me an email at musicquilt@Hotmail.com.  If you haven't yet checked out my facebook page, there are extras including a video that shows some other activities and teaching tips with hula hoops - search for @ofortunaorff.