What Sound Do You Hear Now?

My kiddos love this game and BEG to play it again and again.  The beauty of it, well.. it's also a great informal assessment!  I use this with my Junior Kindergarten (ages 4 and 5) up through first grade.  This is based on a similar one in Gameplan.  The song and graphics are my own and so I am not stepping on Jeff and Randy's toes by sharing it with you but will give them all the credit for the game!! :)

 

NEW BOOK!!! Arriving mid-May!!

Well, it's official!!! Yee-haw!  My book, Hands to Hands, will be ready to ship mid-May! 

You can pre-order it directly from Beatin' Path Publications here: http://www.beatinpathpublications.com/ACP/home.html


I began to look at clapping songs and games after an end of year conversation about how kids of our digital age don't know what to do once they are "bored".  I researched and couldn't find a resource that had songs, music notation, directions, etc. I found many on youtube and then began to spread my wings farther by sending emails to people around the world.  This collection, Hands to Hands, will hopefully be Volume 1 and we will publish Volume 2 later.  I am incredibly proud of the pieces we included, from Kenya to Italy, Peru to Scotland, New Zealand to Japan, and everything in between.  It's a really diverse and approachable collection and my students have loved learning them!!

I am also excited as Brent, the editor, really liked my idea of using my doodles as artwork!  Here's the back cover artwork, although it looks a little different on the actual book (no white spaces; they are purple!).  I just finished this one Wednesday night while recovering from strep throat!

I hope you will consider ordering the book!  :)

Busy Buzzy Bumblebee

Spring has sprung!  I love seeing all the pink and white cherry blossoms, the daffodils right outside my classroom windows (I have a reading garden right outside my room!), and the vibrant fuschia buds on the redbud trees!  Here in NC we are definitely in bloom!
I have to make a disclaimer on this post:  I can't remember if I've posted this before!  I looked back but couldn't find it so I'm sorry if I posted this a while back.. ah well... :)

I found these oh-so-cute bumblebee finger puppets through Oriental Trading.

 The kids love using them for "Flight of the Bumblebee" and then we use Artie Almeida's bee assessment (envelopes with "quarter note", "rest", and "eighth notes" written on the front and they get cards with the actual note/rest and they fly around like bees while the music plays and put their card in the correct envelope.  It's a great assessment as no one knows who put the correct/incorrect card in the envelope and you quickly know if they have "got it"!  I tell them if they get them all right they earn a point per card, if one is wrong I deduct one point; who will win, me or you?  I act excited if I see one wrong and make a big deal that I "tricked" the class and I got  point, yay for me, etc.  They crack up!!

Then we sing "Busy Buzzy Bumblebee" and I show the powerpoint.  Here are a few cards from the slide show.  If you would like the whole thing I would be happy to share; send an email to me at musicquilt@Hotmail.com and I'll send you the pdf to use with your kiddos!  You can see it moves from keeping the beat (heart slide) to

iconic representation of the rhythm:

and then to melodic representation using bees:

Also included is a slide on teaching ideas with Busy, Buzy.

Happy Spring!

Busy Busy Busy...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I am in the midst of crazy edits for my book, "Hands to Hands" to be published (hopefully) soon by Beatin' Path Publications!  I am so excited about the book and will let everyone know when it is "available". 
I will post a lesson within the next few days! :)

Workshop March 7!

Cue the music.. "I'm so excited.. and I just can't hide it..."!  Our local chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA) is hosting a workshop Saturday, March 7 in Davidson, North Carolina!  This is a fun one for me as I get to present with my music buddy, Laurie!  I love working and creating with her; we are like two sides of a coin; one of us starts an idea, another one finishes it.  I love creating with her!!  The workshop is called "Putting it All Together:  Sing, Move, Create, and Play.. with ipads, too!"  Should be a very fun-filled, exciting and BUSY workshop!!!  I am very excited about using the ipads and helping others to realize how to use them in the music room and, in particular, using them WITH the Orff Schulwerk Approach.  Have you seen the book, 'Rabbityness"? 

I LOVE this book.  It deals with grief and grieving, in a sweet, subtle way and without talking directly about death or grief.  It is lovely, full of color, and  a gorgeous, vibrantly painted didgeridoo.  Laurie and I had a good cry over pancakes reading the book (Laurie has recently experienced the loss of her mom) and then we wrote an activity that uses ipads, instruments, and we wrote a song to tie it all together.  I am in love with it already and can't wait to share it.  Hope all of you who are local can make it!  http://www.piedmontorff.org/Amiee_Pfitzner___Laurie_Siegel__Flyer.pdf 

Valentine's Roses Are Red with the flu to use with Ukuleles!

So I just began to teach ukuleles two weeks ago.. we ordered them on a Wednesday, they got here on Friday (thanks, Amazon.com!) and I used them for the first time last Tuesday.  A fellow Orff teacher shared how to begin by teaching the story of the Four Little Pigs (George, Charlie, Edgar, Allison) to teach the string names.. kids loved it and the fourth graders remembered today the names of the strings!  Hallelujah! RETENTION! 
I have been working to develop some lessons where students play borduns (first and fifth of chord structures) on Orff instruments AND ukuleles and my last group of 4th graders just left and we had a BLAST!  I used "Roses are Red" set in 3/4; yes, I know most of you are probably saying, "It's 6/8!".  Well, yes... but, for our purposes today we used 3/4 in order to feel STRONG beats in 3 and also because while we experience 6/8, my 5th grade music teachers teach 6/8 and we don't label it in 4th.  :)
So... longer story longer... here it is! 

1.  Sing song, students pat or sway to the strong beat several times, then sing the song.  They will want to add "achoo" after the 2nd verse about the flu.. go for it!  Way more fun!
2.  Review how to play C chord (every other student has a ukulele; we are partnered and I tell them once they've learned it they are the expert and have to help their partners!). Let them just PLAY for several minutes to review how to strum down, etc. and then switch.. I walk around fixing fingers, etc.
3.  Show the slides with the music, talk through how to play only where it has a "C" above the measure, make a grand, STOP gesture or use a STOP sign to show where to NOT PLAY (G7 chords).  If your students already know this, wonderful; mine don't and this was their 2nd lesson in ukes. Switch so 2nd partner has a turn, do same thing (by this time I am NOT singing and only they are.. I'm pretty firm on this!).
4.  Show how to pluck the top string closest to their "chinny chin chins" for the "G7" chord.  Keep holding on to the C chord; don't let go!  Play using C chord and plucking G string (yes, I know.. but they don't know about G strings yet!).  Switch partners, play/sing.
5.  Each partner pair has an Orff instrument set up to play high C and G for C chord and remove bars around low G so they can switch to low G and high G (right hand stays in place on high G bar the entire time).  This will become the borduns the Orff instruments will play for C chord (high C/G) and G7 chord (low G/high G).  Play together with ukuleles, sing, switch, etc.
6.  Now comes the writing portion.  Show the slides new versions of the song and then the slides with the one syllable color words and rhyming words.  Students create new versions, give them about 10 minutes to practice, call time, one final minute to practice, then perform.  They were funny and clever.. some a little raunchy, which we had to discuss, of course.. ugh!  It was a fun lesson, though, and got them writing, singing, playing 2 kinds of instruments, accompanying themselves, and rhyming.. phew!  All in 40 minutes!!  Enjoy!
If you'd like as a pdf email me at musicquilt@hotmail.com

Liebster Award

Liebster Award

Thank you Beth for nominating me for the Liebster Award! 

- Beth's blog, http://bethsmusicnotes.blogspot.com/ is a rich, abundant resource of folk music and material!  SO many wonderful songs, so little time!!!

 If you don't know, like I did, what a "Liebster Award," is, here is some info: 
It is said that the Liebster award was created to recognize and/or discover new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere.

• This award exists only on the internet, and is given to bloggers by other bloggers.
• It has German origins – the word “liebster” has several definitions: dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, welcome, sweetheart and boyfriend (really?)
• It follows similar principles as a chain letter, in the sense that it should be passed forward to a certain number of people.
• It can be misconstrued, depending upon your personal views, as either something wonderful (who doesn’t like awards?) or as an annoyance (a chain letter that involves work).
• The choice lies within each of us to ACCEPT it, and continue PAYING IT FORWARD or to refuse to accept it, thereby STOPPING or INTERRUPTING the chain. However, if you stop the chain, you are only hurting yourself (keep reading for benefits you will have)!
• Personal views play an important part in our choice to participate. Some people have refused to accept it and have made attempts to “break the chain”. There have been many people who have been nominated, yet refused to accept it, and now their blogs have been abandoned.
• Variations have been made over time to the “rules”.
• Marketing plays a role in accepting this award, as other bloggers are promoted. (This is not a bad thing, however, since people should help others!)
• Other awards are a part of the whole “meme“. These include “One Lovely Blog Award”, the “Sunshine Blog Award” and the “Versatile Writer Award”.

The Liebster Award was created to highlight blogs with growing audiences. The rules for receiving this award are:

1. In your post link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and a 'shout out'.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer. See below for my answers.
3. Nominate 5-11 people (Blogs with fewer than 200 followers) and link them in your post. 
4. Let your nominees know and provide them with a link back to your post (so they can see the rules).
5. No nominating the person who nominated you, however send them a thank you :)

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging?
I began with a blog when we started the adoption process 10 years ago to adopt our now 7 year old daughter.  A few years after  we came home with our daughter from China, I began the blog (2011).  I am a creative person and I also love to share. I have been very blessed with the resources I have available to me and wanted to share some of my thoughts, observances and resources with other music teachers. I also began presenting more regularly to other music teachers and wanted a way to share those experiences with others. 

 

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?
Resources! I am passionate about providing quality resources that are easy to find, FREE (!!!) and that are accessible for children.  It's great to buy books and teacher materials but often times they would take too long to teach, are unrealistic in the amount of parts, rehearsal times, etc.  I have always kept things on the blog free and will continue to do so.

3. Is there something you learned late in your blogging journey you wished you knew before?I wish I had labeled everything slightly differently and by grade level.

4. What is your favorite past time other than blogging?Singing, playing instruments, digital scrapbooking and zentangling.

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
Hmmm... it's not really "per week"; it depends on my mood and how much new song material I am ready to share and whether or not it will be part of a larger post.

6. What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?
Movement and rhythm activities.  Also using literature in the music room with songs or activities I have written.

7. Where does your blog inspiration come from?
Creativity leads to tangible works of creativity; I have to share them!! 

8. Which post that you've written are you most proud of?It is difficult to narrow it down to one; I did get a TON of response to my

Music Math Cards

 

and another favorite

Books, Books, and More Books

 

part 2 of Books

 

and also the "Five Extra Minutes of Class.. Now What?" post here:  Five Extra Minutes of Music, Now What?

 

Finally, I really love the Chinese New Year song here

 

 

 

 

9. Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have been postponing it for a while now?Nope.. can't wait to publish info on my upcoming book!!! :)

10. What's your favorite aspect of blogging?
Making resources available!

 

Here are my nominees:

Teaching With OrffT

hom Borden at Creative music Classrooms

Amy Burns' technology ipads page

Just a Little More (Music Technology)

Eric Young's Orffing Around

Suzanne's Kodaly and Orff Music Teacher Blog