First 3 days.. WAHOO.. half of the first week done!

Silly me.. I always forget how much energy it takes to teach.. the first week is sooo tough! Thank goodness that there are only 2 days left this week! The great news is that I have seen all my students for the first time so starting tomorrow we can dig deep! One truly fun activity I do with the kids every year is something I learned when student teaching and I have since modified a gazillion times; "Knees-a-knees-a-pizza-pie". It's a great steady beat "warm-up" activity! I use this with junior kindergarten and kindergarten classes at the beginning of each class and it sets a great tone! Ahhhhh (glissando low to high while raising both hands from knees to overhead) Repeat each of the following and then while performing the action that goes with it, say "take it to your..." and then you move to the next body part. Knees a knees a pizza pie, a knees a knees a pizza pie (pat hands on knees to the steady beat) then say, "take it to your..." Head, head, don't break your bed (repeat) (pat your head with both hands).. then "take it to your..." Heeps, heeps (repeat for total of 8 beats)(touch both hips with hands and say this in a high squeaky voice, then "take it to your.." Nose a nose a nobody knows (repeat) (touch hands one a time to the nose), then.. take it ... Tummy, yummy, yummy, yummy (repeat) (tap hands on tummy, left, then right hand, etc... Eyes, eyes, blink your eyes, then say, "ADD YOUR MOUTH" and make kissy sounds to the beat, then say, "ADD YOUR NOSE" and wrinkle your nose.. do this with eyebrows.. lift and lower eyebrows.. etc. You can add lots of body parts.. teeth, tongue (students love to click their tongues). Students also LOVE and laugh hilariously when I make a "mistake"; which means I make an INTENTIONAL mistake.. saying "take it to your head..." and patting my tummy instead... this takes a little practicing but it is SO fun!!! Enjoy!

Tour de Room...

So here's the tour of the room... several storage ideas from Pinterest.. I am so tempted to get rid of my desk since I started using the shoe storage thing for the usual suspects found in the drawers of the desk. I also really like the paint stir sticks as dividers for my books.. this works SO well! We are in the midst of the jungle this year so you'll see a bit of vines and leaves.. or at least my interpretation of such! Hope you enjoy!

Bring it ON!!! It Starts Tomorrow!

It's 7:42 and I'm watching TV and enjoying the winding down of another day and looking forward to the newness of another school year starting tomorrow. Every summer at my school (an independent, AKA private school just outside Charlotte, NC), our faculty read a book. Sometimes it's a good choice; OK, not earth shattering but confirming that we are moving in the right direction as a school, and sometimes, it's a GREAT read. This year was, for me, a GREAT read; What the Best College Students Do. For me, as a teacher in the creative art of music, I LOVE reading books that affirm and encourage creativity in all aspects of learning. This book does exactly that! I am excited about the many hugs, smiles, and discussions about summer travels and activities tomorrow. I look forward to hearing about our new year ahead; the changes, the work we will engage in as a community of teachers and learners. I look forward to facilitating a drum circle with our faculty Tuesday to further work on Adaptive Expertise and to create a musical piece with them. I look forward to a fresh start and all that comes with it. Happy New (School) Year!

First Day of School MAKE MUSIC!!!

I often see posts on other teachers blogs about how they "talk" a lot the first day of school. WHY? Why not make MUSIC the first day in the music room and accomplish two goals; learning the rules AND creating some cool sounds? I posted this last year and it was something my kids really loved; I don't do this with all grades but it's a great way to reinforce/review quarter note/eighth note concepts! Here's the original post from last year: So this year I decided to "do" my rules a little differently than in the past. I HATED those simple discussions/creations/posting of the "rules of the music room". AFter all, by the time the kids come to music, they've had rules in their classroom, the library, PE, computer, Spanish, art, Science Lab, and now music. Ick and Ugh! So... with the older students (grades 3 and 4), the first thing we did was a name activity and song, then reviewed rhythms (quarter, eighth, quarter rests) using Artie Almeida's Chair Rhythms- which is so fun! AND then We practiced saying each slide in rhythm and then assigned a body percussion to each; first page/rule/rhythm: Stomp Second: Pat Third: Clap Fourth: Snap Practice each then divide the class into 4 groups; one for each rule. Practice with body percussion, layer in parts, groups join after 4 beats of the previous rhythm/rule, add conducted dynamics, breaks, whatever.. my classes had a blast!! Transfer body percussion to UPP: stomp= African drums, Pat= woods, Clap= Metals, Snap= shakers. Layer in parts, add dynamics, cresc./dimin., breaks... etc. It was a BLAST and got the kids to remember the rules, play the rules, and make some interesting music together the VERY FIRST day! Not to mention that it took a BIG chunk of the class period which is always satisfying to end up with a "piece" to play at the end of class! Here is the powerpoint:

Rules

Enjoy! Oh- and yes, "listener" has 3 syllables but I used 2 quarter notes as I thought that fit best how we speak the word. To separate it correctly seemed strange musically speaking!

ABC Music App Review

This is a great app for learning about various instuments! Not only classical instruments but global, ethnic, and instruments from other time periods. Click here for a better review than I could write!

Singing Fingers App Review

In the true spirit of Orff Schulwerk, the app "Singing Fingers' is pretty wonderful; it encourages full on exploration of sound and active music making and can become pretty addictive; last week my 5 year old and my 70 year old Dad were both playing it together! Here is a great review of the app with many ways to use it in the classroom: http://tuesdaymusic.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/ipad-apps-in-the-music-classroom-singing-fingers/ And a preview so you can see some of what it can do here: Have fun! More to come soon!

Music and Emotion

We have been in Maine for two and a half weeks on vacation- amazing time with my family there and trips to various places and kayaking, hunting for sea glass, trips to islands, etc. We got back tonight and I was going to post on another ipad app, but I can't... I have been praying for a little girl adopted from China as our little girl was, and Teresa (the little one I've prayed for) had multiple surgeries including a heart transplant and she sadly rejected the heart and passed away this afternoon. She was 6! God gave her the new heart and lungs she needed and she is out of pain and dancing in a fancy princess dress (she loved princesses and tiaras!) in Heaven. But, oh, how I cried for the battle she fought so valiantly and for her sweet family who have 7 other children, 4 from China. You already know my beliefs and I believe her family WILL see her again, simply not this side of Heaven. I cried for her family and then made the mistake of putting some music on. It never fails to amaze me; the POWER of music to amplify emotions; magnifies the joy and intensifies the pain. I will post later about ipad apps, just need some time to remember a little girl named Teresa...