Favorite Music Movement Props

Props are a great way to mix things up, spark the imagination, and add interest to movement activities in elementary music. As I've been able to slowly add more movement props to my classroom the last few years I've really enjoyed all the different ways that my students can learn about, and interact with, musical concepts in fun and creative ways. Here are my favorite movement props to use in elementary music (some of them more common than others), with all my best lesson plans and teaching strategies for using them.

I've written in greater detail about each of these movement props in the past, so for each one I'm linking those posts so you can read all the details, and if they are ones I purchased I've also linked the ones I have and recommend in case you want to get them as well. I will say, most of these are things I've gotten from Amazon wishlists, donorschoose, and other donations over the years, so please don't rule them out if you have a small budget- they are worth trying to raise money to get for your classroom!

1. Scarves

Scarves are probably the most common movement prop for elementary music teachers to have in their classrooms, and they are so versatile! Here are some of my favorite scarf songs to use with early childhood classes:

2. Stretchy band

The stretchy band is one of my newest additions to my classroom and I was honestly intimidated by it at first, but it has quickly become a favorite, even with my older students! Here are some of my favorite lesson activities to do with the stretchy band:

3. Bean bags

I love using bean bags. The longer I teach, the more ways I end up using them in my lessons! Here are all my best tips for management, teaching strategies, and my favorite lessons for using bean bags with every age group:

4. Cups

For upper elementary (and even middle school), cups are probably my favorite movement prop. Ever since the cup song became popular a few years ago they have been cool with my big kids! Here are some of my favorite ways to use cups with upper elementary, plus my best teaching strategies for helping students be successful with passing games in general:

5. Tinikling poles / Jump bands

I love teaching my students how to do Tinikling, a traditional dance from the Philippines, and using jump bands like these makes it so much easier to do with elementary students than trying to use the traditional bamboo poles! Tinikling is great for working on triple meter, and after spending a good chunk of time on it during our unit on the Philippines in 3rd grade, my older students love getting them out at the end of the school year every now and then! Here are the lessons I use to teach my Philippines unit, including how I teach Tinikling:

6. Poi

Poi is another movement prop that is relatively new to my classroom because I thought it would be so difficult and time consuming to make a class set, but after making them for my students to use a few years ago I can confidently tell you they really are not that hard or time consuming to make, and they are one of the highlights of my 2nd grade curriculum for sure! Here are all the details on how I made them, plus all the lessons I do with them:

7. Parachute

For a long time I thought I would only ever use parachutes with my small, self-contained classes because to get one big enough for an entire class of 20-30 students would be too big for my room! Pro tip: I now have 2 smaller ones like this that can fit up to 12 students, and with bigger classes I can have them split in half and use 2 side-by-side, which is a much better fit for my rectangular room. So if you have a similar long room like me, that may be an option! Here are some of my favorite lesson ideas and teaching strategies using parachutes:

I hope this helps give you some new ideas to use with movement props in your elementary music lessons! What are your other favorite ways to use these items? Are there other props you love using in your teaching? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments.

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Things to Make This Summer for Your Music Room Part 2

I love a good craft project in the summertime! And while I definitely make time to unplug from all school-related thoughts over summer break, I also have a list of things I've wanted to make during the school year but didn't have the time or energy to put together that I like to tackle over summer break. I made a list of some of my favorite items I've made for my classroom over a decade ago so I decided it's time for an update! Here are some of my favorite summer craft projects I've made to use in my elementary music classroom.

music truth or dare card/ jenga game

This is such an easy thing to make- just print out the cards, cut and glue them onto some construction paper, and laminate them, and you've got yourself a review game that will get students practicing all kinds of music skills and concepts in a way that truly will have them begging to play again and again, and you can use it with the whole class or as a center! You can leave it at just the cards or take it one step further and add a jenga set to the mix for even more fun. Here are the printables, and here is the full blog post on how the game works:

rhythm composition cards

I truly use these all the time with every grade 1st-6th and they are so helpful! It's a simple concept but works so well for helping students visually see the note values: take some foam sheets, cut them into strips, and then cut them into lengths that correspond to the number of beats in the note/ rest and write the symbol on the card. Here is my blog post with all the details:

poi

One of my most recent DIY's was the poi I made from just some rope. I've used them for 2 years now and they have held up great and still look like new, and the bright colors are so cool when my 2nd graders use them for their performance in our annual International Music Festival! It took me a while to figure out how to do the first one, but once I got the hang of it the rest of them went pretty quickly- this is the perfect summer project because you can mindlessly make them while you watch a movie :) Here is the full blog post with a tutorial video on how to make them, and how I use them in my lessons, especially in my unit on Maori music from New Zealand.

discbound teacher planner

Putting together your own teacher planner is the definition of the perfect summer project. I know a lot of teachers are intimidated by the idea of printing your own pages and putting it together yourself but seriously, there is no way to get a more perfect-for-you planner that you'll actually use, and save the most money because you'll only buy the supplies once. Here are the music teacher planner printables and here is my post on how I put mine together:

kindergarten learning target visuals

When my district started requiring us to post learning targets for every class with every grade, I laughed at the idea of writing long sentences on the board to go over with my Kindergartners who couldn't even read yet. These visuals have made it possible for me to actually post learning objectives in a way that actually benefits student learning, but they have also really helped a lot of students grasp concepts more quickly by seeing them represented in graphic form! I highly recommend these, they really do make a difference. Here are the printable cards, and here is the blog post with the full explanation of how I use them: 

musical memory matching games

These are another easy project that just takes a little time to sit down and complete: print out the cards, cut and glue them to construction paper, laminate, and you're done. The game is played the same way a traditional memory matching game is played: players take turns flipping over 2 cards, one at a time, to try to flip over a matching pair of cards. If the 2 cards match they keep the cards, if not everyone tries to memorize their position and the player flips them back over. The player who collects the most pairs wins the game. But in this case students are not looking for cards that look exactly like each other, but pairs of cards that match, like a picture of a note G on the staff matching with a card with the letter G! I made mine myself but you can find plenty of options for musical memory matching game printables on teacherspayteachers for all kinds of vocabulary and concepts here.

I hope this helps give you some inspiration, or maybe even remind you of a project you had thought about and forgotten you wanted to do! And don't forget to check out my first post on summer craft projects for even more ideas!

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Music Teacher Planner Setup 2026-2027

I get questions all the time about the supplies I use to set up my teacher planner, so today I'm giving you a full update on everything I'm using for the upcoming school year. The nice thing is most things I use for many years so I get my money's worth, and every year I tweak a few little things here and there so I still get to enjoy the fun of putting together a fresh new planner every summer!

*this post contains affiliate links*

1. Cover and discs

You can get hard covers like the one I have from a few different places but the one I have right now is from The Happy Planner. Honestly when my planner cover starts to get beat up after several years and it needs to be replaced, I look for one from any brand that I can find on clearance and get that one! This one is pretty similar to the one I'm using. I love these Happy Planner Rainbow Expander Metal Discs. The colors are just so fun and because they are metal they are so sturdy! I've been using them for several years now with very little sign of wear.

2. Paper

You don't have to have a fancy hard cover or rainbow colored discs to set up a teacher planner like this, but you will definitely need a hole punch to be able to put your papers into a discbound planner! Someone gave me the hole punch I'm using now from The Happy Planner but I used this one, which is much cheaper, for years with no issues.

This may surprise you but I think the biggest difference between a printable planner that feels cheap and one that feels professional is the paper. If you get 24lb paper to print at home you will notice a huge difference, and it's really not that much more expensive! Here's the paper I'm using right now.

You can also definitely have your planner pages printed- I used to have mine printed at Staples and they always came out great- but it is nice to be able to print at home and have the flexibility to just print out a page or two here and there whenever I need it without having to leave the house, and it ends up being cheaper. I use HP's instant ink service so it sends me new ink cartridges whenever I need them-  here's a link to get 1 month free if you want to try it too.

3. Folders and pockets

I find it really helpful to have a double-sided folder and a zippered pocket in the front of my planner. I got a new folder this summer from this accessory pack but you can use any letter size folder! I haven't found any other zippered pockets as good as this Arc Clear Zippered Pocket and it's so nice to keep my favorite Frixion Erasable Pens, some stamps, and address labels in there. I keep a Staples Clear Pocket in the back too for my choir sheet music.

4. Tabs and bookmarks

If there's one thing I've used longer than anything else (and probably will still be using 10 years from now) it's this pack of  Rainbow Paper Tabs. They are essentially sticky notes in the shape of tabs so I just write the section name on it and stick it where I want each section to begin (you can see them along the side in the photo above). They hold up shockingly well as well!

And I made my own bookmark to hold some sticky notes to use in my planner years ago that I am still using today- it's basically just a laminated piece of scrapbook paper cut to size with holes punched to add to my planner, but here is my Bookmark/ Sticky Note Dashboard DIY tutorial if you want all the details.

I also started using a plastic bookmark from The Happy Planner a few years ago that someone gave me and it is finally wearing down so this year I got a new one in the same accessory pack I got the folder from. I keep the DIY one in the current month, and the plastic one in the current week. 

Of course the most important part of my planner is the pages inside it- this is the specific one I use, but if your class schedule is different from mine here are all the different weekly planning formats you can choose from.

I hope this helps if you are thinking about setting up your own planner like mine- I absolutely love it and have been using it with pretty much the same setup for over a decade now! Please let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help. Happy planning!

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Things to Put on Your Elementary Music Amazon Wishlist 2026

Have you ever thought about putting together an Amazon wishlist for your classroom but then just couldn't come up with what to ask for? It's silly because obviously there's tons of things we're lacking and can't get school funding for, but I find often in the moment it's hard to come up with stuff to ask for, especially as a music teacher, because usually the prices and selection for instruments and other elementary music specific things on Amazon are not as good as other vendors. I shared some favorites to add to your Amazon wishlist a few years ago, but since then I've found more things that I've added to my list! Here's a list of things to consider adding to your elementary music classroom Amazon wishlist.

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noise-canceling headphones

If you get one thing from this list, make it these! They are affordable and super effective- they have been a game-changer for my classroom this year! Instead of getting dysregulated when they are thrown off by the noise level, so many of my students have been able to continue participating fully in the lesson simply by wearing one of these headphones. Read more about how I use them (including my favorite storage method) in this post.

plastic clipboards

I used the woodchip clipboards I found in my classroom when I arrived for years and finally switched to these a few years ago and my students and I are universally so much happier with these! Students would inevitably doodle all over the old woodchip ones, but they really can't mark these plastic ones up, especially with pencil. And the colors match perfectly with the rest of my decor and my color team organizational system, so they look so much nicer.

batteries

Yes, my school office does have batteries, but having a big set in my classroom is so much easier, especially when I have battery operated keyboards that might run out of batteries in the middle of the lesson! 

felt squares

If you use dry erase staff boards to have students notate things, you know how annoying the erasers can be. Plus, like the old clipboards I mentioned before, kids doodle on the wooden side all the time! I saw a few teacher creators online talking about using these felt squares as erasers for dry erase boards and they have been great! Plus, once again, I love that they come in all different colors so I can match them with my color teams.

dry erase markers

This is another one of those practical things that can run out quickly and it's nice to have a set on hand so I can easily replace them when they dry out. This specific size of dry erase marker has been perfect for students to use on individual dry erase boards. Here's an example of the most common way I use dry erase staff boards if you haven't used them much before.

bean bags

These beanbags from Bear Paw Creek are definitely the most well-made ones I've found, they come in my rainbow team colors, and they are super affordable so they're another great item to get from your Amazon wishlist! I got 2 of these sets to have a set of 24 which covers most of my classes, and they have held up well for years now and still look brand new. Here's my post on how I use beanbags if you need more ideas.

cups

I've shared about my favorite cup games to use with upper elementary before, and I am often asked about what type of cup I use- these are the ones. I actually got mine at IKEA years ago and you can still get similar ones there, but they don't make them in the bright rainbow colors like they used to and frankly, I don't like their new colors at all. These are basically the same thing and still very affordable. Besides using them for cup games, I use these all over my classroom to organize supplies like crayons, pencils, and other small items so stock up!

I hope this gives you some helpful ideas to set up a wishlist of your own! If you haven't seen it already, go check out my first Amazon wishlist post for more ideas. And if you have other things you've gotten and loved, let me know in the comments!

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