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Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Whistle for Willie: vocal exploration lesson

Vocal exploration is so important in elementary general music as students develop their singing voices, but it's something I often forget to consciously include in my lessons. This book was a perfect way to get in lots of vocal exploration with a story that my younger grades loved hearing- even my shy singers were using their voices with gusto for...

Monday, April 29, 2019

April Favorites 2019

April is always a fun one with spring break, birthday, and some of my favorite lessons to teach- here are some of my highlights from this past month! 1. Spring Break Normally I choose one picture from my Instagram feed to represent each of my highlights but I couldn't pick for this one so here's three! ;) My daughters and I had so much fun...

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Max Found Two Sticks: elementary music lesson plan

I've loved adding more lesson plans based on children's books to my Kindergarten classes this year! One that I've been meaning to use for a long time and just never got around to until now is Max Found Two Sticks. It was a great way to introduce rhythm patterns and get students to transfer speech patterns to instruments, as well as talk about sounds...

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Dance Playlist 2019

I love finding new music to add to my playlist for dance parties, slideshows, field day, and general merriment, and I'm excited to share this year's finds with you today! I always look for music that is age-appropriate for elementary students before editing (so no "kid version" stuff for me) that my older students will also think is cool. If you're...

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Snake Alley Band: Rhythmic Ostinati Lesson

In case you haven't heard, I love using books to teach and practice musical skills and concepts, especially with my youngest students. I came across this book at a used book store this summer and finally had a chance to use it with my kindergarten and 1st grade students this week- it was a great way to practice layering rhythmic ostinati with speech...

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Music Lesson on Emotions: Allie All Along

I was so pleased to come across a new book that is perfect for talking about handling feelings in healthy ways, and use it as a springboard for exploring the ways that music can communicate emotions! I used this lesson very successfully with Kindergarten, but it would work well with younger students and with students up through 2nd grade as well. This...

Monday, April 1, 2019

March Favorites 2019

This month was full of fun and music- I can't wait to share my highlights! Music In Our Schools Month has always been one of my favorite months of the year but each year of teaching I feel like it gets better and better, and this year was no exception. 1. Musical March Madness Bracket The idea itself is not new- I've seen plenty of other music...