"Jingle Bells" in Music Class and Winter Concerts

If you're still using Jingle Bells in your music class, you're missing out. 

In case you haven't heard, the song "Jingle Bells" was written for a minstrel show. And as prevalent as the song has somehow become all over the world since it was likely first performed in 1857, it's long past time we moved on. I know how hard it can be to change old habits, so in this post I've compiled some easy ways to replace the song regardless of what you're using it for in your music lessons.

1. Fun Children's Songs About Jingle Bells 

I think for most people, Jingle Bells is just a fun, easy song that feels "festive" without being directly connected to a holiday (although let's be honest, whether it was written for it or not, everyone associates the song with Christmas), and it's a fun song to break out the jingle bells with the little ones and sing with gusto! If that's what you're looking for, I'd venture to say these 2 songs are far superior: Jingle Jangle Everybody Sing by Charissa Duncanson, and Jingle All the Way by Stephanie Leavell. They're both written by music teachers for young children and they have both been huge hits with my students!

The great thing is both of these songs work great for common concepts we are often practicing in general music lessons:

• Steady beat
• Same and different sections/ A and B sections/ form
• Opportunities for composition/ improvisation
• Fast/ slow, loud/ quiet

2. Easy Beginning Instrumental Songs

"Jingle Bells" is a common song for beginning band and orchestra winter concerts or even for classroom instruments like recorder and orff ensemble, but there are so many better options out there this one should not be hard to replace. "We Will Rock You" is similar in the sense that the rhythm can be easily simplified, it has a limited range, and it's instantly recognizable so it feels legit (and you can find lots of arrangements for beginning band, beginning orchestra, recorder play-alongs, etc). "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle Twinkle" are other simple melodies that can swap in as another well-known tune.

For specifically wintery songs, it's easy to search by level on most sheet music sites and even TeachersPayTeachers to find some great pieces that fit the bill and will honestly be more appealing to upper elementary students who tend to find songs like "Jingle Bells" to be a little childish. 

If you haven't checked out the sheet music available on TPT, I think you'll be surprised at how much you can get for the price, and there is a lot of great quality literature available that is developmentally appropriate for every stage of learning because there are so many written by beginning instrumental teachers! Here are just a few examples:

Winter Music Bundle for Beginning Band by Classroom Composers

Beginning Orchestra Winter Concert Bundle by Motivational Music Classroom

"Winter's Here" Recorder Orff Song by Hutzel House of Music

3. Sing-Along Songs

I've written extensively about how I am working to continue teaching students about holidays, which are an important part of cultures around the world, while avoiding students feeling excluded in the process as much as I can. Jingle Bells is commonly used in sing-alongs as a non-religious holiday song, but obviously based on its racist origins doesn't fit the bill for non-exclusionary. For a full list of songs I have been using for many years now in my sing-along including songs for Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, and Eid, with all the fun movement and other activities I include with the songs, head to this post. Another great idea that uses a simple prop (cups) with a wintery, festive, non-religious song that would be great for a sing-along is this simplified cup routine for Sleigh Ride:

I hope this helps provide some concrete suggestions for ways we can remove a problematic song from our music classrooms and programs while injecting more fun music that is engaging, perfect for the winter season, and accessible for beginners and young learners! If you want to see all of the music lessons that I teach in the month of December for every grade K-6 general music lessons, here is my full curriculum (also available in individual months and grade levels). What else is stopping you from removing the song from your music lessons and programs? If you have other ways you use this song that I can help find a replacement for, please send me an email or leave a comment and I'd be happy to help!

Read more ""Jingle Bells" in Music Class and Winter Concerts"

24 Low-Effort Christmas Activities with Teens

One of our most treasured family traditions is our advent calendar. Since my daughters were 2, I've been putting together an advent calendar with a small holiday-related activity to do each day leading up to Christmas. I never thought it would become such an important part of our lives but now, with my girls about to turn 14, they start asking about the calendar several months in advance! Now that my daughters are teenagers our list of activities looks a little different than it did a decade ago- here's what I'm planning to do this year (and you can too with very little prep work).

Because I am all about low-maintenance, especially as a music teacher in December (if you know you know), most of the things are things that might normally be considered "chores", like decorating and sending cards, but now they are fun family activities! It's a great way to really focus on the small joys of the holiday. Here is a list of what we're doing this year:

1. Put up and decorate the tree

2. Make wish lists

3. Hang Christmas lights

4. Make lists of what to give

5. Make cookie dough and put it in the fridge

6. Bake and decorate cookies

7. Put up the rest of the Christmas decor around the house

8. Walk around a town with lots of lights

9. Shop for presents

10. Decorate the front door (we have a wreath, window clings, and flag)

11. Make Christmas cards (my girls love giving handmade cards)

12. Wear matching new Christmas socks

13. Make roasted nuts and peppermint bark

14. Strawberry matcha overnight oats for breakfast

15. Christmas song karaoke with their grandparents

16. Put together teacher gifts

17. Hot cocoa with breakfast (everyone adds their own favorite flavors/ toppings)

18. Hang the stockings

19. Wrap gifts

20. Family secret santa gift exchange

21. Make gingerbread houses

22. Christmas party with the girls' friends (cookies, Christmas movie, Christmas tree pizzas)

23. Play Christmas games (Christmas UNO: sing a Christmas song for every green card you play, eat a marshmallow for every red card, Christmas Categories, Moose Match Mayhem)

24. Put out cookies for Santa

This kind of Christmas countdown / advent activity calendar is so easy to set up because the activities are low-prep, low-mess, quick activities, most of which are things families celebrating Christmas would do anyway. If you want to do something similar this year but don't have time to make a calendar, all you really have to do is write down each activity on a piece of paper and fold it up with the number for the date you want to do it on the outside. Then open a paper each day to reveal that day's activity!

Here is how I made the calendar we use every year (so easy if you have the supplies)- click the image to see the tutorial:

And you can see how my list of activities has evolved over the years as my daughters get older in these posts from previous years: my list for 11 year olds, for 9 year olds, for 7 year olds, for 6 year olds, for 5 year olds, for 4 year olds, and for 3 year olds.

If you're looking for ways to add a little cheer without a lot of effort I hope these ideas will help! 

Read more "24 Low-Effort Christmas Activities with Teens"

24 Days of Family Christmas Activities

One of our most treasured family traditions is our advent calendar. Since my daughters were 2, I've been putting together an advent calendar with a small holiday-related activity to do each day leading up to Christmas. I never thought it would become such an important part of our lives but now, with my girls about to turn 11, they start asking about the calendar several months in advance! The last few years our options were a little more limited by the pandemic, but this year that's less of a concern- here's what I'm planning to do this year (and you can too with very little prep work).

Because I am all about low-maintenance, especially as a music teacher in December (if you know you know), most of the things are things that might normally be considered "chores", like decorating and sending cards, but now they are fun family activities! It's a great way to really focus on the small joys of the holiday. Here is a list of what we're doing this year:

1. Put up the Christmas tree

2. Decorate the tree with ornaments

3. Hang the Christmas lights

4. Make gingerbread truffles

5. Make hot chocolate with all the fixings

6. Put out the advent wreath

7. Make plastic cup ornaments

8. Decorate the front door

9. Make and send Christmas cards

10. Write gift idea lists (to receive and to give)

11. Bake cookies

12. Decorate sugar cookies

13. Put up the rest of the decorations around the house

14. Shop for/ make gifts to give

15. Read some Christmas books

16. Wrap gifts

17. "Jingle" a neighbor (here is an explanation and free printable)

18. Watch a Christmas movie (this year will be Hip-Hop Nutcracker)

19. Do this salt crystal snowflake experiment

20. Go caroling to friends and family's houses (in person and video call)

21. Drive through a lights display

22. Hang the stockings

23. Make a gingerbread house

24. Set out cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa and the reindeer

This kind of Christmas countdown / advent activity calendar is so easy to set up because the activities are low-prep, low-mess, quick activities, most of which are things families celebrating Christmas would do anyway. If you want to do something similar this year but don't have time to make a calendar, all you really have to do is write down each activity on a piece of paper and fold it up with the number for the date you want to do it on the outside. Then open a paper each day to reveal that day's activity!

Here is how I made the calendar we use every year (so easy if you have the supplies)- click the image to see the tutorial:

And you can see how my list of activities has evolved over the years as my daughters get older in these posts from previous years: my list for 9 year olds, for 7 year olds, for 6 year olds, for 5 year olds, for 4 year olds, and for 3 year olds.

If you're looking for ways to add a little cheer without a lot of effort I hope these ideas will help! 

Read more "24 Days of Family Christmas Activities"

(Further) Toward an Inclusive Holiday Sing Along

Holiday sing-alongs are something many music teachers are tasked with. They can be a lot of fun, and they're a great way to bring the entire school community together. But they also inherently center certain religions and cultures while ignoring others, and that is problematic. I have been reflecting on my practice and seeking input from culture bearers and educators from a range of backgrounds, and after doing a lot of thinking over the last few years I have made some changes that have certainly brought it a long way in making it more reflective of our school community and our world. I have shared a couple of times in the last few years about what I'm doing as I continue on this journey to hopefully help other teachers think critically about their current practice and encourage others to join me in my journey- here is my latest update on what I'm planning this year.

A few important thoughts I've had as I continue to reflect on this that I think are important for everyone to consider in planning a holiday sing-along:

1. The songs we choose should invite students to learn about the holiday more than they invite students to participate in celebrating them. 

I used to be a little uncertain about my choice to include the Eid song in particular, because it isn't traditionally sung by culture bearers during the actual holiday as part of the traditional celebrations. I've since come to understand from the culture bearers I've spoken to that this is fine and in fact better. The song was created by culture bearers to teach others about the holiday and that's exactly the way that they want the holiday to be presented in school- trying to have students experience each holiday by participating in them does a disservice to the religious meaning of each one and can put students and families in an uncomfortable, offensive situation.

2. Any decision to include songs about holidays in class or in a whole school sing- along assembly should be accompanied by deliberate communication with families to ensure anyone who objects to all holiday content can be accommodated, the actual holidays celebrated by the community is represented, and families understand the intent and purpose behind the lessons and/or event.

I do have a very small number of students who do not participate in recognizing or learning about holidays at all, and I'm very careful to make sure those students have alternate assignments (and the one time I had more than one student in a grade I changed the lessons entirely). But I've also found that when I explain that students are learning about the holidays rather than participating in songs that celebrate them, several of the families who originally were hesitant actually were excited to have their children participate.

My song selections for this year have not changed since last year, when I hosted it on zoom, but it will be great to get to have students fully engage with the activities for each one as a group with us all physically in the same space this year!

1. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah (we do a very simple circle dance- each class in a circle)
2. Feliz Navidad (I use this song as a jumping off point in class to talk about the ways to say "Merry Christmas" in different languages. in the assembly one grade level will have maracas to play with the Spanish section.)
3. Diwali is Here (we will sing in canon, and one grade level will have mini flashlights to wave around as we dim the lights for this song)
4. Gong Xi, Gong Xi (we sing the verses in English standing in a circle with hand motions that match the lyrics, then on the chorus in Mandarin turn to one side and shake hands, then turn to the other side and shake hands on the beat)
5. Eid Mubarak (we stand in scattered formation and do a clapping pattern with a partner at the beginning of each verse, then while singing the last line quickly find a new partner to face for the next verse)
6. Happy Kwanzaa Song (one grade is assigned to stand and sing each of the 7 principles during the verse, then everyone drums on the floor during the chorus)

This is a topic that we need to continue to engage in professional discussions on as music educators, and we need to continue to be open to new insights and thoughts on how to do it, and even whether or not to continue the practice, to be as inclusive and respectful of all of our students as possible while giving students opportunities to learn about different cultures. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, and you can catch up on my ongoing journey of learning how to do this better in my previous two posts on sing-alongs:

 

Read more "(Further) Toward an Inclusive Holiday Sing Along"

An Inclusive Holiday Sing Along in Pandemic Times

I have been doing an all-school holiday sing-along the last day before December break for several years now, and when I started talking with my principal about schoolwide events we could do in full distance learning, I knew I wanted to do it this year despite the obvious challenges. We started the school year in a hybrid model, which meant no singing in music class. Now that we're in a full distance model, all I want to do is get everyone singing! Here are my plans to make it happen this year.

Along with figuring out the logistics of running a sing-along virtually, I have also been on a quest the last few years to decenter Christmas and make the event more representative of our school community and our world. Last year I wrote about where I was in that journey- you can read that post here- and I have made further changes for this year to improve on that further. 

Logistics

As of right now, my plan is to hold the sing along on Zoom. A few things I've had to think through to make that work:

• My district got paid accounts for teachers, so I can host meetings with up to 300 participants. Our school has more than 300 students, and with staff coming too we will have well over 300 people invited! I am planning to tell students to join with 1 device per household- I think if everyone does that, and knowing some people will inevitably be absent, we will be OK. But I am looking into the possibility of live streaming, on something like YouTube live, as a backup.
• Because of the sound delay, everyone else will have to be muted. I'm planning to have the zoom set so nobody can unmute themselves. I've always included movement and other activities to go with each song to keep everyone engaged, and this year that will be even more important! 
• I've had to adapt some of the movement/ activities I normally use because they are group activities- one song we normally sing in canon, another song students shake hands with each other, and another each class does a circle dance. I've changed up the activities for all of those songs to make them doable over zoom.
• There is no way I can manage that many participants while also leading the event. I am planning to have a few staff members help out as co-hosts to 1) keep an eye on the chat, which I will have set to only send messages to the hosts, and 2) scroll through the videos to make sure there is nothing inappropriate going on in anyone's background etc. I'm also asking grade level teachers to be the point of contact for any of their students' question or tech issues during the event, so I don't have to worry about checking for messages and troubleshooting while leading!
• I have the lyrics for each song in a Google Slides file, so I am planning to share my screen and show the words and then just have myself singing (and possibly playing an instrument with some of the songs), rather than having any accompaniment tracks. I've never used tracks for my singalong before, and I think it's more "organic" without them (which is important when everything is on a computer screen).

There are a few songs that I'm planning to invite students to use props with. My plan is to publicize a supply list, making it clear that everything is optional, well in advance so we don't have to spend too much time waiting for people to find things in the middle of the program. I also am planning on needing to teach the songs live during the event itself, because we are on a rotation this year where I only see a few grade levels at a time, and I don't want to ask grade level teachers to do one more thing right now! Many of the students will (hopefully) remember the songs that we did last year, and all of them are very short and simple, so I think it will still work!

Content

After looking at continuing to improve the representation of my song selection and considering which songs are doable over Zoom, here is what I plan on doing this year:

1. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah (we'll do a modified version of the circle dance we normally do- we sing only the first section)
2. Sleigh Ride (we'll do the cup routine shown in the linked video)
3. Feliz Navidad (I'll ask students to find something around their house to use as a shaker to play in the Spanish section, and do a simple clapping pattern in the English section)
4. Diwali is Here (I'll ask students to grab a flashlight/ cell phone light if they can, and do some simple choreography with the lights off while we sing)
5. Gong Xi, Gong Xi (we'll do the same motions with the verse- which we sing in an English translation- and then turn to each side of the video screen and pretend to shake hands in the chorus)
6. Eid Mubarak (we'll do a clapping pattern with this, clapping towards the camera so it looks like we're clapping each other's hands)
7. Happy Kwanzaa Song (I'll assign each grade to stand and do a motion that represents one of the 7 principles when we sing the verse (I teach K-6 so it works perfectly), and we'll all drum along while singing the chorus)

To be honest, I'm pretty happy with my plans for this year. I have absolutely no idea how well it will work with the technology, but I'm excited to try, and I'm much happier with my song selections this year than I was last year. 

Are you planning a sing-along this year? How are you planning to manage yours? I'd also love to hear your thoughts on holidays in public school classrooms, how to make holiday sing-alongs more reflective of our world, and whether holiday sing-alongs are even a good idea to begin with! Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below. I hope this sparks some conversation in the music education community as we continue to look for ways to value and respect all of our students and their backgrounds.

Read more "An Inclusive Holiday Sing Along in Pandemic Times"

24 Days of Family Christmas Activities: Socially Distanced Edition

One of our most treasured family traditions is our advent calendar. Since my daughters were 2, I've been putting together an advent calendar with a small holiday-related activity to do each day leading up to Christmas. I never thought it would become such an important part of our lives but now, with my girls about to turn 9, they start asking about the calendar several months in advance! And if there ever was a year we could use a little something to look forward to each day, it's 2020! Here's how we're making it work this year (and you can too with very little prep work).

Because I am all about low-maintenance, especially as a music teacher in December (if you know you know), most of the things we've done in the past still work in our current pandemic situation. But I did have to make some adaptations this year to keep everyone safe! Here is a list of what we're doing this year:

1. Put up the Christmas tree

2. Decorate the tree with ornaments

3. Hang the Christmas lights

4. Virtual crafting class: rainbow forest (free registration here)

5. Make hot chocolate with all the fixings

6. Put out the advent wreath

7. Virtual crafting class: front door wreath (free registration here)

8. Decorate the front door

9. Make and send Christmas cards

10. Write gift idea lists (to receive and to give)

11. Bake cookies

12. Decorate sugar cookies

13. Put up the rest of the decorations around the house

14. Shop for/ make gifts to give

15. Read some Christmas books

16. Wrap gifts

17. "Jingle" a neighbor (here is an explanation and free printable)

18. Watch a Christmas movie (this year will be Jingle Jangle)

19. Do this candy cane science experiment

20. Go caroling via zoom

21. Drive through a lights display

22. Hang the stockings

23. Make a gingerbread house

24. Set out cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa and the reindeer

This kind of Christmas countdown / advent activity calendar is so easy to set up because the activities are low-prep, low-mess, quick activities, most of which are things families celebrating Christmas would do anyway. If you want to do something similar this year but don't have time to make a calendar, all you really have to do is write down each activity on a piece of paper and fold it up with the number for the date you want to do it on the outside. Then open a paper each day to reveal that day's activity!

Here is how I made the calendar we use every year (so easy if you have the supplies):

And you can see how my list of activities has evolved over the years as my daughters get older in these posts from previous years: my list for 7 year olds, for 6 year olds, for 5 year olds, for 4 year olds, and for 3 year olds.

If you're looking for ways to add a little cheer without a lot of effort I hope these ideas will help! 

Read more "24 Days of Family Christmas Activities: Socially Distanced Edition"

How to Give Intangible Gifts

Maybe you've heard about the idea of giving experiences instead of things, but you just don't think your children will buy into the idea. Maybe you'd love to do it but have trouble coming up with concrete ideas. If you're looking for "last-minute gift ideas" you don't have to fall victim to all the retailers scrambling to get you to buy more stuff to clutter up your house (and your life)- here are my suggestions for giving intangible gifts that everyone will be excited to give and receive!

There's a lot of gift-giving happening in my life right now. My family celebrates Christmas, and my twin daughters have their birthday the beginning of January. It's a lot to think about all at once! But luckily it's also the time of year when I'm most anxious to purge my house of all the clutter, which means for the last several years I've been focused on making sure I don't add to the clutter by giving my kids a bunch of toys.

I think the key to helping kids get excited about an intangible gift the same way they would about a shiny new toy is 1) making sure they still have something to unwrap, even if it's just a piece of paper that has a note about the gift, and 2) giving them time to adjust to the idea. I wouldn't worry if they are clearly a little disappointed with an intangible gift initially- I find once they actually have a chance to experience those gifts they realize how fun it is!

Another way to help children get used to the idea of giving experiences over things is to suggest that they give intangible gifts themselves! Here is a post I wrote on how I do this with my young children. I find it's perfect because the children can actually give it themselves rather than having to have someone else pay for it because they don't have their own money.

With all of that said, there are so many great ways to give intangible gifts- click each post below to read specific ideas that have been favorites in my family:

I hope this gives you some ideas that will make your next gift-giving opportunity more meaningful! If you have stories of how you've given intangible gifts (to kids or adults!) we'd love to hear them in the comments :)

Read more "How to Give Intangible Gifts"

Toward an Inclusive Holiday Sing-Along

Holiday sing-alongs are something many music teachers are tasked with. They can be a lot of fun, and they're a great way to bring the entire school community together. But they also inherently center certain religions and cultures while ignoring others, and that is problematic. I cannot say that I'm completely happy with my sing-along just yet, but after doing a lot of thinking over the last few years I have made some changes that have certainly brought it a long way in making it more reflective of our school community and our world, and I want to share where I am in this journey to hopefully help other teachers think critically about their current practice and encourage others to join me in my journey.

First, if you haven't already read my previous series of posts on Reflecting, Responding, and Respecting all students in the music room, I encourage you to catch up on those. I have written extensively about my thoughts on inclusion and decolonization in music education, along with specific action steps and resources, on everything from race to students with special needs, and those thoughts play a big role in my journey to change my school's sing-along. In a nutshell, focusing on Christmas (and maybe throwing in a Hanukkah song) centers Christians (even if all the songs are "secular") and excludes all of our students of other religions and backgrounds, and talking about December as "the holiday season" ignores the fact that the majority of the world's major holidays do not fall in December!

Last year I made the conscious decision to include as many different winter holidays in my sing-along as I could, but limiting it to winter holidays still excluded a large part of the world's holidays. I realized that there was really no reason for me to limit the holidays to only winter ones, since we don't do any sort of holiday celebration in the spring/ summer, and I expanded my song choices further. I still have several changes in mind for next year, but this is as far as I was able to get with the time constraints and resources that I had to prepare. Here are the songs we'll be singing this year:

1. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
2. Jingle Bells
3. Feliz Navidad
4. Diwali is Here
5. Gong Xi, Gong Xi
6. Eid Mubarak
7. 12 Days of Christmas

The main criteria I'm looking for when I'm choosing songs are 1) songs that are easy enough for Kindergarten to learn in just a couple of rehearsals, and 2) songs that we can do something fun with rather than "just" singing. So for each song, I have instruments, motions, a game, or something that goes along with the singing to make it more fun for everyone- that's a lot of songs to sit and sing, especially right before break when students are antsy!

Here's what I'm hoping to work on improving in the future:

• Find songs that are more traditional/ representative for Diwali, Eid/ Ramadan
• Choose a different Spanish language song
• Do some research on Jingle Bells- I've just recently come across some information that it may not be an appropriate song choice for elementary school because it originated in minstrel shows, but I haven't had time to dig into it (I plan to replace it with Sleigh Ride or something if it turns out to be a song rooted in oppression)

I'm also aware that doing a holiday sing-along at all is questionable in itself, but I am doing my best to make this a learning opportunity for all of my students by discussing the many different holidays celebrated around the world, and I have been pleased with the responses I have gotten from families in my school community who celebrate Lunar New Year and Ramadan who have been so happy to see their tradition represented and acknowledged in some way.

Do you do a sing-along at your school? I'd love to hear your thoughts on holidays in public school classrooms, how to make holiday sing-alongs more reflective of our world, and whether holiday sing-alongs are even a good idea to begin with! Please share your thoughts in the comments below. I hope this sparks some conversation in the music education community as we continue to look for ways to value and respect all of our students and their backgrounds.

Read more "Toward an Inclusive Holiday Sing-Along"

24 Low-Stress Family Advent Activities

The Christmas season as a parent of young children is a two-sided coin. On the one hand it is the most magical way to experience the holiday, but on the other hand it can get overwhelming trying to fit in all the things you want to do with your kids! My solution for the last several years has been a low-key list of small things to do each day in December to save me the worry of figuring out how to fit everything in while keeping the holiday cheer going strong in the most low-maintenance way possible!

4 years ago I made an advent calendar out of a mini muffin tin and filled each day with a small Christmas-related activity to do each day in December, and I have never looked back! Each year I've made a list of tiny holiday tasks for each day leading up to Christmas, modifying my list each year as my daughters get older. Here's my list for this year now that my girls are almost 7 years old:

1. Put up the Christmas tree
2. Put out the nativity scenes
3. Put (electric) candles in the windows
4. Put up Christmas lights around the house and on the tree
5. Hang ornaments on the Christmas tree
6. Decorate the front door
7. Bake Christmas cookies
8. Donate old toys and clothes
9. Make an advent wreath
10. Make Christmas cards
11. Deliver Christmas cards (in the mail and in person)
12. Shop for/ make presents
13. Wrap presents
14. Take family pictures
15. Call family and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas
16. "Jingle" a neighbor
17. Make a gingerbread house
18. Go on a train ride with Santa
19. Hang the stockings
20. Watch a Christmas movie in our pajamas
21. Read Christmas books
22. Put out cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer
23. Make peppermint hot chocolate with all the fixings
24. Drive through the local light display to see the Christmas lights

Here's last year's list for 6 year olds, my list for 5 year olds, my list for 4 year olds, and the one for 3 year olds, if you're interested in more ideas for the littles. I love putting the calendar together each year because it relieves the pressure I would otherwise feel to make sure I'm taking the time to enjoy the holiday with my girls, and doing small things each day makes the whole month more fun without anything getting overwhelming! 

What holiday traditions do you have with your family? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments below. 

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Read more "24 Low-Stress Family Advent Activities"

Awesome Gifts that Aren't Things: trips

I'm wrapping up my series on gifts (get it? 😉) today with one more set of ideas for gifts that won't add to the endless clutter that piles up at home: trips. If you missed my other posts in this series, be sure to go back and read those- they are linked at the end of this post- to find even more ideas for experience-based gifts that kids will still get excited about.

I've gotten to that point where I look around the house and I feel like we just have way too much stuff. Mostly kid's stuff. Being the oldest grandchildren, my daughters have been doted on since the beginning, and it's definitely starting to catch up to us- it's crazy how often we will open a drawer and find an awesome game, book, or toy that we had totally forgotten we have.

So this year I'm focusing on getting the girls gifts that aren't objects per se. Things that will create memories, help them to grow, and allow us all to have fun without adding more clutter to our lives or feeding too much into the whole materialism thing, and I'm encouraging my family members to do the same (thanks, family!).

Over the last few weeks I covered some major categories: classes (clubs, lessons, teams etc) and quality time (memberships, outings, etc). Today I'm hitting one more type of gift idea: trips!

Trips can mean a lot of different things. They can be day trips or outings, full-on family vacations, or something in between. Here are some ideas to get you started in thinking of your own:

• Family vacation (Disneyland, other amusement park, or even Grandma's house in another city)
• Cruise trip
• Day trip to a nearby city- plan specific places to visit, restaurants, shows, activities etc
• Weekend camping, skiing, or fishing trip
• Road trip

The possibilities are endless!

An easy way to actually present the gift is to give kids their ticket, a brochure or map, or itinerary that explains what they'll be doing or seeing. But it's also fun to give them a photo album (the kind with the clear sleeves to stick pictures in) with a "title page" that explains what the trip is (or if you're going somewhere famous you can probably get an album from that destination with the name already on it, like for Disney). You could also give them a suitcase or backpack packed with everything they'll need for the trip and see if they can guess where they're going!

Remember, these gifts don't have to be expensive (although admittedly, trips are harder to plan cheaply than the other ideas I've shared). You could plan an awesome day at the beach, or plan an entire day hitting their favorite spots around town, from the candy store to the skating rink to the local park. The idea is to make it like an exciting adventure!

I hope this series has sparked some ideas that you can use this holiday season, or even for future birthdays, to focus less on the accumulation of things and more on the experiences you have together as a family. If you want to see tons more ideas for gifts that aren't things, here are my previous posts:

And make sure you're signed up here for the Organized Chaos Newsletter- this is my primary way of keeping in touch with you! Happy Holidays, everyone!

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Favorite Sleigh Ride Music Lessons

We just got our first snow of the season his past weekend (and it looks like a lot of others did too)! With snow on the ground (or in the forecast) and holidays on the horizon, Sleigh Ride is the perfect song to keep kids engaged. It talks a lot about snow and feels "holiday-esque" without actually referring to any holidays. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite lesson ideas using Sleigh Ride. I hope these ideas help you enjoy these last couple of weeks before break!

Cup Routine

I've shared this idea a few times before but it's worth including here because it is so much fun and it's a great way to review steady beat, rhythms, and form! I saw another music teacher post an idea for doing a cup routine with Sleigh Ride several years ago (here's the video) and loved the idea, but the routine was way too hard for my elementary students (I think it would be great for middle or even high school!). I created this simplified version, which can be done with kids as young as kindergarten (or with older students without much practice time, which is perfect for those concert days or that last day before break!). 

The key to teaching these cup routines (and the best way to reinforce the form of the piece) is to teach one section at a time. Start with the A section and go through the entire piece performing only the A section actions, resting and listening for the other parts. Then add B, and finally add C. Students will quickly figure out the pattern of the Rondo form that way.

Arrangements

I shared a similar idea last year in my post about lessons for The Nutcracker. Basically I show my students several different versions of the piece (I try to find the most disparate examples possible) and we discuss the different arrangements. Just this step alone is perfect for reviewing musical concepts and vocabulary, whether it's instrument names, dynamics, tempo, tonality, or articulation. But I have also taken it one step further with some of my older grades and had them create their own arrangement in small groups. In this case I have them use just the A section. Here are some of my favorite versions of Sleigh Ride to show, but there are many others out there you could use!

Paper Plate Skating

The idea of paper plate skating is probably not new to most of you, but I'll explain just in case: basically you give each student 2 paper plates and they put one under each foot so they can glide along the floor like they're skating. This works best on carpet- if you have hard flooring but have some kind of rug you can use that (just call it the "skating rink" and tell kids not to get too close to the edge). This is a great one for practicing half notes because they can glide along with each foot on the half notes. Here's what I have students do, but you can change it up depending on the age of the students.

A section: alternate feet on quarter, quarter, half note pattern

B section: all half notes

C section: jumps, spins, and tricks (I tell students to do some figure skating tricks in this section. Some of them can jump in the air, turn around, and land back on their skates, others do different spins with the arms in different positions or try skating backwards etc. What's really great is to get kids to try to do something where they land on the slapstick notes!)

A great variation I found recently on O for Tuna Orff Schulwerk's Facebook page is to cut skis out of laminated paper and use those the same way you would use skates- if you're logged in on Facebook you can see the video where she talks about them here (and oh my goodness you guys, did you know she started her FB page about a month ago? She has been sharing some fantastic videos with teaching tips! Just search O for Tuna Orff Schulwerk on Facebook to find her page and go follow!). 

Instrument Play Alongs

I've done this several times with whatever rhythms we're practicing in that grade level- I just throw one 4 or 8 beat rhythm on the board for each of the 3 sections and have the students play the rhythm as an ostinato with the music. I label the rhythm with the section names (A/B/C) to help them keep track. If you can, it's even more fun to have students switch instruments for each section. Either give every student 3 instruments, or have half of the class use one instrument to play all of the A section parts and have the other half use 2 different instruments to play the B and C sections.

If you want to stick with very simple rhythms (quarter notes and quarter rests only), you can have students play along with this video!

I hope you find some useful ideas here to use with your classes- I love finishing out the last few days before break with some fun lessons like these (and hey, the students are still learning). If you're looking for more ideas to use this season, be sure to check out my post from last year on lessons for The Nutcracker:

I send timely ideas and resources like these to my email subscribers every month, including an outline of the concepts I'm planning to teach for each of my K-6 general music classes for the month ahead. Click here to sign up for the Organized Chaos newsletter!

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Awesome Gifts that Aren't Things: quality time

I'm working on a series this month focused on sharing gift ideas that kids will love that aren't actual things, but instead are more intangible items. The idea is to focus on people and relationships over "stuff", and to decrease the amount of clutter that can easily take over the house when holidays and birthdays come around. Last week I focused on classes, clubs, and other recurring interest-based activities (read here). Today I want to focus on quality time with you (the gift giver)!

The ideas I shared last week are meaningful gifts because you are giving up part of your week to focus on an activity they want to do. There can definitely be a side benefit of shared experiences and quality time together, depending on the activity, but the main point is the activity in which they get to participate- not who they do it with.

But you can also give the gift of quality time with you! The idea is to make a specific commitment or plan to spend time focused on being together in a way that you normally wouldn't. You can present this in a few different ways to make it fun for the receiver:

*Give "coupon(s)" for specific activities that the receiver can redeem when they choose
*Give certificate(s) for a specific time and place, detailing the plans you have already arranged
*Give "coupon(s)" for a specific block of time and let the receiver choose the activity/location
*Give a certificate for a recurring "appointment", whether weekly or monthly, for a specific activity

There are so many fun ways to spend quality time with children! Pick something that you may not normally do, at least not just the two of you, but allows you to interact with each other:

*Go to the playground or library
*Go to a restaurant, ice cream parlor, or cafe
*Plan a game night, spa night, or craft time at home
*Go to a candy, toy, or book store (even just to browse)
*Go get your nails or hair done together
*Go camping, hiking, or boating, or go to the beach
*Go play basketball, other sports, or exercise together at a gym or pool

The great thing about this gift is that anyone can give it- even kids themselves. I've written before about how my daughters give the gift of a specific outing to their extended family for Christmas and birthdays now (honestly the most sought-after gift of all)- you can read about that in this post.

I hope this sparks some fun gift ideas that will not only reduce the clutter at home but bring you all closer together! Have you ever given this type of gift before? How did you present it? I'd love to hear your experiences and ideas in the comments!

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Awesome Gifts That Aren't Things: classes

I've hit that point in my life when I look around at all the toys, books, clothes, trinkets, and just... well... stuff, and I question the meaning of life. I mean honestly, it's not that we have an exorbitant amount of playthings, clothes, or household items, and the things we do have are all good, but how much do we really need? With that thought in mind, I've come up with some ideas for gifts that aren't "things" that kids will still be excited to receive!

I'm going to be sharing a few different categories of ideas over the next few weeks. Today I'm focusing on classes (or clubs, teams, groups, etc). Classes are a great way to give kids something they can get excited about because you can focus on a specific area of interest, whether it's music, sports, or anything else you can think of! Here are a few examples to consider:

*Private or group music lessons

*Community choir or orchestra

*Theater/ drama classes

*Art classes

*Chess lessons

*Foreign language classes/ tutors

*Sports teams

*Martial arts classes

*Hiking clubs

*Girl / Boy Scouts 

*Book clubs

Obviously I'm stretching the term "classes" to fit the general concept of specific, interest-oriented activities that kids can attend on a regular basis. The great thing is in many cases, these gifts don't cost any money- they simply require a time and energy commitment from you as a parent. Libraries and schools will often have classes, clubs, and teams that are free or very cheap.

I love this gift idea because it not only gives kids the gift of learning, but it shows that you care about their interests, and it is also giving them the gift of your time, whether you're doing the class with them, observing the lessons, or even just serving as their chauffeur. 

There are a couple of ways you can present this gift to kids: one way is to wrap up a paper or flyer that explains the class (but that probably won't get them very excited when they open it), and another is to give them something that they'll use in the class. Sometimes that might be a uniform or something else they can wear, supplies they'll need, or maybe a pass or badge that shows their membership. Whatever you use, having something physical to open (without adding to the clutter, which is what we're trying to avoid in the first place) can help make the experience more tangible and exciting (especially for younger children). 

I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Is anyone else looking for ways to give gifts without becoming overwhelmed with clutter? What have been your favorite gift ideas for this? I'd love to hear them in the comments below!

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Bring Winter to the Music Room

One of the easiest ways to make class more engaging, especially in those challenging months when students are preoccupied with upcoming vacations, is to incorporate the very thing they're thinking about into the lesson itself! This time of year, referencing winter themes can be a great way to engage students without worrying about excluding anyone with a specific holiday.

1. Snowball Fights

Such an easy way to practice/ review vocabulary, notation, or facts! Write words, notes, definitions, questions, or other prompts on pieces of paper and crumple them up into snowballs. Split the class into 2 sides and give each side a set of snowballs. Each side could even make barricades with chairs. Each side throws the "snowballs" at the other side. Any snowballs that hit the other team (or get past the barricade or line on the floor etc), the other side has to open and answer.

You could do this to review letter names by writing notes on a staff and having students identify them by letter, write musical terminology like dynamic and tempo words and have students give the definition, put pictures of instruments and have students identify the correct instrument family.... so many ways to go with this game!

2. Manipulatives

I love using manipulatives for composition (read this post for what I use and how), and this time of year I love pulling out winter shapes like snowflakes, snowmen, mittens, and hats. I've found little sticker shapes, mini erasers, and foam cutouts in these shapes and they're so easy to use! You can also use little cotton balls as manipulatives and call them snowballs :)

3. Winter Stories

I have a few books that I love to use for music lessons, especially with my Kindergarten students, that refer to winter. Click on the pictures to see my detailed plans for each of the books below- they are seriously some of my favorite lessons to teach!

4. Winter Songs and Music

Of course one of the best ways to incorporate winter is to use music with a winter theme! You'll find tons of lesson ideas to go with Sleigh Ride and The Nutcracker below, and here are some ideas for Vivaldi's Winter, and here are some for Frosty Weather.

I hope this gives you some ideas for easy ways to bring the season to your classroom without too much extra effort- it always makes school a little more fun for the students and for me when I change things up a little to fit with the season! I also wrote a similar post with ideas for incorporating summer themes if you're reading this by the pool (luck you!):

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