Basketball Themed Elementary Music Lessons

One of the most popular sports with my students is basketball. I love having different lesson activities prepared that address different skills and concepts I'm teaching with themes that will get students hooked, so today I'm sharing a collection of lesson ideas that tie into the theme of basketball. This would be perfect to incorporate during basketball season, especially March Madness, but really they are a great way to make a lesson more fun any time of year!

1. Space Jam

Maybe I'm showing my age here but when I think of basketball music I think of Space Jam. The theme song from the original movie Space Jam is a great track for having students practice steady beat movements- have students take turns choosing a basketball move to do on the beat for everyone to copy! It's also a good tempo for reading and performing basic rhythms- write a few measures of rhythms they're learning on the board and have them practice playing them on instruments with the track. For shorter note durations like sixteenth notes, We Win from Space Jam 2 has a slower tempo that works well for the same activity.

Another track from Space Jam 2 that I love using in my lessons is Crowd Go Crazy- this is another one that can work well if you need something with a slower tempo, but I especially like it as an example of high do. The main line in the chorus has a very clear octave jump that repeats multiple times so it's a great one to have students sing and identify the note.

2. Basketball Percussion Composition

While we're on the topic of basketball-related movie soundtracks, the beginning of the music video for Get'cha Head in the Game from High School Musical is a great, quick example of using basketballs as percussion instruments to perform rhythm patterns. Another great example I love showing my students is this video the Harlem Globetrotters did with STOMP. After showing them an example or two to get the idea, have students create their own rhythm composition just using basketballs! You can use this lesson activity to incorporate a variety of different concepts students may be working on by giving them specific parameters for the composition, whether that's telling them to include ostinati, specific rhythms, or even specific expressive elements like dynamics or tempi, and it's a great way to have students practice notating those by having them find simplified ways to record their compositions.

3. Basketball Routines

I'm sure many of you have seen the basketball routines and play-along's before, but this is an easy activity to throw in to get students moving, practice rhythms, get them to internalize the pulse, and give students some ideas of moves they can do before having them do a composition activity like described above. This play-along with Ho Hey is a clear, easy one to start with, this one with Natural includes whole notes and half rests with some more different kinds of moves, and other routines like this one for In the Wild are a good way to review note names and durations with more advanced routines for older students. There are plenty of other videos like these to use for this!

4. March Madness-Style Song Bracket

For March Madness specifically, my absolute favorite idea is to do a bracket of songs. Because March Madness happens during  Music In Our Schools Month®, I love to do a bracket based around the NAfME theme for MIOSM that year, and I have students vote in their homerooms every day for the whole month of March. You can see all of the brackets I've done over the years in this post, and see how I run it in this post. I love doing this each year because it introduces students to a wide range of songs including songs from different genres and time periods, in different languages, and from different cultures.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for incorporating a basketball theme into your elementary music lessons for all different grades, no matter what you may be teaching! It's fun to tie in different student interests to get students excited and help everyone feel like their personality and interests are recognized and included. If you're looking for more sports related lesson ideas, I've also written posts on incorporating baseball, American football, soccer, and ice skating! What other sports do your students get excited about? What other sports themed lesson ideas have your students loved? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments.

Read more "Basketball Themed Elementary Music Lessons"

What To Do With Those Scarves

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with a bunch of scarves you don't know what to do with, or you have had them for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for managing their use with students, plus plenty of ways to use them in specific lessons as well!

1. Storage

I used to like the idea of wall-mounted storage for scarves, either by hanging them from a velcro strip or storing them in those containers with holes on the sides that are made for keeping plastic bags (like this). I still like those ideas but I have found for my purposes, I like being able to carry the set of scarves around rather than having them tied to one place and having to have students go get them from a specific place in the room. I have, over the years, accumulated quite a few scarves though, and I've realized it's important for whatever storage system I use to have enough space for students to be able to throw them in and fit without too much extra stuffing, so I have ended up splitting my scarves into cool colors and warm colors and keeping them in 2 separate bins:

The side benefit of this system, I've realized, is that it's easy to pick out specific color schemes, which is handy for some of my favorite scarf activities where I want cool colors to evoke water, rain, the ocean, ice, or snow, or warm colors to look like fall leaves, etc, and if we're using all the colors it's a little faster to have students put them away by calling their scarf color two at a time (one cool and one warm) to put away in two bins simultaneously. 

2. Management

Scarves don't present too many management headaches, but when I'm handing them out students often want to a) drape them over their heads, or b) ball them up and toss them (both of which are not particularly problematic, just distracting), and when they're waiting to put them away they want to spread them out perfectly on the floor and fold them into neat squares (which is very thoughtful of them but time-consuming when you're trying to transition quickly to the next activity). To help manage those behaviors I do 2 things: 1) give them something specific to do with the scarves when they are getting them out and putting them away, and 2) give them time to explore and choose what to do with the scarves at some point. 

With any instrument, prop, supply, etc, giving students time to explore the new item before demanding that they use it only in the way you instruct them is a really effective strategy. So the first time we're using scarves each school year, or if it has been a long time, I often will turn on some music and tell students they have until the end of the song to play with the scarf without leaving their spot (after spreading them out around the room). This gives them time to try throwing it, balling it up, putting it on their head, etc and not only "gets it out of their system", but gives students time to figure out how to manipulate it before they try to do anything specific with it.

Exploration time is obviously too time-consuming to do every time, though, so once they've had that chance the first time, in subsequent lessons I will tell students a specific way to hold the scarf/ stand/ sit as soon as they get the scarf. Often it is to get into whatever position we start the activity in, but sometimes it's totally unrelated- the main point is just to give them specific direction for what to do without having to tell them to sit there and stare at the new colorful toy I just put in front of them without touching it! 

For putting them away, I do the same thing. Sometimes I tell them to put it on their heads until I call their color, or drape it over their laps, etc. Other times, if we have the time for it, I will go around the room one student (or a small group of students) at a time and have them do a short song/ rhyme that ends with them putting the scarf away (like this flower song).

3. Lesson Activity Ideas

Scarf songs

My favorite way to use scarves is as a movement prop with a song. It can be a great way to help students demonstrate specific musical elements of the song, or connect with the lyrics with movements that go with the words, or a way to get students to sing with something that makes them a little less self-conscious and sparks their imagination. You'll find my top favorite songs for early childhood/ self-contained music classes in this post:

I also have to mention my other favorite singing game with scarves that I use with my middle grades: Draw a Bucket of Water. You can do it without scarves too, but it works best if you have scarves for students to pull back and forth while they sing. Here's a video showing the movement game if you aren't familiar- it's a great song to use to learn about same and contrasting sections.

Movement with instrumental pieces

Just like with scarf songs, scarves can be such a great tool for getting students to demonstrate specific musical elements of an instrumental piece of music. It can actually be a really useful assessment tool for that reason! I use it especially to have students demonstrate pitch, by having them move the scarf up for high notes and down for low notes, and to demonstrate form, by having them either use different predetermined moves for each section, or use a scarf for one section and put it down to do other movements for the other.

-The Bird from Peter and the Wolf is a great one to have students show pitch by making their scarf go up and down with the notes like the bird flying in the air.

-Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals is another one I have students show the notes going up and down with their scarves, pretending to be the fish swimming around in the water.

-Sylvia Pizzicato by Leo Debiles is my favorite song to use with scarves to have students show form. I have them tip toe for the A section and then pick up their scarves and twirl around with the melody for the B section.

Substitutes for other movement props

-If you've ever come across an awesome parachute activity (here are my favorites) and wished you could do it but didn't have the parachute and/or the space for a parachute, a lot of the moves can be done with scarves. Just have students hold the edge of their scarf with 2 hands and move their scarves the same way they would move the parachute! 

-I love teaching my students about poi in my unit in Maori music and I've now made my own out of rope for students to use (there's tutorial in that same post), but for many years I just used scarves to have students practice poi moves, and it works just fine! 

-Of course scarves can also be a great substitute for ribbon wands as well if you come across a great lesson activity that calls for those.

Other creative uses

-If you've ever had classes, especially in upper elementary/ middle school, that get icky about holding hands for movement or circle games etc, have them hold scarves in between each person and you can accomplish the same thing without dealing with the awkwardness of hand holding!

-I use some of my white or blue scarves to represent the "river" when I do my lesson on "Going On a Bear Hunt" with Kindergarten every year to practice steady beat! You can read about that entire lesson (highly recommend) in this post.

I hope this helps you find some new ways to use those scarves that have been sitting in your closet! If you're looking for more ideas for other movement props from parachutes to cups and so much more, check out this post:

Read more "What To Do With Those Scarves"

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:

And for everything scarves, from management and storage/ organization tips to tons more lesson activities for using scarves, head to this post:

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.

Read more "Favorite Music Movement Props"

What To Do With Those Beanbags

If you are starting a new job in a new classroom and suddenly find yourself with a bin full of beanbags you don't know what to do with, or you have had them for a while and feel like you're not getting as much use out of them as you should, this post is for you! In this post you'll find tips for managing their use with students, plus plenty of ways to use them in lessons from Kindergarten through 6th grade!

1. Management tips

One of the most common issues that can turn a fun movement prop into a headache is the immediate tossing and playing around that happens when you're passing them out. Now you can't give directions for the activity because they're only paying attention to the beanbag in their hands, after you just told them to leave it on the floor! Here are a few ways I avoid that problem depending on the age of the students, situation, and honestly my mood at the time:

1) I give all of my instructions, including having students practice any movements we need to work on before we start the actual activity, before handing out the beanbags. This strategy is one I use pretty much every time- once the beanbags are in front of them their brains just aren't going to be as focused as they are when they're motivated to want to get one! I explain what we are doing and have them practice any specific moves in the air with an imaginary beanbags, then quickly hand them out and jump right into it before anything gets out of hand.

2) Tell students to treat the beanbags like instruments: if you play (touch) before I say, you'll make the instrument (beanbag) go away! I use this especially with my younger grades by having them put their hands in their laps while sitting on the floor and setting the beanbags down on the floor in front of them so they don't touch them at all until we're ready to begin.

3) Give them some time to explore. For middle grades sometimes I find the best strategy is to give them what they want: time to explore what the beanbag feels like and have some fun with it before I ask them to only use it in the specific way I want. Any time I do this I tell them they can "test them out" until I turn off the lights, then give them a minute before I turn off the lights and have them set the beanbags down. 

2. Lesson Ideas

Early Childhood/ Adaptive music: I discovered a new favorite use for my beanbags this year: using them as quieter, safer, sturdier alternatives to egg shakers! I had some students who were new to our building and were very impulsive with any objects they were given at the beginning of the year, so even a pretty sturdy plastic egg shaker was likely to get broken, but they really did respond well to the egg shaker songs I had so I wanted to be able to continue them without breaking any more instruments. My beanbags were a perfect substitute that gave them a chance to practice following directions and responding to the music by shaking with the steady beat etc, as well as add in other fun ways to use them like tossing them or tapping them on our knees, without worrying about anything breaking.

1st/ 2nd grade: With lower elementary grades, bean bags are a great way to mix up steady beat movement activities. Even though steady beat is mainly a focus in my Kindergarten curriculum, it's one of those things students still need a lot of regular practice with, especially in 1st and 2nd grade! But they don't want to just repeat the songs they did in Kindergarten. I use them most often by turning on a track with a clear beat and asking students to take turns suggesting a way to use the beanbags on the beat- usually tapping a specific body part like knees, tummy, head, or shoulder, but sometimes other moves like passing it back and forth between their hands etc.

3rd/4th grade: With my middle grades I use beanbags to practice showing duple and triple meter. By this age they can usually control it pretty well while tossing the beanbags so they can still catch them and keep them in their own space, so I will have students do a "left hand- right hand- toss" movement sequence with a triple meter song, or pass them back and forth between their two hands for a duple meter song to feel the difference between the two meters. The tossing adds a level of challenge that is just right for this age!

5th grade: I have 2 beanbag passing games that are always a huge hit with my 5th graders: Bhombela and Take Five. Bhombela is a song from southern Africa including Mozambique so I use it in my unit with 5th grade on Mozambique, and the jazz song Take Five is a great way to introduce uncommon time signatures. Check the linked videos for demonstrations of how to use the beanbags with each of these songs.

6th grade: I use one other beanbag passing game in 6th grade that is also a big hit and is perfect for introducing dotted quarter/ single eighth rhythms: Al Citron. This is another activity that is the perfect level of challenge for this age group to keep students engaged and motivated to repeat it over and over again, which is just what I want when I need students to get used to a new rhythm! 

If you've found it difficult to teach passing games, here is my post explaining the strategies I started using a few years ago that made all the difference in the world for getting students to be successful with passing games!

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas to help you use your beanbags (or maybe inspire you to get some for your classroom)! They are an excellent kid-friendly, cost-effective tool for teaching steady beat, form, meter, and rhythm. And if you have more beanbag activities you love to use in music lessons, please let me know in the comments!

Read more "What To Do With Those Beanbags"

Basic Parachute Moves to Use with Any Song

Using a parachute in elementary music lessons is one of those things that, once you get the hang of it, it's hard to stop yourself from using it all the time! It was intimidating for me at first but honestly now that my students and I have figured out how to do a few basic moves, I just use the same moves in different combinations with different listening pieces to reinforce form, meter, and other musical elements in an engaging way!

Obviously there are plenty of other ways to use the parachute, but here are the most common moves I use for movement activities in the music classroom (some typical parachute moves are best left for the PE teacher with a full gym), and the musical elements and concepts I use them to teach.

1. Walk in a circle: students all face the same direction around the circle, hold the parachute with one hand, and walk on the steady beat. I usually will match the phrasing or time signature by having students switch directions for each phrase/ measure.

2. Up and down: students all face the middle, hold the parachute with both hands, and slowly move the parachute up and down. This is a great one to either reinforce longer phrasing or a slower tempo- they should move it slowly enough to create a "balloon" with the parachute.

3. Shake: students all face the middle, hold the parachute with both hands, and use quick and small movements to shake the parachute. I usually use this when the song is about something with water, or something shaking/ moving, or there is a section with a lot of fast notes. This move is even more fun if you toss in a couple ping-pong balls or very light stuffed animals to watch them bounce around the parachute as it moves!

4. Sway: students all face the middle, hold the parachute with both hands, and sway back and forth (clockwise/ counterclockwise). This is harder than it looks because to get the parachute moving correctly everyone has to move to the same direction, which looks opposite from the person you're facing! This is a great move for reinforcing a triple meter feel, or to move with a middle tempo beat.

Once you know how to do a few basic moves with the parachute, it's easy to put together a movement piece to match any listening piece you want to use in your lessons! Just pick one move for each of the sections to match the form of the song and you've got a great way to reinforce form, beat, meter, tempo, and even lyrical themes or rhythms depending on the song.

If you're worried about having enough room to move around with a parachute, or not sure if your students are behaviorally ready for that level of activity, try starting with these stationary parachute activities! I started with those first the first year I started using a parachute and it helped me, and my students, feel much more comfortable with using the parachute in the classroom before I had an entire class holding it and moving around!

Read more "Basic Parachute Moves to Use with Any Song"

Cup Games for Upper Elementary Music

Who knew a simple plastic cup could be the source of so much learning and engagement for those tough-to-please upper elementary students?!? Over the years I've found a handful of cup games that have become unexpected favorites for my 4th-6th graders. If you're looking for something new to keep your upper elementary students musically engaged, these are surefire hits!

1. Escatumbararibe

The cup game that started it all for me was this Brazilian cup song I started teaching my 6th graders years ago as part of the bigger unit I teach them each year on the music of Brazil. It is just hard enough to hold their interest but attainable enough to avoid too much frustration. I start off teaching it without the passing element, and then eventually build up to passing the cups around the circle, but you could keep it an individual activity (which makes it slightly easier and does not require as much floor space) by just having students tap the cup in front of them instead of passing it. I will say, though, that one of the reasons I think this activity is so successful is that the passing part is slowed down enough that if one student is off for some reason there is enough time for everyone to recover without the whole circle falling apart, so if your students struggle with passing games generally, this one may be one they can handle (and I have more tips on teaching passing games successfully below). Read my post on my Brazilian unit for the song and demonstration of the game, including a slowed down tutorial.

2. Sleigh Ride

I created this super simplified cup routine to go with "Sleigh Ride" way back in 2014 and that video tutorial has been one of the most popular videos on my channel ever since! But I have a confession: while I labeled it as easy enough for Kindergarten- which it is, and I have used it with Kindergarten successfully multiple times- I actually use it most often with 5th grade. That's because it's easy enough for students to pick up in 1-2 run-throughs without me having to break down each movement, so it's perfect for introducing Rondo form, which is part of my 5th grade general music curriculum! Because I want it to be something students can pick up right away to experience the repeating and contrasting sections I don't do it as a passing game, but it could easily be adapted to a passing game by having students "tap-tap-pass" in the A section instead of tapping 3 times and switching hands as demonstrated in the video above, if you wanted to add a level of challenge or make the activity more cooperative.

3. Addams Family

This one has made the rounds on the internet since Marti Chandler came up with it decades ago but it's worth sharing. I don't use it as consistently as I do the first two, which have a permanent spot in my curriculum, but I do pull it out with my 4th-6th graders when I need something fun and different, and it's a great way to get students to experience triplets, identify A and B sections, or even review repeat signs. This video has an excellent visual that also shows the same mnemonic devices I use to teach the different patterns. I have always done this as a passing game because it is highly repetitive and simple enough for students to learn, but this could easily be adapted to take out the passing element by having students flip the cup over, or drag it in small circles in front of them on the floor, etc on the beat in the B section.

As I've mentioned for each of these cup games, they can all be done as individual cup song routines or as passing games. If you, like me, have found passing games seemed to suddenly become a lot more difficult to teach in the last 10 years, I am happy to report that I have, in the last few years, discovered a teaching strategy that has made it possible for me to do passing games successfully again! You can read all the details about how I teach them now in this post.

I know upper elementary students can be difficult to keep engaged in musically meaningful learning sometimes, so I hope this gives you some new ideas to try with your students! If you want to see how these fit into a sequenced curriculum that keeps students engaged year-round, be sure to check out my general music curriculum. What are other songs you have used with cups for upper elementary? I'd love to hear your successful lesson ideas in the comments as well!

Read more "Cup Games for Upper Elementary Music"

Stationary Elementary Music Parachute Activities

I've been inspired by my self-contained elementary music classes to incorporate more seated/ stationary movement activities this year and one of my new favorite ways to do that has been with a parachute! I bought a parachute for my classroom a couple of years ago and was always too intimidated to actually pull it out, but these seated activities have turned me into a believer. Here are my favorite parachute songs that students can do sitting down, including activities appropriate for a wide range of ages from preschool up through middle school.

Besides being easier to manage, stationary parachute activities are also perfect for students with mobility difficulties, small classroom spaces, and to use when students have less physical energy like after recess or PE class, so these are really versatile for a lot of situations.

PK-2nd grade: Shake, Shake, Shake

This song by Nancy Kopman is specifically written for use with a parachute, so it's a great first activity to try with the parachute! The words make it pretty obvious what to do with the parachute, and there are some little surprising pauses in the music that students have to listen for to stay with the song which makes it more exciting! My younger students love this one and it was a great introduction to using the parachute and some basic moves that everyone can pick up quickly.

PK-3rd grade: The Rain Falls Down

I used this song by Stephanie Leavell when I was first starting to use my parachute in class and it worked great! This song is a great way to help everyone get used to using the parachute correctly and it's also just a lovely activity for calming everyone down while reinforcing beat, long notes, and phrasing. I use the same simple, repetitive movement pattern through the entire song: bring the parachute down for 4 beats, up for 4 beats, then sway back and forth (with arms up) every 2 beats for 8 beats, then repeat. I have everyone do the half note sway in the introduction so that we start with the parachute up to begin with the first downward move when the first verse begins.

1st-6th grade: Azizam (Persian version) 

This was one of the most popular songs from my Music In Our Schools Month multilingual song bracket this year (I made a last-minute swap with another song when I found it online) so I decided to use it as a movement activity to introduce form as well! For the chorus we shake the parachute near the floor to create "waves", and for the verses we sway back and forth on the beat while holding the parachute near our laps. It sounds simple but it was a great way to reinforce the A and B contrasting sections and practice some new moves with the parachute- swaying in a circle and getting everyone going back and forth in the same direction is tricky at first, but cool once they get the hang of it! And of course I love that this version of Ed Sheeran's song features more of the Farsi language and Iranian musicians!

I was so much less intimidated by the idea of using a parachute once I realized how much we could do seated in a circle instead of standing/ walking around! If you're just getting started using a parachute in elementary music class, I highly recommend starting with everyone seated first and then you can always add in locomotor movement later. 

Movement props are such a fun way to mix things up while reinforcing musical concepts! You can see my favorite activities for the stretchy band in this post, and some of my favorite scarf songs for each of the 4 seasons in this post for more movement prop ideas! Do you have other favorite seated parachute activities for elementary music lessons? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

Read more "Stationary Elementary Music Parachute Activities"

Scarf Songs for Every Season

I love using a simple movement prop to spark students' imagination when they are responding to music, and there is no simpler movement prop than scarves! I also love incorporating seasonal material when it fits well with the concepts we're working on, especially with my youngest students, so I've found some wonderful scarf songs for all four seasons that have been a hit with my early childhood and Kindergarten classes over the years. 

The nice thing about each of these is that the scarf movements for each one are pretty self-explanatory if you listen to the lyrics. One of the hardest things about teaching younger grades is how much material you need in each lesson to match their short attention spans! So I admit when I find new songs I often play the recording in class and just follow along with my scarf with the students until I learn it, then I'll switch to singing it myself (and eventually having the students sing with me of course). 

1. Fall: Blowing in the Wind

Technically this song is about the wind so I suppose you could use it in winter or spring as well, but for some reason I always find it fits so nicely with my other fall leaf songs. This is definitely my top favorite scarf song of all time!

2. Winter: Winter Scarf Song

My students love this one because of all the snow references! I am always amazed at how much students will ask to sing this song over and over again.

3. Spring: A Little Seed

The thing I love best about this song is that you can do it together as a class, but you can also use it to sing to each child individually and have them reveal their scarf "flower" at the end of the song to put it back in the container as a way to make the cleanup process go a little more smoothly.

4. Summer: Popcorn Kernels

I think I associate popcorn with summer because that's the only time I have time to watch movies? In any case I like to throw this one in at the end after we've done a longer movement activity with the scarves before we put them away.

I hope this gives you some fresh material to use with your younger students any time of year! What are your other favorite seasonal scarf songs to use with your students? I'd love to hear your favorites in the comments.

Read more "Scarf Songs for Every Season"

Dance Playlist 2026

I love finding upbeat, school-appropriate, modern songs to use in my music classes for dance parties, slideshows, field day, and general merriment, and these last few years it has felt especially important to share with all the stress and negativity we're all dealing with. Here are my new picks for this year- be sure to check out my posts from previous years to find more awesome music my students and I love linked at the end of this post! I just keep a running list and add to it every year. The old ones don't seem to get old but it's fun to add some fresh material each spring :)

This year, along with some iconic movie songs and a few other random songs I've found along the way, I'm also add some songs from the 2026 MIOSM song bracket because my students loved them during the month of March and have been excited to hear them again! Don't miss the playlist at the end of the post that includes these songs plus all of my picks from previous years put together. Now that we're on year 11 there is a lot of great material all in one place!

To make it easier to find all my dance party playlist songs in one place, I've put together a YouTube playlist with all of the songs from all of my previous year's lists including this one! Here's the link to the playlist.

If you've missed my playlists from previous years you can see those posts below! Happy dancing :)

Dance Playlist 2025

Dance Playlist 2024

Dance Playlist 2023

Dance Playlist 2022

Dance Playlist 2021

Dance Playlist 2020

Dance Playlist 2019

Dance Playlist 2018

Dance Playlist 2017

Dance Playlist 2016

Read more "Dance Playlist 2026"

3 Spring Songs for Self-Contained and Early Childhood Music

Spring is officially upon us and that means flowers, rain showers, and insects coming out to play! I have a few songs I've learned and adapted for my self-contained special education and early childhood students that have been very effective and engaging: here are 3 fantastic songs for spring and the lesson activities I use with them.

1. The Flower Song

I found this song by Nancy Stewart (see notation from original source here) a few years ago via this video by Krista Chencharick when I was looking for something to use in my sub plans to have my 1st graders practice sol mi and quarter and paired eighth note rhythms (which I highly recommend this for too, by the way). For my special education classes, I added my own motions to the song and first taught students to sing the song while doing the hand motions like this:

Once students learned the song, I turned on Krista's video and I had them echo the flower names on so mi and clapping, rather than reading it along with the recording, and it worked perfectly! The students all loved it and I had several nonverbal students verbalizing and even singing on pitch with the flower names, and the ones who didn't verbalize were able to do the entire song with motions and clap the rhythms. The first time we just did 2 of the flowers, and every time since we have added a couple more until they could do them all. 

2. A Little Seed Scarf Song

I've seen this song by Mabel Watts and Mary Lou Siegel shared by so many early childhood music educators, but I first saw the scarf routine I use from this video by Miss Katie. After doing a longer, more active scarf movement activity, this is a great song to slow down the pace and lead into the Flower Song above! I also use it as a way to get some individual time with each student and make it easier for students to put away scarves by going around to each student and singing it with/ for them while they do the motions, and when they open their hand at the end to make the flower I have them put their scarf in the box and go to their seat to get ready for the next activity. 

3. Busy Like a Bee

No early childhood music compilation of mine would be complete without a Stephanie Leavell song! I always thought this song was so cute but this year have not been able to do much gross motor activities, especially where students are moving around the room in scattered formation, because of the groups that I have. For other groups this would be a great song to use to practice moving in different ways and stopping on cue though! I use the recording from this video of Busy Like a Bee by Stephanie Leavell from Music for Kiddos and, instead of having them move around the room, I came up with motions to have them do from their seats, like this: 

Once they learn the moves and can do it with just their finger, I add egg shakers! I have them leave their shakers on the floor in front of them or in their laps for the verses, and then pick it up and fly the shaker around like a bee for the chorus.

These songs have been a huge hit with my classes this year and I hope you enjoy using them with your students as well! For more songs and lesson ideas to use throughout the year with self-contained and early childhood music classes, click here. I'd love to hear your favorite spring songs for early childhood music in the comments as well!

Read more "3 Spring Songs for Self-Contained and Early Childhood Music"

Ice Skating Themed Elementary Music Lessons

My favorite event in the winter olympics has always been figure skating! With the next winter olympics coming up soon, here are some of my favorite ice skating-themed lesson activities I've used in my elementary music classes, along with the concepts that I use them to teach. 

Skating by Stephanie Leavell

I love using this skating song with my self-contained and early childhood music classes! Of course it is made to be an easy to learn, singable, fun song for young children to sing and move with (including sections that tell you to move and stop), but I actually use it the most sitting in chairs with instruments, usually either egg shakers or jingle bells. We hold the instrument and glide it around and stop, which is a great way to get kids to practice following directions, sing, and explore instruments at the same time.

Skating by Vince Guaraldi Trio

This wonderful jazz piece is from the Charlie Brown Christmas movie and it instantly evokes the image of skating on a frozen lake outside in the softly falling snow. I use this song to practice ABA form, either by having students do some basic moves contrasting moves for each section on the beat, asking them to raise their hand when they hear the music change, or most often showing the contrasting sections with paper plate skating (see below).

Paper Plate Skating

If you haven't tried paper plate skating yet you are missing out! Have each student put a paper plate under each foot and they can "glide" around the room like they're skating! I have carpet in my room so it works great- you'll want to test it out first if you don't. I use this to teach 2 different concepts: with younger students I use the Vince Guaraldi Trio song above to show ABA form by gliding around the room in the A section, then staying in place and doing spins/ jumps in one spot in the B sections. For older students I use similar moves to practice legato and staccato: glide for legato, do a "ballet spin" (tip toe around in a circle in place) for staccato. If you have 4th/5th graders that you can convince to let loose and be silly, this is one of the best things you'll ever do- trust me.

Skater's Waltz by Émile Waldteufel

This is a great orchestral piece to use for teaching triple meter and to review the instruments of the orchestra. I'm always looking for songs with a strong triple meter feel and this one is a perfect tempo for students to move with the downbeat or even do a very basic waltz step to get used to the triple meter feel. I also like using the linked video recording specifically to have students visually and/or aurally identify instruments of the orchestra, which is something I do with 3rd and 4th grades this time of year. It has different spots in the music that feature different instruments and sections of the orchestra so it's a good piece to have students either try to identify instruments by sound or by watching the video. It could also be another good one to use those paper skates with too!

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas for connecting with the winter olympics in your music classes, or just incorporating a wintery theme that's fun for everyone! What other songs or music lessons do you teach with an ice skating theme? I'd love to hear more ideas in the comments! You can also find more winter themed elementary music lesson ideas in this blog post, and snow themed lesson ideas in this post!

Read more "Ice Skating Themed Elementary Music Lessons"

Boots of Shining Leather: modern movement

I love using the song "Boots of Shining Leather" to introduce ti with my 4th graders. Last year my 4th graders were very challenging to engage, so I was determined to make the song, and the circle dance I've always had students do with it, feel a little more modern to get better buy in. And it worked! After teaching the same movement with the song again this year, I thought it was time to share for anyone else looking to update their lessons to make it more relevant.

I like using the song "Boots of Shining Leather" to teach ti for a lot of reasons, especially because it is perfect to use to review canon singing, which leads into learning partner singing, and I use it to also introduce accelerando and ritardando, which the song lends itself well to. But the different movement / folk dances I had seen used with the song felt very outdated and boring. I also found that the movements were often to similar in the different parts of the song, which makes it a bit counterproductive, because adding a movement component is really helpful for helping each group keep track of where they are when they sing in canon. And some of the movements don't really move with the beat, which doesn't work well when I'm using the song to practice tempo. 

So for those reasons I knew I wanted to update the movements, and last year this is what I came up with. It has been very successful 2 years in a row- in fact, my 4th graders told me last week that they had been singing and doing the dance outside at recess after we did it in class! That's always the ultimate sign of a win in my book, especially with the upper grades!

I hope you'll consider trying out this version, or even get inspired to add your own spin on movement for upper elementary students. It has not only been engaging and fun for my students but it has significantly improved their learning because of the more obvious beat, differentiated movements for each phrase, and motions that match the lyrics. If you aren't familiar with the song, there are a few versions out there but this is the one I use:

If you want to learn more about my lessons using the song, and how I introduce and practice the solfege, here is my post on that. And of course all of the details and materials for the lessons are in my 4th grade curriculum!

Read more "Boots of Shining Leather: modern movement "