Summer's A-Coming!

Busy, busy, busy!  That's the story of my my musical life over the last few weeks.  My students have successfully put on two musical programs (Lights! Camera! Action! and Hats!), celebrated Cinco de Mayo, advanced on recorders, learned about Peter and the Wolf, and began an introduction to piano.  Whew!  We're tired, but not finished yet.  We've got two more weeks to have fun together before school is out for the summer.  My plan....to pull out some popular activities that the students have enjoyed throughout the year.  We've got just enough time to revisit and reinforce.   You too can enjoy some of my best sellers, now on sale through Wednesday 5/27, at The Bates Clef.

Students were up and moving as they learned a new dance, La Raspa as part of their Cinco de Mayo unit.  From young to old(er), all grade levels had a blast partnering up for this activity.

 My "littles" enjoyed learning the song, Los Pollitos.  They sang, tapped the beat, read the rhythms, then played on the Orff instruments as an extension.

 This is one of my fave times of the year with recorders.  Not because I thoroughly LOVE listening to recorders day in and day out, but because I enjoy seeing student accomplishments.  This before and after picture is worth a million words.  As of Friday (no pic to show), three students earned their Black Belt.  They worked so hard and were very proud of how far they had come.  Not that it's a competition against others, but the non-black belts find a little more motivation to keep pressing forward once our first wave of black belts is awarded.

 This last week, first grade learned about Peter and the Wolf as an introduction to the orchestra.  I found these really cute activities through Tracy King's Teachers Pay Teachers store.  The students really enjoyed the reinforcement practice and making connections between character and instrument.

 

 Finally, 6th graders were introduced to basic piano with these super cool keyboards I received from Donor's Choose.  This was the second project through the program that I requested.  If you haven't checked out that site, hit the link above.  It's amazing!

  How are you spending your last days/weeks of school? I'd love to hear what's happening in YOUR music world!  

March Madness

Where has the time gone?  Apparently March flew by so fast that I didn't have time to blog.  Ugh....and I thought I was getting better :)   Oh well.  Spring Break was much welcomed this month.  While I had high hopes of getting a lot accomplished, productivity was at an all time low....and that's o.k.

 With school resuming, so has the busyness.  Programs are on the horizon, testing is grueling, and end-of-the-year crunches are in full swing.   Life has become a little more stressful recently.  As for now, I'm holding my breath until the end of May when I can relax again.   Glancing back at my March happenings, 2nd graders were introduced to W. A. Mozart. After much explanation about "composers" vs. "presidents," they enjoyed making their scarves dance around to some of Mozart's pieces.  Eyes got bright when they recognized "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" from the cartoon, Little Einsteins.  Following our movement activity, we created a Mozart Fact Flipbook (made by Jena Hudson.)   The kids enjoyed learning all about Mozart and having something to take home and share with their families.  It was a really fun project for us to do together :)
 

 In 1st grade, students have been working on MSL for a while.  Though already familiar with "Twenty-Four Robbers" from our curriculum CDs, the 

 kids were recently introduced to the song on the staff.   Practicing our solfege and rhythms, I used a fun assessment worksheet to check for understanding.  This was a great resource to send home as well.  Many times, parents don't realize what their children are actually learning in music class.  I believe sending things home occasionally can help solidify the importance of music in the curriculum AND help families understand music isn't just a blow off class. 

As with many of our songs and games,
children joined along on Orff instruments.  Twenty-Four Robbers has an Orff arrangement included that can be modified depending on the level of your students.

Older students (grades 4-6) have just began working on recorder.  They've been looking forward to it all year long.  I use the Recorder Karate program, and my kids LOVE it!  The thrill of earning a belt for their instrument makes this a successful system for my students.  I converted one of my magnetic chalkboards into our progress board on a Friday afternoon so when the kids came in on the following Monday, they were eager to begin learning recorder.  I use the current girl and boy clipart to add each student's name on front, and a magnet on back.  When they play off each song, they are able to easily move their "person" to the corresponding color on the board.  It's the highlight of their year, and exciting for me to see their note reading confidence.

What's happening in your music room this month?   I'd love to hear about your programs and ideas.