Have your students been busy working on recorder karate belts? In the Recorder Resource 1, the belt tests that I use are:
White belt Song #8, Hot Cross Buns (theme or variation)
Yellow belt Song #17, Skin and Bones
Blue belt Song #24, Hush Little Baby
Green belt Song #29, Ode to Joy
Black belt Song #35, Jingle Bells
Celebrate the start of the Sochi Winter Olympics by having a Music Olympics in your classroom! Teach students a folk dance or singing game from one of the countries competing in the Olympics.
Materials Needed:
- tub of cinnamon hearts
Get 2014 off to a great start using classroom rules and the Stop and Think tool. If you haven't reviewed your classroom rules since the beginning of the school year, it's time to review them.
The holiday season is here, and I hope it's going to be special for everyone! After all the work that goes into putting on a holiday performance, it can be unfortunate when your audience displays inappropriate or rude behavior. I've seen parents walk out as soon as the class their child is in has performed; I've seen a parent yell loudly as her child walked on (and off) the stage, "I LOVE YOU AUSTIN!" I've seen the parent paparazzi run down the aisles surrounding the conductor when their child's class is performing so they can get that perfect picture. We've all had the perfect moment spoiled by a cell phone ringing, and we've a;; had screaming babies. What's needed is audience education. It starts with the children, but their parents (and sometimes our colleagues) need to be taught what is appropriate behavior in a concert.
The holiday concert in your school is great PR for the entire school! It shouldn’t be up to the music teacher to do all the organizing.
November 11th is Remembrance Day or Veteran’s Day. There are some really good selections in Musicplay. Musicplay 1 – Just One Candle
Halloween was my kids and now my grandkids favorite holiday of the year. However, not all families celebrate Halloween. How can you enjoy the Halloween spirit without excluding any of your students?
Developing the Child’s Singing Voice I recently read this question on a music teachers facebook page: I’m teaching grade 1 and 2 music. I had 2 of my classes for the first time today and did some call and response tone-matching activities. I was shocked to find that 75% of the students could not sing in their head voice. At least 40% of those students couldn’t reproduce so-mi in a singing voice at all! Any ideas on where I start to help these students develop singing/head voices? In this newsletter, I’ve got some suggestions for warmups, vocalizes and activities to get your kids matching pitch.
It's back to school all across Canada and the US, and one of the first questions I received in my email inbox came from a teacher who had already strained her voice. There are many voice care suggestions online and most of us know the basics: