Posts from the Past
Sometimes when looking at a blog, you don’t have time or get a chance to read articles written a year or two or three ago! So to help you out, here are posts from January 2012!
Pinterest: Check it out! My blog is pinned many times on Pinterest!
Recorders: Read how I teach recorders and what materials I use!
January 2011 Posts: Previous posts about the FootNOTES rug I use to teach music literacy, how I use hula-hoops to conduct my students and using Froggy Gets Dressed with instruments for the winter!
Sing, Dance, Shake Your Tail Feathers: Decor outside the music room for the winter.
Squirm!: The musical I chose for the 1st grade performance in 2012 was a new one called Squirm! My students LOVED it! The songs, especially A Spider Song, are challenging yet so catchy that I want to listen to them over and over again!
October 2011
Sometimes when looking at a blog, you don’t have time or get a chance to read articles written a year or two or three ago! So to help you out, here are posts from October 2011:
Weather & Holidays: If you are looking for lesson plans or resources about the fall & winter season, or to use around the next two holidays - Halloween & Thanksgiving – please check in my lessons plans for information. Or if you prefer to write your own, here are some of the resources I am using this year… Click here to read more!
A Bugz Christmas!: Now it is time to begin working on the 2nd Grade musical,A Bugz Christmas! My 2nd graders listened to the entire musical and learned the first song today… they LOVE it! And I do too! This musical is not only enjoyable to kids, but for teachers and parents too! Click here to read more!
FLAKES!
A celebration of snow and slush! Last Thursday, my 2nd graders performed this awesome musical, Flakes, for a full house and they rocked it! The musical has cute dialogue, catchy songs, dancing suggestions and the message of “although we are alike, no wo are the same! You are special and unique like a snowflake!”. The recommended ages are K-3, but I recommend no younger than 2nd grade. In the songs Cold Snap and We’re Flakes!, the verses are wonderful, but a little tough to remember the words on if you don’t practice them quite a bit.
This musical has nothing to do with santa or Christmas, so if you are looking for something like that, then this is a winner!! All my students, regardless of beliefs, could participate in this musical.
March 2011 Posts
Two years ago on the Elementary Music Teachers Blog:
Music Showcase Night: Done enough musicals this year? Love doing musicals but want to experiment with something new? Well, look no further, because I have an idea for you. {Read more here}
One year ago on the Elementary Music Teacher Blog:
New music theme in my room for the next couple months! After spring break, I will be using my activities from Lynn Kleiner’s S.O.S: Songs of the Sea and my lobster, dolphin, shark and octopus puppets! {Read more here}
February 2011 Posts
Last year on the Elementary Music Teacher Blog:
Music Etsy: If you are looking for a cute, handmade music gift, please check out my mom’s etsy site at www.rosegardenembroidery.etsy.com. You may be looking for a piano lesson bag for your daughter, a gift for a teacher or a tote to hold your school materials in. If so, my mom has the perfect thing! Click here to visit this post.
A Year Ago… (Now two years!): How to Speak Moo! by Deborah Fajerman, emphasizes vocal exploration in younger students (K-1), but is a fun filler for older grades (2-4). Students practice “moo-ing” in different ways- wobbly, high, low, soft, loud, sleepy, in a funnel, etc. Then during the story, the different “moo’s” are integrated and students have to “moo” as the pictures ask them to. My kindergarten students enjoy participating with this book, and afterwards we do what I call a squiggle exercise. I draw a squiggle… {read more}
Recorders: Recorders gained popularity in schools in the 1950′s and are still a great instrument to teach to young children today. Students learn rhythms, how to read music… and how to put those two together along with fingerings. They also learn phrasing, breathing, tonguing, melody and many other musical concepts. Click here to visit my first post about recorders and recorder materials.
How Does Your Garden Groove?: This year, the 1st grade musical is How Does Your Garden Groove? by Michael and Jill Gallina. At first the kids were a little hesitant… a musical about vegetables?! But now that they’ve learned the rock song Vegematic, Automatic, the dancing/clapping/rapping song Hot Potatoand the hilarious Please Don’t Put Us in a Can-Can!, they LOVE IT! These fun songs, plus two more make this healthy, moving and grooving musical a hit! Click here to visit this post.
Squirm!
It’s time to begin working on my 1st grade musical. The one I chose for this year is a new one called Squirm! This week my students listened to all the songs and learned the first one. They LOVE it so far. The songs, especially A Spider Song, are challenging yet so catchy that I want to listen to them over and over again! Here is what Music K-8 has to say about it:
“Ahhh!! Join the wiggles and squiggles as the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Daddy Long Legs, Hook Worm, Snake, and a host of other critters take over the stage. But wait! No need to scream, just listen carefully and you will learn how things that make us squirm can be A-okay! Showcase your young performers in this 20-minute squirmy musical.
The easy-to-learn songs and creative rhyming dialog will make your show a hit with any audience, whether it be a general assembly, a community program, a class project, or evening concert. The enhanced Teacher’s Edition/Singer CD-ROM includes piano/vocal arrangements with choreography, a helpful production guide with staging and costume suggestions, teaching objectives linked to the National Standards for each song, plus reproducible singer parts on the enclosed data disc. Songs include: Squirm!, It’s Cool To Be A Worm, Spinning: A Spider Song, A Snake In The Grass, and Give A Bat A Call. (Grades K-3)”
A Bugz Christmas!
Hello music teachers! I haven’t blogged in a while because I am currently in the middle of my school year and just finished a 4th grade musical called Gotta Be Jazz.
Now it is time to begin working on the 2nd Grade musical, A Bugz Christmas! My 2nd graders listened to the entire musical and learned the first song today… they LOVE it! And I do too! This musical is not only enjoyable to kids, but for teachers and parents too! Here is what www.musick8.com has to say about this catchy musical:
“The bugz are ready for the Christmas program infestation. The carpenter bees have built the sets, and the silkworms have made the costumes. Oh, no! The termites just chewed up the Christmas tree decorations and ate the lights! What are the bugz to do? This musical show features the clever writing of John Jacobson and John Higgins with five songs in a variety of musical styles, easy rhyming dialog with 45 speaking parts and additional non-speaking parts, all adaptable to casts of varying sizes, and teaching objectives linked to the National Standards for each song. Simple movement, staging, and costume tips are also provided to help stage a successful performance, even when time is limited. Songs include: A Bugz Christmas, We’re Hungry!, No Christmas Lights, Light Up The Tree, and The Twelve Bugs Of Christmas. (20 min., Grades K-3)”
How Does Your Garden Groove?
snow days, Snow Days, SNOW DAYS! We are on our 7th snow day of 2011. The week of February 14-18th is our intersession break. The weather forecast is predicting snowfall through next Wednesday. Will the 1st grade musical be ready to go on March 3rd? I hope so!
Last year, the 1st grade musical was Go Fish! by John Jacobson and John Higgins. It was so cute and my students had a blast. Their favorite song was We’re Sharks. Here is what Music K-8 has to say about the Go Fish! musical:
“A seven-legged octopus? A blowfish with allergies? A tuna that can’t carry a tune? Join in the aquatic fun as little Tiger Shark and his unique collection of friends discover how their differences make them each special. This musical for primary grades features five original songs, easy rhyming dialog, choreography, and helpful production hints. Songs include: Oceans Of Fun!, We’re Sharks!, Commotion In The Ocean, Roundup Under The Sea, The Colors Of The Sea, and Reprise: Oceans Of Fun!(20 minutes, Grades K-4)”
This year, the 1st grade musical is How Does Your Garden Groove? by Michael and Jill Gallina. At first the kids were a little hesitant… a musical about vegetables?! But now that they’ve learned the rock song Vegematic, Automatic, the dancing/clapping/rapping song Hot Potato and the hilarious Please Don’t Put Us in a Can-Can!, they LOVE IT! These fun songs, plus two more make this healthy, moving and grooving musical a hit! Please visit Music in Motion to purchase this musical.