Hello Readers! Today I wanted to share some of my favorite songs from around the world. I love being able to share a wide variety of music with my students, both to help build their musical ears and expand their horizons. Plus, kids love the novelty of hearing about other
Hello Readers! This is the time of year when I start up recorders with my third graders. But it took many years for me to figure out how to teach beginning recorder successfully. Recorders often get a bad rap. But if taught well, you can minimize the torture element that
So you are thinking of doing an instrument petting zoo, but you aren’t exactly sure how to do it and do it well. First of all, let me tell you that you and your students are in for a ton of fun. Petting zoos are a great way to reach
Hello Readers! Last year I showed off my cool new set of recorders that I got through a grant so that I could loan out recorders to students who did not have their own. First, if you are interested in starting a recorder rental program at your school, check out
So normally this time of year I like to do a room tour, but this year I’ve been keeping things simple – more on that in a later post. However, there is one addition to my classroom this year that I wanted to share with you. This year I purchased
So for as long as I can remember, I have been teaching a unit on theme and variation with my 4th graders. We define the form a by the end of the unit, they have to create a variation on Hot Cross Buns. I have to say that every year,
This week, I want to share with you a new song that I am doing with my fourth graders this year for Black History Month. It’s a spiritual called Won’t You Sit Down. I love it because you can do song much with it and it is very accessible for
So I did have another recorder song planned for this week’s Black History Month post, but then I realized that I’ve been a little recorder heavy this month. Last week was a song for BAG on recorder and next week is another recorder song. So I decided to switch gears
Today I have a great recorder song for Black History Month. This song was a big hit with my fourth graders (they especially liked the part where they get to go “HUH!”). This year I have moved it down to third grade, as it fits more with their benchmarks (songs
So I don’t use a TON of books in my classroom, but one that I love to use January and February is Martin’s Big Words. It is a great children’s book about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It has won multiple awards including the Caldecott
I am an elementary music teacher, blogger and mom on a mission to make teaching and lesson planning easier for you. When I’m not working, you can find me at home enjoying life with my husband, daughter and two cats.
