TRANSITIONS! Make your lessons more musical! online or live teacher training is smooth, easy transitions with singing and participation between activities. Knowing how to handle transitions in mommy and me classes, preschools and elementary settings are an important part of the lesson planning. Here’s a glimpse of a transition with a group of 4-6 year-olds. Colors are Gliding – shows verse two only. This song and other transition songs can be found in Kids Make Music, Babies Make Music too.
Black History Month – Shosholoza
Shosholoza is found on the Brilliant Beginning CD (use your member discount when ordering) and is a popular song for our “exploration time” using gathering drum or hand drums for younger classes.
This week’s download features this song for BAG recorder players. (As requested from one of our awesome members!).
Before you watch my video this week, I’d like to share how I got to this point.
This goes WAY BACK! My most vivid memory as a kinder was the day my teacher dumped out the rhythm band box of “instruments” and then called our name to come get one. I wanted the triangle and I remember worrying that someone would pick it before my name was called!
My most vivid memory as a brand new early childhood music teacher, adding preschool classes to my elementary teaching, was the disappointed faces of young children who did not the instrument they wanted. Some even had tears and a fight actually broke out over the largest hand drum! Shouts of “I WANT THE BIG ONE!” still haunt me. (I never brought that large set of nesting drums to the preschool again! lol.)
I quickly came up with a more joyful and musical plan. I purchased a class set of shakers. And as soon as I could, I purchased a class set of rhythm sticks, finger cymbals and hand drums. All the same size, all the same color!
I led activities with each child having the same instrument. Happy students, better sound! As lessons progressed, I introduced activities where everyone had 2 instruments, later in the year, three instruments, even 4 or 5! (For these activities, refer to online or live training!)
Thanks to the late great Remo Belli, the quality of the percussion I use now is by far the most durable, the most musical tone, the best quality! (Members, be sure to use your coupon code for 25% off!) Here’s a little story and song that the children loved to act out as they played their set of little percussion, creating sounds for a frog, snake, bird, train, and more.
Here’s a YouTube playlist of songs from my Travel Theme. From babies to 8th grade, from a car, wagon, boat or plane, there’s a song for your music makers! Even a girl named Sally in a rocket ship!
First up will be Trav’lin Blues. Our easy color coded “music map” makes it easy for even beginners to play some of the colors! Notice our 4-6 year olds demonstrating the I, IV and V chord changes while the older students play the Orff orchestration and sing this awesome song written by our dear friend, Paul Cummings.
This song pack includes lesson plans, hand outs, PowerPoint and more. Check out Recorder Rookies, set 2, now at a reduced price in musicrhapsody.com/shop. (Music Box Members use your discount code)
Apple Tree! Who could guess how much this song motivates children to participate!
Apples come in many colors and varieties. There are hundreds of recipes calling for apples. There’s several ways to cut apples, and ways to eat them!
The Apple Tree* is an absolutely delicious song for many age levels! It offers creative choices for verses, solos, writing rhythms, solfege, improvisation, additional sections to add to the form of the piece!
Of course, all of this comes from the student’s ideas so its totally fun for the teacher too! The book and recording Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic include a couple verses but I have had so much fun encouraging new verses, new topics for singing little solos, adding new sections.
Have a listen to students singing and accompanying on Orff instruments.
What color apples will you buy? (youngest students) “What kind of apples will you buy? (older students) Print or use the PowerPoint Visuals in Music Box Downloads to inspire a variety of colors for solo singing.
What apple pairing will you try? Use the Pairing Visual in Music Box Downloads to give suggestions but encourage children to make up their own pairings.
What kind of recipe will you try? The song sings about Apple Pudding and Apple Pie but how about
