From our toddlers, preschoolers, and K-2, everyone loves singing “Who’s That Hatching” and playing with their hatching babies! Each child picks a baby animal for the game, and depending on the age of the class, children use ribbed rhythm sticks, tone blocks, or Orff instruments to accompany. Grade 1-2 has fun creating their “egg” rhythms with the babies tapping their way out of the shells!
Take a peek at a clip from one of my Live Teacher Trainings for a lesson on “Who’s That Hatching?”. In this video, half of the class plays Orff instruments while the others sing for the babies. The other half of teachers listen, then match their pitches.
Please note: We just learned my books with Alfred Publishing will be increasing in price soon. If you don’t have these yet, check out the Book Pack Special for the best value.
Many teachers ask, “what do we do when we don’t have snow in the winter months and the curriculum is all about snow and cold weather?” Some even go: “my students can’t relate to snow songs! They’ve never seen it!” We think this is a great opportunity to share pictures and props and let the learning about other climates happen!
Music Rhapsody is in Southern California by the beach. We don’t get snow but that doesn’t stop us from pretending we do! Classroom props are our best friend during the winter months. Here are some snowy ideas on how to create a winter wonderland in your classroom! Download our mini workshopfrom October 2022 for more on this topic.
Let It Snow!
Cotton balls and a parachute are great to make it snow in the classroom. Cotton balls are easy to pick up and use again and again. Use recorded music such as “ Let it Snow. ” (Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Sammy Cahn)
Paper Plate Ice Skates
“Ice skating” on the thin, cheap paper (not plastic!) plates is always fun (works well on carpet). Skating from A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi is awesome for paper plate skating! Consider forward and backwards, spinning, figure eight, etc!
Paper Snowflakes
Use props like paper snowflakes for rhythmic notation for snow songs such as Snow (Yuki) and White Feathers from In All Kinds of Weather Kids Make Music and Each Little Snowflake from Holiday Songs and Winter Adventures. Music Rhapsody Members, Snow (Yuki) can be found in your Big Kids and Young Musicians curriculum in your member area.
Snow Cloud and White Feathers
Wrap a strip of white fur around a hand (frame) drum and fill with white feathers. When the feathers fall, the children play their instruments (I like metals such as finger cymbals, triangles, metallophones and glockenspiels for sparkly, glistening music!). See In All Kinds of Weather Kids Make Music for the song and activity White Feathers. Music Rhapsody Members, this activity can be found in your Big Kids and Young Musicians curriculum in your member area.
Puppets Galore!
Wintery puppets like the snowy owl are great additions to help to present and lead snow activities. Snowy the Owl is a must have prop to present and direct snow activities. Also great for pitch matching!
I like to give options for visuals, puppets, and props. Choices to purchase or make. Here’s plenty of choices for your pumpkins for the rhyme I use for beat keeping, pitch matching solos and drumming “Five Little Jack-o’-Lanterns from my fall lesson plans (you can also find this in In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music Book/CD.
Go to the grocery store and buy 5 little ornamental pumpkins, decorate if you wish.
Music Box Downloads/Visuals: Five Little Jack-o’-Lanterns (For SMARTBoard or SMART Notebook) FREE this week in Music Box!
Counting Felt Set – One of many sets included are a set of 10 pumpkins and numbers to go with it. (Our number one selling felt set because so many songs use these little cuties!)
In ALl Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music Book/CD – Make the gate and pumpkins by coloring a card stock copy of page 50-51. Cut out the items and laminate.
Draw the pumpkins on a white board!
After a few lessons of Five Little Jack-o’-Lanterns, here’s a pumpkin passing game you never get tired of since the pumpkin drawing is so entertaining from the kids! Fun for them to choose instruments to accompany the passing game too!
Homemade instruments using recycle items are a delightful and musical way to celebrate “Love our Planet.” I have many ideas for homemade instruments in In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music, Songs of the Sea, Farm Songs, Jungle Beat and My Trip to the Mountains. I think these themes celebrate our planet and so many of the songs in these collections are awesome when accompanied by homemade instruments!
Water bottles (I’m thinking of the ones that are ribbed) are great for a guiro. Soak in soapy water to remove the label. Use the water bottle cap to scrape or tap on the bottle. If you want it to also be a shaker, put small items like beads, pebbles or rice inside and close with the cap. Use a cap from another type of bottle to play it or use another item like a plastic spoon to hit and scrape.
Toilet paper or paper towel rolls can be used to make shakers. Decorate the tube, add small water bottle caps, cover with fabric scraps and use glue or rubber bands to fasten.
Old socks can be decorated to be silly worms. Add some small stones in a small dressing container, place inside the sock and shaka shake for “Lots of Worms” from Farm Songs and the sounds of Moo-sic.
Refer to the instrument making section in the back of my books for lots more ideas.
If you type in Earth Day using the Search feature in Music Box, you will find more ideas.
I love seasonal activities. Students learn a lot more than music and are so excited about the lesson. Winter stories will warm up the music room with movement, instruments and singing. These are the annual ones that I enjoy during the winter months:
Froggy Gets Dressed Did YOU forget to put something on? If you don’t have this lesson plan, you can find it in DOWNLOADS, under the category, “Stories with Music”. Don’t our 4 and-5 year olds just laugh hysterically over the word “underwear”? Too funny!
Another in the Downloads category, “Stories with Music” for the winter is Snowy Day. Hopefully you have Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move so have the recording of Forgotten Dreams, a beautiful piece by Leroy Anderson.
The Little Penguins Tale, is a precious story book for winter. Detailed lesson plans for these three stories are available in in Music Box Downloads, click Stories with Music. Options for Orff, movement, singing and more. http://www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com/store
Here’s a few favorites from the book and CD In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music:
Warm Wendall – make the felts from the back of the book or dress up and act it out yourself. Great for unpitched percussion.
Five Little Snowman, Snow (Yuki) – There is an Orff accompaniment for both of these songs The counting felt set from www.musicrhapsody.com (use your MB coupon if you order) has snowmen so I use the felt board when we do the Orff part to show the snowmen melt and see what verse we are singing next. (I use this set for so many songs!) https://musicrhapsody.com/product/beginner-s-counting-set/
Go to Music Box Videos and be inspired to go ice skating using paper plates or get the cotton balls and parachute and be prepared for a big snow fall. www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com
Lots more winter fun, don’t forget to use the SEARCH function to see some inspiring winter lesson ideas.
I love seasonal activities. Students learn a lot more than music and are so excited about the lesson. Winter stories will warm up the music room with movement, instruments and singing. These are the annual ones that I enjoy during the winter months:
Froggy Gets Dressed Did YOU forget to put something on? If you don’t have this lesson plan, you can find it in DOWNLOADS, under the category, “Stories with Music”. Don’t our 4 and-5 year olds just laugh hysterically over the word “underwear”? Too funny!
Another in the Downloads category, “Stories with Music” for the winter is Snowy Day. Hopefully you have Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move so have the recording of Forgotten Dreams, a beautiful piece by Leroy Anderson.
The Little Penguins Tale, is a precious story book for winter. Detailed lesson plans for these three stories are available in in Music Box Downloads, click Stories with Music. Options for Orff, movement, singing and more. http://www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com/store
Here’s a few favorites from the book and CD In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music:
Warm Wendall – make the felts from the back of the book or dress up and act it out yourself. Great for unpitched percussion.
Five Little Snowman, Snow (Yuki) – There is an Orff accompaniment for both of these songs The counting felt set from www.musicrhapsody.com (use your MB coupon if you order) has snowmen so I use the felt board when we do the Orff part to show the snowmen melt and see what verse we are singing next. (I use this set for so many songs!) https://musicrhapsody.com/product/beginner-s-counting-set/
Go to Music Box Videos and be inspired to go ice skating using paper plates or get the cotton balls and parachute and be prepared for a big snow fall. www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com
Lots more winter fun, don’t forget to use the SEARCH function to see some inspiring winter lesson ideas.
I love seasonal activities. Students learn a lot more than music and are so excited about the lesson. Winter stories will warm up the music room with movement, instruments and singing. These are the annual ones that I enjoy during the winter months:
Froggy Gets Dressed Did YOU forget to put something on? If you don’t have this lesson plan, you can find it in DOWNLOADS, under the category, “Stories with Music”. Don’t our 4 and-5 year olds just laugh hysterically over the word “underwear”? Too funny!
Another in the Downloads category, “Stories with Music” for the winter is Snowy Day. Hopefully you have Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move so have the recording of Forgotten Dreams, a beautiful piece by Leroy Anderson.
The Little Penguins Tale, is a precious story book for winter. Detailed lesson plans for these three stories are available in in Music Box Downloads, click Stories with Music. Options for Orff, movement, singing and more. http://www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com/store
Here’s a few favorites from the book and CD In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music:
Warm Wendall – make the felts from the back of the book or dress up and act it out yourself. Great for unpitched percussion.
Five Little Snowman, Snow (Yuki) – There is an Orff accompaniment for both of these songs The counting felt set from www.musicrhapsody.com (use your MB coupon if you order) has snowmen so I use the felt board when we do the Orff part to show the snowmen melt and see what verse we are singing next. (I use this set for so many songs!) https://musicrhapsody.com/product/beginner-s-counting-set/
Go to Music Box Videos and be inspired to go ice skating using paper plates or get the cotton balls and parachute and be prepared for a big snow fall. www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com
Lots more winter fun, don’t forget to use the SEARCH function to see some inspiring winter lesson ideas.
Since I am teaching in Southern California, I might not see the changes of the seasons like many of you but I still get excited to bring out my favorite books, puppets and songs for autumn, including Halloween and Thanksgiving fun.I’ll highlight a few of my favorites and then if you have questions, go to the Forum at www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com and I’ll be happy to answer.
It is amazing that I still turn to my old In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music book and CD for all my seasonal favorites. That would be Five Little Leaves this time of year.Whether its toddlers throwing scarves, 6 year olds under the parachute or a beautiful Orff orchestration, this song is a hit year after year!How can I still love this song?Must be the repetition with variety!
I came across a book called When Autumn Falls by Kelli Nidey.This lists things that “fall” during this season.I have the children play from high to low on the Orff instruments, which are already set up in C pentatonic (remove the Fs and Bs) from working on Five Little Leaves.I say “leaves on the trees fall” as I drop different colored silk leaves and encourage the children to gently play from their highest note all the way to the lowest or biggest note.When the leaves are no longer falling, the playing must stop. Have them play from high to low again after you say each line of fall things that “fall.”Examples: football players fall, the temperature falls, children fall into piles of leaves, sunlight falls, rain falls!
I have several favorite fall books.At the top of my list is The Very Busy Spider.Get this free Music Box download to have the song and lesson plan. I love using all my animal puppets for this one. I have a full set of hand puppets for every animal in the story, including our adorable new goat and the amazing rooster. However, if you are not as crazy with your puppet collection as I am, you can easily make the finger puppets which are included in the lesson plan.
Speaking of puppets, the duck and turkey puppets are my favorite for teaching simple rhythms. The activity is in Four Fall Songs for Halloween and Thanksgiving in Downloads under Songs at www.lynnkleinersmusicbox.com. ATTENTION! If you purchased Rhythm Readers Lessons 5-10, you already have these songs so no need to download! The four songs include solo singing for pitch matching, creating lyrics, playing instruments, movement, a passing game and music vocabulary. These are long time annual favorites of mine for ages 3-8. Titles of songs: I have a little Pumpkin, Halloween is in October (the improved version), Turkeys and Ducks, November. The set of songs is $3.99. As always, if you have any questions about any of the activities, go to Ask Lynn Questions in the Forum.
Music Box members who have recently renewed their membership, thank you!Please remember your $20 download coupon certificate can only be used once so shop around and get your downloads all at once.
This month at Music Rhapsody, we held our annual Open House Week, where we opened up our doors to the community with several free events and classes for children of all ages.
One of my favorite events was Winter Story Time — take a look at my version of “Snowy Day”! My ‘getting dressed song’ is actually “Warm Wendall” from In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music.
The entire “Snowy Day” video, along with detailed lesson plans, is available for Music Box members here! ALL winter story lesson plans are FREE until 1/24.
With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, you may need some fun friendship-themed movement activities.
In this Valentine’s mixer, “Heel Toe on the Line”, I changed “valentine” to “friend of mine” and added hand clapping to help develop timing and coordination for this age group. This is an annual favorite!
Schools often celebrate the 100th day of Kindergarten. Here’s a few ideas from Lynn Kleiner for a counting celebration activity. musicrhapsody.com
After introducing the rhymes using echos, students stand around the parachute, unpitched percussion are placed on the edge of it. When switching instruments, the teacher plays the cowbell as students have 8 beats to walk around the parachute to a new instrument. The teacher uses sopranino improvisation (see Lynn’s training if you don’t know how to play!) or another signal to give some “free play” time.
Use the 100 Days of Counting poem for the A section of a rondo form. Choose instruments, such as rhythm sticks, hand drums, tone blocks, xylophones (remove Fs and Bs) to play on the underlined words. Choose metals, such as triangles, finger cymbals, glockenspiels (set up without Fs and Bs) to play on the X’s.
To simplify, consider the following choices:
-Everyone plays together on the entire rhyme when they think it will sound best
-Everyone plays only on the rests (the Xs)
-Everyone plays on the underlined words
-For additional challenges, have only woods on the underlined words and all others on the Xs. Try other groups of instruments.
One hundred days of count -ing, X One hundred days of fun, X One hundred days to sing and play, Aren’t I the lucky one? X
Play and count 16 beats, then repeat the rhyme.
More counting opportunities:
Play only on the numbers of the following rhymes, using them as a B, C and D section to become a rondo using the rhyme “One hundred days of counting”.
1, 2, 3 4, 5 Once I caught a fish alive
6, 7, 8 9, 10 Then I let him go again
Why did you let him go? Because he bite my finger so
Which finger did he bite? The little finger on the right.
PLAY 8 BEATS ON A COWBELL TO SIGNAL SWITCHING TO A NEW INSTRUMENT, THEN PLAY THE 100 DAYS RHYME AND CONTINUE WITH THE NEXT RHYME, PLAYING ONLY ON THE NUMBERS)
One,two,three musicians, four,five, six musicians
Seven, eight, nine musicians, ten musicians counting. (REPEAT)
(From the Sound Shape Play book by Lynn Kleiner and Christine Stevens)
COWBELL SIGNALS THE INSTRUMENT SWITCH, PERFORM THE 100 Days of COUNTING RHYME AND CONTINUE WITH THE RHYME BELOW.
Drumming with Music Rhapsody materials using Sound Shapes have been one of the most successful activities for my special education classes. There are a variety of limitations for playing, but the sound shapes offer flexibility with the variety of shapes and sizes and ways to play (you can easily tap with the mallet, held on either end, their hand, even tap it on a knee or arm of a wheel chair to produce a sound). I have one student who is deaf. She loves holding the drum on her head, sometimes the frame, sometimes the drumhead and tapping the drum. At first, this was challenging for her to do by herself. When we first started our lessons, a caregiver would play the drum for her. She would lean close to place her head on the drum. Then came the sparkle in her eyes and the big smile! After many lessons, she was able to coordinate holding the drum on her head and playing it herself. She also entertains us as she presses harder on the drum, or removes it from her head, causing the drum to change pitch! Sounds like a talking drum!
Here are some of our drumming favorites:
Kids Make Music, Babies Make Music Too: Drum and Stop (Shake and Stop), Jig Jog (this one is great for the repeating words sung on the beat, which stimulates response), Somebody’s Knockin at the door.
Songs of the Sea: Ten Fish in the Sea, both the children and caregivers love this recording.
“Exploration Music” from Music Rhapsody’s “Our Favorite Shenanigans” (Cotton Eyed Joe, Louisiana Saturday Night)
The ukulele is another important instrument for the class. Each week, we have more participation. The caregivers help the children to put out their index finger. When it’s a child’s turn, we sing their name as a part of the Hello song as they strum the ukulele. Once again, my deaf student loves to hold the ukulele against her head as I strum.
Hello Song – A variety of Hello songs are available in lynnkleinersmusicbox.com. (I use one for the entire school year)
If All of the Raindrops from In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music, repeating this week after week has brought more and more participation. I also use Who’s That Hatching from this same book and use my adorable puppets: duck, turtle, hummingbird, robin, penguin (if you know me, you know I have lot of options! Ha)
Movement participation is quite limited for most of the children, however, more participation is observed from the weekly song “Up So High” from Kids Make Music, Babies Make Music Too.
“High” – Arms up
“Low” – Arms low
“Shake” – Shake hand (jazz hands!)
“Around we go” – One arm over another
“Hold them So!” – Freeze hold after I say “On your chin!” or “On your nose,” etc
I think the caregivers I see each week are the most loving, caring people on the planet! God bless them! I hope I can bring some special happiness in their week. I know they bring lots in mine.
Preschool or Kindergarten Music Camp gives extra time for art work. Or classroom teachers may enjoy having their students decorate for their spring or summer concert. The pictures below show how a few classrooms turned their room into a garden for our delightful theme!
The painting was a three step process with the base coat one solid color. The second step was adding another color by splattering or lightly sponging another color of paint. A third step included a choice of assorted tools to add a very unique and intriguing pattern and texture and additional paint if desired. The tools included small sponges, string, mini rakes, a plastic knife and fork, a tooth brush and a plastic weaving mat.
The garden songs that brought great excitement to the children and inspired the decorating are “All Around the Gardener’s Bench,” “Who’s that Hatching”, “I Plant a Little Seed” and “Lots of Worms“ and Here’s a Baby Birdie.
This picture shows how the children included everything for the story told in the song “The Gardener’s Bench” from Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic. Notice the gardener pouring the water, the rain from the cloud, the sun, and the flowers of many colors. On the left side, the “critters” were placed for opportunity to eat what’s in the garden. Music Box Members: Check out the video of the performance!
The variety of birds were inspired from “Here’s a Baby Birdie” from Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic. Music Box Members, check out the preschoolers singing the story in Music Box Videos. “Who’s that hatching” from In All Kinds of Weather Kids Make Music, also hatched the ideas of some bugs that hatch. And way under the ground, you will see ”Lots of Worms”! (a big hit from “Farm Songs and the Sounds of Moo-sic.” )
As our school year is winding down, I am on the lookout for what to do next school year. How about some fresh, active, exciting lesson plans? These lessons are designed with the student and teacher in mind. The lessons are engaging and make classroom management a breeze! This active approach to teaching empowers students to be successful. Be on the lookout this summer for special packs of plans including preschool, TK, K, grades 1-3, including beginning recorder lessons with stories.
DOWNLOADS
Have you heard our Dvorak goodbye song? I highly recommend this hit. Check out our 3-5 year olds singing it at the end of their Jungle Beat concert. It’s not easy singing at a slow tempo when you are this age. Check out this Music Box download for the music, lyrics, and pictures.
When your young students are concentrating on their playing parts, it is hard to keep track of the lyrics especially when there are several verses. Ladybugs, from In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music is a perfect example. It features dancing ladybugs, rainsticks, wind and thunder tube, and Orff Instruments. In a concert setting, the text should be clear so the audience can hear the story. This week, we had a request for visuals for this song to assist with this challenge. As you conduct the pattern for the Orff orchestration, I often ask the classroom teachers to hold up the visuals to cue the lyrics for each verse. This works beautifully when combining grade levels. The youngest are the dancers, the middle group does the unpitched, and the oldest does the Orff orchestration. This week, members of Music Box have this free download available in PowerPoint and as a PDF. For the concert, I suggest copying the visuals on cardstock and laminating or projecting the visual on the back wall of your performance space. Click here to download the newest recording of Ladybugs with Orff accompaniment.
TEACHER TRAINING
Have you registered for the best four days of the summer? Join me for our Jam packed Teaching Trainings across the country. You get an 80+ page course book that is filled with lessons, music, student sheets, visuals, orchestrations and more! Take advantage of our $599 tuition price before to goes up May 31 to $649! Upon completion, you will receive a certification that will show 28 hours of professional development which qualifies you for Music Rhapsody membership.
BIG THANKS!
Our Music Box downloads continue to grow because of you! If there is something you are looking for, don’t hesitate to ask. We love helping out and posting things that you need and want. You can post in the Ask Lynn Forum at any time.
Two Year Old Music Time! Class after class with the 2 year olds this week made me smile. These precious little music makers, joyfully participating in “Five Little Leaves” from In All Kinds of Weather, Kids Make Music, (also in Module 2 Kids Make Music for Music Rhapsody Members), were amazing their classroom teachers with their participation to this singing and movement activity. And for me, after introducing this to young children for over 30 years, I’m amazed how much I still enjoy introducing this long time favorite of preschoolers, watching this special time in a life of a 2 year old! For adults, we sometimes wish the song could have been called Two Little Leaves, however, it is this repetition that brings the vocal response, coordination and timing. Often the child’s progression is moving from observing to moving some of the time to full participation by the fifth verse. I observe a child not understanding how to throw the scarf (they cannot figure out to let go!) the first or second verse, to squealing with joy as they drop or throw the scarf for the remainder of the verses. Singing a song one time or just one week will not bring the participation and development we are looking for.
I always introduce the song by first singing the colors, encouraging the little ones to sing the color the teacher sings and displays. After they sing a color, they are given the scarf. For the one who does not sing and is the last child without a scarf, we say let’s sing with _______. Then they are given a scarf too. Vocal participation is incentive to be rewarded with the scarf so most children participate. I had a teacher tell me “The only time I hear him/her talk or sing is in your music class!” That is because the Music Rhapsody activities are designed to encourage participation such as singing, moving and playing. It is natural and instinctive for young children to respond to music! This is why everything they need to learn in preschool is more successful and more fun when done through music and movement!
