May 23, 2025 | Activities, Teachers
Here’s a creative spring shaker activity from Module 3 of the Big Kids Make Music curriculum that’s perfect for 3-6 year olds!
What’s needed:
- Plastic Easter eggs are filled for pairs (or for small groups of children if a large class) to be discovered!
- Fill eggs with small items like pennies, paper clips, rice, beans, small stones, seeds, walnut in shell, etc.
- Colored tape secures the contents and adds additional color.
Take a look in your kitchen, office and outdoors to create a variety of sounds by making each pair or group of eggs with their own very distinctive sound. Students squeal with joy when they find who has a sound just like theirs!
Tip: When they need to be very quiet, (to be sure all have found the correct matches!) have the children create a cozy little nest with their hands, and have the egg lay quietly in the nest, even cover it so it stays warm! For the first verse, dance with your colored egg. For the second verse, shake and shake and listen for one like you!
Here’s a few children enjoying the activity.
For more playful learning and engaging musical action with shaker eggs….join me for 3 exciting days of PD this summer! (Returning teachers, including online training, students, and recent graduates pay only half tuition when you come to Redondo Beach the end of June!)
Aug 13, 2024 | Activities
Using Rhymes in the Rain, the sky is the limit for creativity for you and your young students! New visuals/PowerPoints are now available in our Big Kids Make Music curriculum! Not yet a member? Join the fun!
1. Free Exploration: Instruments in C pentatonic, invite the children to lightly play drips and drops gently on the bars, anywhere they they think it would sound good with the songs and rhymes. Don’t forget to add some quiet beats. TIP! If you can’t hear the song, your playing is too loud!
2. Keep the Beat on C and G as the teacher chants the rhyme, “Rain on the Green Grass”. Play the beat.
3. Play on specific beats-only on “Rain” (Player choosing which notes to play)
4. Play only on “Not on me!”
5. Play on “Rain” and Not on me!” Reading: Follow the visual left to right.
6. Two Parts Together! Lower instruments play the beat, higher instruments play on Rain, not on me.
7. Now the Challenge! Play on all the rain for It Rained on Anne
Add some fun pitch matching and creative movement for a complete lesson plan!
Aug 13, 2024 | Activities
Music! It’s timing, form, math, phrasing, coordination, movement, playing, singing, creating, listening, improvisation!
These two February videos are songs who’s activities offer all of the above!
First up are two videos to share with you students (great for 2-6 year olds when the teacher’s voice needs a break!). After those, see classroom activity videos to see the students in action. (This is with parents in my studio setting where we have permission to video!)
“Music Rhapsody has been so life changing for me! I always used many of your resources but after taking your summer training, my whole class has been restructured in a way that makes everything click! Thank you a million times over!” – Deb Hernandez
Join Us For Professional Development with Lynn Kleiner!
- SMU, Dallas – June 13-15, 2024
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Aug 13, 2024 | Music Teaching Videos
Here’s a successful way to introduce layers of parts to young musicians. Take a peek and see why this engaging approach results in more musical and exciting lessons.
This Mini Workshop shows how to
- Easily add one, two or even four Orff parts to a song for young players
- Present in an engaging way through a character, story, even true scientific facts
- Adjust the level of parts to simplify or challenge certain players or groups
- Use the instruments you have including easy to make homemade instruments
Goodie Pack includes
- Lynn Kleiner’s Mini Workshop Video Presentation
- PowerPoints from the workshop (music, orchestrations, classroom activities, teaching visuals)
- Recording
- Additional Videos include children’s performance, kindergarten playshop
I used Larry the Lobster for the example but I’ve also found it magical for so many other “stories” and characters.
- A few are the mole, vole and owl
- The cat and mouse
- The gardner and the critters
- And more!
Curriculum and mini workshops are included in Music Rhapsody Membership. Want to upgrade? We can apply your Music Box membership fee to your upgrade. Click here for more information about memberships.
Aug 13, 2024 | Activities
An important part of my music lessons is for the child to be the leader – making up their own pitches, lyrics, movement. There’s also places where the rest of the children must listen carefully and repeat exactly as the leader sang, moved.
Here’s a playlist with many examples.
(Sorry, we got a bit excited about the parents being there to hear our picnic song and some were a bit too loud! Lol.)
The special room rate offered to teachers staying at the beach hotel expires May 26! We have a teacher looking to share a room with someone – if you’d like to share a room with her, please reply to this email.
