1.Use the “sticker method”. I buy these tiny neon stickers from Walmart or Amazon, and color code each chord. Often, I will create corresponding chord charts with songs we are working on. 2. Partner Up. You don’t need a full class set of ukuleles. The student’s fingers start to hurt and by partnering up it…
music activities for home
Simple Sub Plan
It’s October! That means Pumpkin Patches, fair days, crisp air, halloween, and I don’t know about you, but for me it also means ALLERGIES. I was out sick the other day and needed a simple sub plan. When I first started teaching, I would print off hundreds of worksheets for my sub and leave behind…
Pipe Cleaner Rhythms
Hello everyone!!! I’m currently teaching Kindergartners and 1st graders about quarter notes and eighth notes. Fortunately, they seemed super excited to clap and shout “TA, TA, TI-TI, TA!!!!”. It has never been a problem for my students to learn rhythms by rote. But in the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to put an…
SEL Strategies for Specials teachers
SEL is a hot acronym in my district right now. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it stands for Social Emotional Learning. What is SEL? Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a process that allows students to learn and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are needed to manage emotions, set and achieve positive…
Top 5 Welcome Songs for Pre-k through 2nd
So today was the first day of school for students and teachers in my district. In the elementary world this means plentiful amounts of Pre-k and Kinder tears, calming down nervous parents, scheduling confusions, teachers running on adrenaline and coffee, shy students (lasts for only 1 day), and mind-numbing fatigue. Even with all of this…
1st Day of School Music Lesson for Upper Elementary!
Hello friends! As a part of my “Back-to-School” series, this next post will be about FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL lesson ideas for 3rd-5th grade. I remember my first year of teaching, I was so nervous about what I would do with my students once they walked into the classroom! So I am going to go…
Bate Bate Chocolate
Hello friends! Today I am going to share 2 rhythmic chants that are in the Spanish language. BOTH having to do with chocolate. YUM! My husband and I traveled to Antigua, Guatemala for 2 weeks in order to take Spanish classes through Proyecto Linguistico. It was a great experience and I would recommend Antigua to…
Beach Ball Music!
Hello friends! So today is the first day of summer! I may be a bit more weathered and beat down then the beginning of the year, but I thought it would be the perfect time to introduce my favorite summer learning tool- the BEACH BALL! A few years ago I randomly purchased 3 beach balls…
Fun Movement Songs!
Hello friends! The end of the school year is finally upon us! I just finished inputting my grades for the last 6 weeks! HALLELUJAH! Now I’ve just got to make it through field day, award ceremonies, and all of that fun end-of-the-year stuff. For most teachers, the end of the school year means FREEDOM! But…
Bim Bum Biddy hand-clapping game
Hello everyone! I hope your Spring Break was absolutely everything you needed and more. But if not, hang in there! We’ve only got 2 ½ months until the big summer break! We can do this. It’s always this time of year when I need some lesson plans that really get me excited to go to…