As a music teacher, we have the opportunity to buy some really fun things for our classroom! Perhaps you've seen tennis balls or ribbons in another music teacher's room, and you've wondered how they incorporate those props into their music classroom. Here are my five favorite props for the music classroom: #1: Stretchy band I first saw a stretchy band as a way to incorporate movement into an early childhood music class. There are truly SO many possibilities for using the stretchy band (which you can purchase here .) My favorite way of using it so far is to help students learn how to stay in a circle during a circle dance. My second graders will be performing "Seven Jumps" for their performance this week, and the stretchy band is a GREAT tool for this (as otherwise, with that dance, kids might lose their balance!) Here is a video of "Seven Jumps" without the stretchy band; you can purchase the music on iTunes (my favorite recording is by the Shenanigans).......

As a music teacher, we have the opportunity to buy some really fun things for our classroom! Perhaps you've seen tennis balls or ribbons in another music teacher's room, and you've wondered how they incorporate those props into their music classroom. Here are my five favorite props for the music classroom: #1: Stretchy band I first saw a stretchy band as a way to incorporate movement into an early childhood music class. There are truly SO many possibilities for using the stretchy band (which you can purchase here .) My favorite way of using it so far is to help students learn how to stay in a circle during a circle dance. My second graders will be performing "Seven Jumps" for their performance this week, and the stretchy band is a GREAT tool for this (as otherwise, with that dance, kids might lose their balance!) Here is a video of "Seven Jumps" without the stretchy band; you can purchase the music on iTunes (my favorite recording is by the Shenanigans).......

Since we are over halfway through July (eek! Where is the summer going!?!?) I realized it's time for my favorite pins linky party! If you are a teacher blogger, feel free to join the party!  Directions are at the end of the post. Also make sure to follow me on Pinterest by clicking on the Pinterest icon in the right panel on my blog (the section that says "Button up.")   Here is my list for this month; just click each picture to view that pin. #1: Scale blocks I love this idea for having upper elementary, middle school, and even high school students build scales. Perfect for piano players (as it shows white key/ black key) or any other student learning music theory! #2: Desktop wallpaper Looking for a way to keep yourself and your computer organized? I wrote this blog post a few weeks ago about how much I love this desktop wallpaper! #3: The guide to google drive sharing I know that there are probably LOTS of things that I don't know about google drive that I should ......

Today I'm blogging about three ways to get your students moving in music class! #1:  Eric Chapelle's "Movement for Creative Dance" I found out about this CD series from a colleague I taught with at my last school. This is a wonderful CD set to help foster creativity and movement in your music room! Click on the picture below to view the CD on West Music (the link will take you to CD #2, but there are four CD's in the set.) Each CD comes with creative movement suggestions, and the last track on each CD is called "Potpourri," and consists of musical fragments of each of the tracks on the CD, with pauses in between each fragment. I love using the "Potpourri" tracks, as students love doing what they call "freeze dance"--dancing and then freezing when the music stops. It's a great way to discuss how different styles of music require different types of movement. You can have students dance without props, or add scarves, ribbons, whateve......

Today I'm blogging about three ways to get your students moving in music class! #1:  Eric Chapelle's "Movement for Creative Dance" I found out about this CD series from a colleague I taught with at my last school. This is a wonderful CD set to help foster creativity and movement in your music room! Click on the picture below to view the CD on West Music (the link will take you to CD #2, but there are four CD's in the set.) Each CD comes with creative movement suggestions, and the last track on each CD is called "Potpourri," and consists of musical fragments of each of the tracks on the CD, with pauses in between each fragment. I love using the "Potpourri" tracks, as students love doing what they call "freeze dance"--dancing and then freezing when the music stops. It's a great way to discuss how different styles of music require different types of movement. You can have students dance without props, or add scarves, ribbons, whateve......

Some of my favorite memories as a child are of choreographing my own dances in the basement. With my sister, I created a dance to the Jackson Five's "Rockin' Robin," with my best friend Bronwyn, I choreographed a dance to "One" from "A Chorus Line," and then by myself, I choreographed a tap dance to "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel. It was always so much fun to decide which music I'd use, which moves would go where, and what the finished product would look like! It wasn't until a few years ago, though, that I began having my own students choreograph their own dances. If I had that much fun as a child, why shouldn't they? I think my concern before I began the process was what the process would look like with a large group of students. I thought I'd outline a sample process here, and you can use it, tweak it, whatever you'd like! The latest dance I've had students choreograph was "Hang on Sloopy." This is a......

Some of my favorite memories as a child are of choreographing my own dances in the basement. With my sister, I created a dance to the Jackson Five's "Rockin' Robin," with my best friend Bronwyn, I choreographed a dance to "One" from "A Chorus Line," and then by myself, I choreographed a tap dance to "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel. It was always so much fun to decide which music I'd use, which moves would go where, and what the finished product would look like! It wasn't until a few years ago, though, that I began having my own students choreograph their own dances. If I had that much fun as a child, why shouldn't they? I think my concern before I began the process was what the process would look like with a large group of students. I thought I'd outline a sample process here, and you can use it, tweak it, whatever you'd like! The latest dance I've had students choreograph was "Hang on Sloopy." This is a......