Today I'm writing with one of my favorite chants for the music room, "2, 4, 6, 8." You may have heard of the chant: "2, 4, 6, 8/ Who do we appreciate?" This one is a bit different! It goes like this: Now you may be thinking...okay, great...but what's the game? This is one of the few that I have in my music room that I don't have a game for. Now, I could do some research to find one (and feel free to comment below if you do a game with it) or I could make a game up...but I like to have a few songs and chants that just don't have a game. ("Miss White" and "Kookaburra," for example, are two that I'm fine not playing a game for!) Kids need to know that not EVERY single piece of music has a game, and besides, this one can be used to improve partwork skills! Years ago, I made up these two ostinati to go with the chant: To teach the ostinati, I first make sure that students know the chant well. Then, I have t......

With December upon us, today I'm teaming up with Amy Abbott to blog about my favorite December activities for the music room! The kids are SO excited this month! Here are my favorite activities to keep them engaged and celebrate winter holidays while still practicing musical concepts and skills: #1: Singalong Whether you simply sing through your favorite carols in your room or have a school-wide singalong, it is SO fun to sing holiday songs with your students! If you're looking for more information on directing a singalong, check out this blog post . #2: Picture books I love using children's literature as much as I can. Here are some of my favorites for December:        #3: Play dreidel After singing my absolute favorite Hanukkah song " When oh when ," I love to play dreidel with my students! I bought a dreidel at Target and then play with candy. Great way to teach about another holiday while having lots of fun! #4: Christmas Carol Bingo If you feel like all your ......

We've all heard the adage, "It's easier to come to school sick than to write sub plans." Many of you, like me, have spent hours upon hours working just on one day of sub plans, so it IS often easier to come to school sick than worry about it. A few years ago, though, I finally got my sub tub in order (read more about my sub tub here ), and figuring out sub plans began taking 10 minutes instead of 2 hours! Since then, I've become passionate about figuring out ideas that would have students making music, have subs feel comfortable teaching, and allow me to not spend tons of time preparing! Here are some ideas for quick and easy sub plans to leave for your sub. Make sure to scroll to the end of the post, to sign up for my email list and receive editable Word documents to edit and adapt the sub plans for your own music lessons (as well as a bonus file)! #1: The rhythm trainer This website is a wonderful way to practice dictation and audiation skills! On the first pag......

We've all heard the adage, "It's easier to come to school sick than to write sub plans." Many of you, like me, have spent hours upon hours working just on one day of sub plans, so it IS often easier to come to school sick than worry about it. A few years ago, though, I finally got my sub tub in order (read more about my sub tub here ), and figuring out sub plans began taking 10 minutes instead of 2 hours! Since then, I've become passionate about figuring out ideas that would have students making music, have subs feel comfortable teaching, and allow me to not spend tons of time preparing! Here are some ideas for quick and easy sub plans to leave for your sub. Make sure to scroll to the end of the post, to sign up for my email list and receive editable Word documents to edit and adapt the sub plans for your own music lessons (as well as a bonus file)! #1: The rhythm trainer This website is a wonderful way to practice dictation and audiation skills! On the first pag......

We've all heard the adage, "It's easier to come to school sick than to write sub plans." Many of you, like me, have spent hours upon hours working just on one day of sub plans, so it IS often easier to come to school sick than worry about it. A few years ago, though, I finally got my sub tub in order (read more about my sub tub here ), and figuring out sub plans began taking 10 minutes instead of 2 hours! Since then, I've become passionate about figuring out ideas that would have students making music, have subs feel comfortable teaching, and allow me to not spend tons of time preparing! Here are some ideas for quick and easy sub plans to leave for your sub. Make sure to scroll to the end of the post, to sign up for my email list and receive editable Word documents to edit and adapt the sub plans for your own music lessons (as well as a bonus file)! #1: The rhythm trainer This website is a wonderful way to practice dictation and audiation skills! On the first pag......

Today, I'm blogging about ten tricks or treats for the music room...ten ways to integrate Halloween into your music lessons while engaging your students and improving their musicianship! #1: Skin and Bones This is truly one of my favorite folk songs for Halloween! Here is the notation: This is a call/response song, with the first part being the call, and the "ooo" part being the response. Here are the additional verses: She lived down by the old graveyard, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! One night she thought she'd take a walk, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She walked down by the old graveyard, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She saw some bones a layin' around, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She went to the closet to get a broom, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She opened the door and BOO! I learned a great game from my former colleague Jenna that my students love:  students lay on the ground with their eyes closed. As you sing, tap two students, who then go and hide! The rest of the students have to figure out who is missing. A rea......

Today, I'm blogging about ten tricks or treats for the music room...ten ways to integrate Halloween into your music lessons while engaging your students and improving their musicianship! #1: Skin and Bones This is truly one of my favorite folk songs for Halloween! Here is the notation: This is a call/response song, with the first part being the call, and the "ooo" part being the response. Here are the additional verses: She lived down by the old graveyard, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! One night she thought she'd take a walk, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She walked down by the old graveyard, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She saw some bones a layin' around, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She went to the closet to get a broom, ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo! She opened the door and BOO! I learned a great game from my former colleague Jenna that my students love:  students lay on the ground with their eyes closed. As you sing, tap two students, who then go and hide! The rest of the students have to figure out who is missing. A rea......