Today, I'm linking up with Amy Abbott to write about some of my favorite folk songs for fourth grade! Whether you are "on track" with your curriculum or a little behind, I've got great singing games that fourth graders absolutely love! #1: Big Fat Biscuit Here's the notation, which I first learned from An American Methodology : For the game, t hree students are chosen, and they stand in a line. On the first “chewbelew,” the first student does a standing long jump. On the second “chewbelew,” the second student jumps, and on the third “chewbelew,” the third student jumps. The student who jumps the farthest wins, and challenges two more students in the next round. If any of the children touch the ground with their hands, fall, or jump one-footed, they are disqualified. This game is great for  preparing  or practicing low la, and for teaching tam-ti, or dotted quarter/ eighth. You could also use it with "older beginners," or students who are learning basic ......

Happy 2018! I hope you've all enjoyed the holidays. I had a great time relaxing with my family! This year, my break is rather short, and I'm going back to school January 2. With the short break, I've had to do some reflection during break to make sure I was in the right mindset to go back! Here are a few ways I've reflected on my school year thus far: Where have they been? Now is a great time to look at my year plans and previous lesson plans to see where my students have been. Are they "on track" or did we get a bit behind? Which concepts have they learned so far? How is their understanding? Do they need more practice or are they ready to move on? What worked well? What didn't? A note here: don't feel guilty if your kids are behind. Almost every year, at least one of my grade levels gets behind. I look at my year plan and shake my head at where I thought they'd be and where they actually are. But the time they've spent is time well spent--they......

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 ......

Since it is Thanksgiving week, I thought I'd write a quick blog post today with a round up of some fun ideas for your music room this week! Here is a post I wrote with a few different ideas for the music room, including using turkeys to write rhythm, a picture book for thankfulness, and more! (Click the picture to go to the post.) Amy Abbott just wrote this post with lots of great ideas for Thanksgiving, including a stick game, turkey beach balls, and more! Here is a post by David Row, from Make Moments Matter, about the Thanksgiving song, "Over the River and Through the Woods." Jennifer at the Yellow Brick Road wrote this blog post about one of my favorite call/response songs, "Shoo Turkey." Tanya is a blogger with the collaborative blog, the Kodaly Corner (which I also contribute to), and she has a variety of songs and ideas in this blog post: Last but not least, Tracy King (the Bulletin Board Lady) wrote this blog post with lots of great ideas for Thanksgivin......

Upper elementary can be a tough level to teach. They are sometimes "too cool" for school, and self-conscious of their singing voices. Academically they are advanced, yet musically they may need the basics. In this blog post, I'll detail my tips for lesson planning for the upper elementary music room. Keep reading for how to receive a free upper elementary music lesson with songs, materials, and more! A little background about my situation: most of the fifth graders I teach, I've had since Kindergarten. I know, I'm very lucky! But I have been in other situations, where they needed a lot of help with the musical basics, where behavior was an issue, and where students didn't want to sing. Here are my suggestions for teaching and planning for upper elementary: Choose songs and games wisely When choosing song literature for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, I am very careful. I make sure to choose songs that I know kids will love, yet can be used to teach concepts on......