Celebrating 100 Days!

So, apparently the 100th day of school is a BIG DEAL! This was something that no one ever told me about in student teaching or even my first year or two in the classroom. I've finally started to understand that for lower elementary, the 100th day of school is awesome!
The kids start the day by breaking through a big banner. How cool is that? The rest of the day is spent counting, moving, and creating with 100. As a music teacher, I've always wanted to be a part of the celebration, but couldn't figure out what to do.
This year I've come up with a few ideas of things to do tomorrow (our 100th day) and I want to share them with you!

Sing

Music K8 has some great songs for the 100th day of school. Some are easier and some a little harder. I usually like to project the lyrics through Powerpoint so the kids can see them nice and big. Here's a few suggestions:

• One Hundred Days! (22/3)
• The 100th Day of School (9/3)
• One Hundred Days of School (3/3)
• Happy 100 to Us! (3/3)
• See How Much We've Learned (27/3)

You can also find free songs on Pinterest that take a traditional tune (Oh Christmas Tree, I've Been Working on the Railroad, etc.) and give it different words to celebrate the 100th day.

Movement

If you haven't heard of GoNoodle, you need to check it out ASAP! They have dances, yoga, brain breaks, and more stuff for kids. A lot of our teachers use the "Indoor Recess" mixes to give the kids some activity when they can't go outside. I love using the Kidz Bop guided dance videos or the calming ones at the end of a lesson. 

They've created two fun videos for the 100th day! You can choose Skip Count to 100 or Count to 100. Both look great for a quick mention of the 100th day if you have other things planned. Share with your classroom or PE teachers, too - they will thank you for it!

Instruments

The final suggestion is the activity I'm going to be using with my students this year. I love "The Peas" series by Keith Baker. I've mentioned in a past blog post about using his other story "Little Green" for vocal exploration. He's a wonderful author. His "Peas" series includes books about the alphabet, seasons, and counting. It just so happens that his counting book goes from 1-100 in ones and tens - perfect for the 100th day!

I like to use books with drumming, but you can use any percussion instrument in your classroom. First, I read the story to the class. Then, I introduce and place the drums in different groups (i.e. bongos station, gathering drum, lollipop drums). From here, I read the story and have the students echo the text on their drums. Example: One pea searching (tap tap tap tap); I find that it's easier to project the Kindle version (Amazon) up on the whiteboard as I read so I can walk around and help the kids. Once we've read & played through the story, the kids move to the next station and we do it again. 

The story gets tedious by the last class of the day, but the kids love it! It also helps them work on hearing a steady beat, playing with others and working on sounds. You can always branch out into what rhythms would represent the text or have the kids create their own ideas for the 100th day. Then, have them write it and play it on a nonpitched percussion instrument. 

Best of luck on your 100th day! Make it great!

"Who I Am" with a stretchy band!

If you're like me, right now you're stuck somewhere between programs, end of the year lessons and testing time. Testing stinks! The kids are drained, the building is quiet and teachers are frazzled. I thought I would share a fun, positive lesson that my students love!
The song "Who I Am" by will.i.am was shown to me by our guidance counselor. She used it as a flash mob for 5th graders before Christmas break. I stumbled upon it again and knew I had to bring this awesome song to all of my students! It's short (1 minute, 51 seconds or so) and has the message of being proud of who you are and reaching for your dreams. During testing time, this is what students need to hear! Many will try their best, but some kids struggle with not feeling smart enough, getting done in time, etc. I also think it's nice to hear positive things from someone other than your regular classroom teacher or principal. 
Before I go over it, this lesson can be as short or long as you want - it's up to you! The stretchy band part is at the end, but definitely fun for all ages. With all of the classes, we watch the video first from Sesame Street.

After this, I have students pair and share things that make them feel good. I also have each student say something positive about their partner. Many times, I learn new things about my students because their classmates point out things that I don't normally get to see. From here, the lesson changes depending on what grade level I'm working with.

Primary

• Review steady beat
• Listen once more, this time keeping the beat on our laps.
• Bring out the beat buddies - ask the students to keep the beat with their buddy.
• Ask a student leader or two to choose where we keep the beat and stand in front of the group (assessment!!!!)
• Introduce the stretchy band!
• Explain to the students that we will keeping the steady beat with our stretchy band this time.
• Demonstrate and then add the students.
• Repeat several times - they love putting the stretchy band away!
• Finish with a writing response (optional) - our district is big on writing, so we write a lot in class. Usually, I have them journal about what they learned, the objective for the day or the message of the music with this lesson.

Intermediate

• Listen and watch the video.
• Ask the question - which parts were the same; which parts were different?
• Analyze the song with A & B cards on the board.
• Introduce the words "intro" "verse" & "chorus" in place of the A & B
• Sing a familiar song for them to identify and use the vocabulary (I use Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and ask what is missing i.e. the intro)
• Introduce the stretchy band!
• Demonstrate and then add the students.
• Repeat several times - they love putting the stretchy band away!
• Come back together and ask the students to pair and share about which movements represented the intro, verses and chorus.
• Finish with a writing response (optional) - our district is big on writing, so we write a lot in class. Usually, I have them journal about what they learned, the objective for the day or the message of the music with this lesson.
• From here, you can dive into a unit or several lessons about types of form, learn and sing more positive songs or have the students create their own dance moves/body percussion/actions to fit the form of the song. 

So, you mentioned this stretchy band thing. Huh?

A stretchy band is a great movement tool for kids, adults and those with disabilities or injuries. You can purchase them at West Music or Bear Paw Creek. I made one from loom pieces in a previous blog post. It's fun to bring out during the year, kind of like "parachute day" in P.E. The movements to the music are demonstrated in the video below and written down for you. Feel free to adjust to fit your needs. If bouncing the beat is hard, you can have the students move left and right with the band. My kids just need to bounce! Haha! My 4th graders were nice enough to come in at an extra time during the day to demonstrate!

Movement Instructions:

1. Bounce beat in the air at waist.
2. Stretch/shake during drum solo.
3. Hold up high, bounce beat, flex; bend down low, bounce beat, flex
4. Put in and out on the qualities.
5. Stretch/shake during drum solo.
6. Hold up high, bounce beat, flex; bend down low, bounce beat, flex
7. Put in and out on the qualities.
8. Stretch/shake during drum solo.
9. Hold up high, bounce beat, flex; bend down low, bounce beat, flex
10. Take 3 steps back; count to 3 and release!

Teddy Bear Time!

Can you believe it's almost the end of February? I feel like the year goes by so fast sometimes. Winter is the hardest for the kiddos, though. We have had some interesting weather this year in Iowa! Nasty weather means inside recess and some wiggly kids. Today I'm going to bring you into the land of teddy bears (and less headaches). 

My mentor teacher used to have a container of teddy bears. They were wonderful motivators for children, as well as a friend and companion during those icky outside days. I love them so much that I created a mini unit for my kindergarteners all about teddy bears! The first thing to do is come up with several teddy bears. If you feel comfortable enough, each student could bring their own to school to use. I'm hesitant about that, as many of my students don't have toys at all. But, if it works for your school, go for it! Here are some suggestions for finding a classroom set:

1. Thrift stores/garage sales - I went to my local Salvation Army and found several teddy bears. You might have to wash them, but they come in all shapes and sizes at these locations.
2. Teachers - ask your fellow teachers if they would like to donate some to the music classroom. I have several teacher friends who stored old toys in the basement but haven't used them in years. They would be glad to get some extra storage and help you out!
3. Family members - my mom practically threw my old teddy bears at me! I kept them at one point for sentimental reasons, but I would much rather see a student's smile than leave them at my parents' house for several more years.
4. eBay - if you are looking to buy some, eBay is always a good place to find things. They might be more expensive, but you can definitely find hundreds of teddy bears.
5. Advertise - it never hurts to ask around local places if they have any teddy bears at home. Donations are a tax write off and many people gladly donate to the school. Stick up a sign at the library or ask a neighbor. You never know!

So, now you are stocked with teddy bears. What's next? I keep mine in a plastic container with a lid. My room tends to flood in the spring, so everything is plastic to keep stuff safe. Wash them, spot clean and check for any staples, sticky parts, etc. These will be in the somewhat dirty  hands of children - don't expect perfection but they should be in decent condition. 

DAY 1:

I introduce our teddy bears by sitting them in front of the class one day. I tell the students that they are "visitors" and are checking out music class for the day. If they like what they see, they will come back and find a buddy. This grabs their attention immediately! 

DAY 2:

Next time, I go over the expectations of our new buddies. If any student isn't respecting their friend, it goes back in the container and won't visit again. I might have to remind a student or two, but if one goes away, you have them scared for the rest of the unit. Each teddy sits in the student's lap as we sing a story. I recommend The Teddy Bear's Picnic, which comes in many different versions. Sometimes, we bounce our teddy to the beat as we sing the story. We say goodbye to our friends and put them away for the day before moving on to other things.

DAY 3:

We go over the expectations again and bring out our buddies. Each student is reminded that all teddy bears are unique and special in their own way - just like students! We want to be happy that we have a special friend, even if it's not our favorite. This way, students will have several bear friends by the end of the unit. After everyone has a buddy, we bring out some vocal explorations. We do the first few together to warm up our voices. Then, I have different students come up with their teddy bear and create a pathway. It's also fun to have the teddy bear follow the path, either in the air or on the floor. Afterwards, each student creates a pathway for their teddy bear to follow with their voices. It's so fun to see what the students come up with for their friends! I've included this resource for you FREE below. It comes with five pre-made pathways, five blank pathways and two worksheets for students to create their own. Enjoy!

DAY 4:
Today is a really fun day! After passing our the teddy bears, we talk about movement. Just like kids - teddy bears need to move around and be active to feel good. First, we move our teddy bears to the beat by bouncing them on our laps. Then, we stand up and bounce them on our head, arms, knee, etc. From there, we move around the room. I have students jump, skip, walk, clap, etc. with their teddy bear friend. Sometimes, we even play freeze dance with them! I like using John Feierabend's "Keeping the Beat" CD because it has a variety of music on it. 

When we're finishing moving, we sing some songs about teddy bears. Here are some ideas:

• The Bear Went Over the Mountain
• We're Going on a Bear Hunt
• Tango Teddy (Music K8)
• The Other Day (I Met a Bear)
• The Great Outdoors

DAY 5:

On this day, we usually have to say goodbye to our furry friends. We start by singing the song "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear" and do the actions with our teddy bears. Then, we talk about how the bears have to go home to their school now. If students are focusing on a certain letter of the alphabet or writing feature, we will create a card to send with our friends. I've had students draw pictures before, as well as practice writing in between the lines. It all depends on the class, but it's a nice way for the kids to have some closure but know that they will return again. 

With several classes, I've done this set from Linda at Floating Down the River! It has several wonderful activities for teddy bears. I love the instrument playing with Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It works well for a review the following year with my 1st graders, as well as the writing template she includes. Great ideas!

The more I use this small unit, the more I think about moving it to the beginning of the year. I love how it helps with behavior right now, but a reassuring friend at the beginning of the year is always nice too. Who knows?? There are many different activities, assessments and ideas that can be done with teddy bears. I hope this has inspired you to get out some teddy bears and share with your younger students. Remember to click on the freebie above for a fun vocal exploration activity! 

ABC - Easy as 1, 2, 3!

Today, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite FREE resources for back-to-school! I used it this week with my students to review listening skills.

This is the easy version of my listening glyph for the song "ABC" by the Jackson 5. A harder version is previewed in my store. I used this with my 1st and 2nd grade students to get them back into listening attentively to musical ideas.

If you're not comfortable with listening glyphs, they really are wonderful for any age or variety of students, as well as for substitutes. You can listen to certain specific songs or choose what fits your class with many of the glyphs. For this one, the song is specific. As the students listen, they answer the questions through coloring. If the song is fast, they will color the tires black. If the song is slow, they will color the tires grey. Then, they move to next box and answer the question. If you have lower classes, you can do these parts together and help them until they are comfortable. I let older students go off on their own after directions. This particular glyph has three questions to answer, When those are completed, the students can color the rest of the picture however they would like. I always enjoy this option because I like seeing the creativeness of my students. 

Here's what my example looks like, completed for my students to see when we review together at the end:

In the directions for this freebie, I also include my additional activity: Just Dance! This song has a Just Dance Kids video online, either through YouTube or the game itself. I put mine through ViewPure.com to remove the ads and side bar videos. The students love getting up and dancing after listening to the song for a bit. It's a great brain break to end the lesson!

Click the photo below to be taken to the freebie! I really hope you find ways to use it in your classroom. While I do this at the end of the year, it is always nice to pull out on a fun or substitute day. Enjoy!

Crow Rooster!

I went to an awesome workshop this summer all about singing games. Today, I'm going to share one of my favorites with you: Crow Rooster! I can't wait to bring this out for the first week of school. It's great for the older students to refresh their head voice.

I like to add a fun twist on it with beanie baby roosters. You can find them on eBay, at garage sales, or you might still have some in your house. I use the bigger ones, but the mini ones work well, too. I have ended up with 15 because I (hopefully) won't have more than 15 pairs in my classroom at once.

 With all singing games, there are variations from teacher to teacher. The original game directions are listed above, but I'm going to share with you my variation.

Crow Rooster

1. Divide class into partners, putting one across from the other about two feet apart. This should make 2 straight lines down your classroom. Give one partner the rooster to start.
2. Leader (teacher) starts the song, with students taking four steps backward on the beat. On the echo, students take four steps forward to their original position.
3. On the first "crow rooster," the first partner tosses the rooster to the other partner. On the echo, the rooster is tossed back to the original partner.
4. The last line should be clapped and patted. Clap the rhythm of "ku ku ri ku, ku ku ri ku" and pat the beat for "work for everyone." Repeat. (Students with the rooster should do their best at clapping and patting). 
5. If the rooster was dropped during the "crow rooster" part, that pair is eliminated. They sit out, still singing, clapping and patting.
6. All pairs that are still in the game take a step back. Repeat the song. 
7. After each time, the gap gets bigger and bigger. More pairs are eliminated until there is a winner. The kids love to see how far they can get and still catch the rooster!

The "crow rooster" part is a great way to get kids into their head voice at the beginning of the year. The tossing of the rooster is also great for kinesthetic learning. Sometimes my lower voiced students need that tossing motion to reach higher notes. It's also a nice reminder of the difference between clapping the rhythm and keeping the beat. Finally, the kids LOVE a competition! My room is quite large, so I'm excited to see how far they get - especially those athletic kids that have been at sports camps over the summer. 

Hope you enjoy this fun lesson for the first few weeks of school!

H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N spells Halloween!

Ha, sorry! I learned this song in elementary school to the tune of "Danse Macabre" and it's stuck with me ever since. Here's the video from YouTube that I like to use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3Eg8UifzmI

Anyways, I thought I'd share some Halloween activities my classes have been doing.

In the Hall of the Mountain King - Grieg

This is the first year I've really delved into Grieg. I love the music and the melody really sticks in the kids' heads! I start introducing it in Kindergarten and 1st grade with Eric Litwin's (Pete the Cat!!!) song from The Learning Groove. It takes the melody and puts in words like "I can shake my shaker egg and sneak around the room." It's fun to add egg shakers and a little movement once the students have learned the melody.

As they get older, I show my intermediate students a short cartoon of the story.

It's only about 5 minutes, but also adds in the "Morning Mood" music, which many of the students recognize. In the future, I'd like to add a literature connection. I've seen some great picture books online, but haven't picked one up yet. Soon!

I also add rhythm sticks to the main theme, with the help of Malinda Phillips' great active listening resource! Check it out - it's free :)

From there, we move on to actually feeling the beat, tempo and dynamic changes in the music. If you follow my blog, you know I LOVE Artie Almeida. She has a wonderful guiro and kickball lesson for this piece. I tried it with my third graders last week and we had so much fun! I used basketballs because we don't have enough kickballs and it still worked out just fine. Here are some pictures from my students engaging in the music:

It was Character Counts week, so they're all dressed up in the careers they'd like to have.The basketball coach had to come get the balls for practice at the end of the day, but we had a good time while it lasted. Artie's lessons are truly wonderful resources. I encourage you to check out her videos on YouTube and purchase this resource. You won't regret it!

Some other activities we are doing this week are:

• singing the story "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!" with melody from Kristin Lukow
• Halloween melody patterns from Aileen Miracle's 13 Nights freebie
• Halloween vocal explorations and "create your own" template from Amy Abbott
• Witch Witch (so-mi activity) and game from The Yellow Brick Road
• Spooky Music listening & rating from Music with Sara Bibee (this one is a fun activity for the older kids!)

The last game we are playing is a favorite of my primary students! I discovered it on Pinterest last year and the students just love it. I can't seem to find the right recording for it, though. There is a faster version and a Denise Gagne version that has a different melody. I kind of plunked it out on my own and adapt it to my student's singing ability. Here's the video of the song I use and the game:

It's really fun and a great way to reinforce steady beat. What Halloween or seasonal activities are you doing this week with your students?

Five Favorite Pins of October

Hello all! Sorry it's been awhile. We just finished up the first quarter and conferences are next week. Wow, time flies!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room for her monthly linky party. Here are my favorite pins of October!

#1: Music Gifts

I had a couple of students who just finished up auditioning for Opus Honor Choir. Unfortunately, none of them were selected. They worked really hard, though, so I wanted to reward them for their dedication to becoming a better singer and all around musician. I can't wait to make these and leave them in the office next week!

#2: Drummer Pete

I just LOVE this video! My husband is sick of hearing it already. However, it is a great review for my students and we can break out the new drums.

#3: Amusement Park Mallet Exploration

I adore all of Cori Bloom's resources. This one is a great exploration for mallet instruments. It has a wonderful lesson plan attached to it, complete with standards, skills and a composition. I snatched it up right after I pinned it. Check it out!

#4: Pete the Cat bundle

My primary students love Pete the Cat. I usually bring him out in the spring or with a sub. However, our book fair has the Christmas story available this year AND I just received my Pete the Cat puppet from our DonorsChoose.org project. How happy was I when I stumbled upon this new blogger/TPT seller's page! There's a section for steady beat buttons and prereading rhythms with colored shoes. 

#5: Dancin' Scarf Blues

Jazz and scarves? Win win! Can't wait to get the recording.

Five Favorite Pins of July

Sorry I've been MIA recently. I've been in my classroom creating and putting so many new things together for fall. Today, I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to show my Five Favorite Pins of July.

#1: Mystery Song Music Listening: Bundle #2

I absolutely LOVE Cori Bloom's products. Plus, she is super nice and quick to respond if you have comments and questions. She has been creating these listening bundles for awhile, but I super excited about the mystery songs. It's a great way to break out and let the students share their ideas while introducing them to a variety of music. Her most recent bundle is great for Christmas and winter - the graphics are beautiful!

#2: Singing with a Sub (Sub Plans for the Music Classroom)

Aileen Miracle has recently been updating some of her files and this one is awesome! I purchased her "Wild About Music" sub plans in the spring and thought they were great stand alone lessons. The updates and additions she's made this pack are wonderful. There are ideas for listening, movement, centers, etc. I can't wait to purchase this in the next few weeks. 

#3: Instrument Petting Zoo

I have been wanting to have an instrument petting zoo for my primary students ever since I was student teaching. I've never figured out how to do it, though! This is a great pin to David Row's blog about an instrument petting zoo. He also just released a product in his TPT store with more guides and information. I know I will use this somehow in my classroom this year, either for conferences, back-to-school night or in a lesson. 

#4 Star Spangled Banner word cloud

This year is the 200th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner. My 4th graders have the yearly tradition of putting on the Veteran's Day program. This is a great way to practice the words to the national anthem, while also displaying their creativity with technology. This Tagxedo was created by another music teacher I met through an elementary music education chat on Twitter. Genius!!

#5: Stretchy band ideas

Earlier this year, I created my own stretchy band for movement. Here's the post if you'd like to make your own (it literally takes 10 minutes!): Stretchy Band tutorial

Anyways, I happened upon this pin with several ideas for using the stretchy band. I struggle for ideas with my younger students and the website really gives some awesome ideas. 

Only 1 more month until school starts - gosh, it's flown by! I've already been in my room and starting putting things together. Hopefully, you're finding some great ideas from pins, blog posts, workshops, etc. to bring to your music class this year. Take care!

Puppets - a newfound love!

Over the past few years, I've heard teachers swear up and down that puppets are awesome. I discovered some in my music room my first year, but didn't really use them. I guess I just feel weird introducing a puppet to students. However, this year, I started using beat buddies. If you're not sure what beat buddies are, they can be any little stuffed animal that students can pat on their lap, arm, etc. to keep the beat. I was blessed when my mom found about 40 of them at a local consignment shop. The kids LOVE them! I couldn't believe it! They are also a good motivator for those younger students who have trouble with behavior. Here's a picture of what I tend to use...they are beanie babies from McDonalds, but anything smaller will work!

These beat buddies really pushed me to try out puppets. When I attended the Artie & Denise conference in June, Artie used so many puppets. It was great! She made literature connections, solo singing, and introductions to styles. I quickly started surfing the web for what I could use in my classroom. Oriental Trading is only an hour away from us, so this company gets products to you FAST. Also, they have such variety! Here are some things I picked up from OTC:

Horse finger puppets! These are great for students to identify and practice form for "The Wild Horseman." After using their puppets, the students can move on to using noodle ponies or candy cane horses in groups to show the form. So fun - check it out here!

Parachutes and Ribbons and Scarves, Oh My!

Large jungle animal puppets are great for teachers to use AND the students! I'm excited for all of the solo singing opportunities these will provide. Also, any puppets can be left at centers for students to do vocal explorations or sing songs with their puppets. 

Cat and dog finger puppets - so many possibilities! I can see the puppies being used for Doggie, Doggie and kitties for Naughty Kitty Cat. The main reason I chose these is for Rossini's "Cat Duet." Artie had one kitty for one hand and another for her other hand. These moved up and down with the melody when it was that kitty's turn during the duet. It's so funny! Plus, it is a great way to introduce opera to kids and show melodic differences. Let me know if you'd like to see the video from the workshop - it is one of my favorite lessons!

I also purchased some puppets at the end of the school year. I originally saw these on Music a la Abbott's blog post about puppets. I instantly fell in love - they are so quirky! Plus, they are on a stick which makes them a little easier to handle. The kids thought they were funny and loved naming them. Educational Insights now has fish and dinosaur puppets on a stick. Can't wait to add those to my collection as well.

My last puppet isn't really a puppet. I was at Half Price Books the other day (I am a HPB junkie!) and stumbled upon some interesting stuffed characters. There were finger puppets and stuffed animals from The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. My husband (when he was a teacher) had little finger puppets for famous composers and graciously passed them on to me. I didn't realize that they made larger stuffed animal models, too! The company has several new finger puppets (Elvis, Louis Armstrong) and composer favorites in both puppet and character size. I ended up purchasing the Mozart and Beethoven stuffed animals on eBay for the price of one from the website. Mine are still brand new, just cheaper. They have a smaller information card and play one of the composer's famous pieces. Here they are - ready to go to school. 

I know my primary students will love to check these out when we learn about composers. I plan on bringing them out when we read stories, color composer bios, listen, do movement, etc. I'm really excited to use Mr. Beethoven first with this awesome bundle from The Yellow Brick Road:

Do you use puppets or stuffed animals in your room? Are they something only your primary students enjoy or do the older kids still ask for them?

Wordless Wednesday!

I'm linking up to a new blog party this week. "Wordless Wednesdays" is all about posting a picture and inviting your followers to comment with their ideas. Please check out Sugar and Spice for more "Wordless Wednesday" blog posts! 

Well, it's almost the end of the year and the kids are all full of excitement! Here, we are dancing and moving with ribbon wands. Here's my picture and question:

How do you keep your students engaged and excited about learning during the last few days of school? 

Please comment below with your ideas - thanks! :)

Ideas for Surviving the End of the School Year

7 MORE DAYS - WE CAN DO THIS!

Holy cow - this year has been a toughie! I don't know what was in the water, but if it could happen, it almost most certainly did this year. This is the time of the year where it's hard for everyone - parents, teachers, AND students. You want to leave a positive musical impression on these students right now and sometimes, they will challenge you to the depths of the ocean! I love my job, my students, music and everything that goes with it, but I am not going to sugar coat the last few days of school. The kids are worn out, the teachers are worn out and discipline is the hardest thing to do. The students that need you the most right now are going to act out ten times more and the students that are normally good can just make horrible decisions these days. Plus, we've had a lot of bad weather this year and rain recently, so they are all itching to be outside. In the end, the last 2 weeks of school are always a jumble of actions, emotions and exhaustion. I try my best to keep a smile on and be positive, but sometimes, I am just DONE with misbehaving. When this happens, I try to take a breath and move on.

Today, I'm linking up for Music a la Abbott's Linky Party.  These ideas might not always work for everyone and their music classroom, but here are some things that I recommend for surviving these last few previous days with the students in my music class.

Ideas for Surviving the End of the Year

1. Keep them active

        I like to do a lot of movement in my class, but the last few days especially. Sometimes, I even throw on the Just Dance videos from YouTube or Symabloo for the kids to dance. I did this one day where it had been raining for several days and they had not had any recess. It saved me a ton of headaches and the teachers were happy the kids were a little more calmed down that day. I also like to pull out folk dances that we have done throughout the year. My favorites is "Sasha" from Sanna Longden's Even More Folk Dance Music for Kids and Teachers, CD 1 1/2.

West Music - CD 1 1/2

2. Don't Start Anything Brand New = REVIEW

       They are not going to retain anything new at the end of the year. I do teach Carnival of the Animals to 1st grade, but it's not something difficult to understand like tika-tika or Re on Melody Street. I use the last month to review and solidify what we've already talked about. If I teach something new, it's usually only an introduction for the fall. 

I'm really loving The Yellow Brick Road's Rhythm Chairs activities. These are so fun and reinforce beat vs rhythm for the things we've learned this year. She has a great bundle that I use for 1st-4th. 

Rhythm Chairs

Lindsay Jervis also posted a great set of Musical Memory pages for all grades. This is a fun way to review what the students learned and enjoyed most. It is really helpful to me to see what stuck with them and what I might need to change next year. You can also edit them for whatever questions you'd like. Great idea!!

Music Memories

3. Have fun with singing!

      After doing programs, I am tired of singing and so are the kids. However, this is so important to their musical growth! I am planning to make slides this summer to put into a folder of fun songs for them. It might be things we've done or classics they love like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." I might even add one or two that are recent each year like something from Frozen (I know...Let it go, let it go, etc..) or other school appropriate hits. These will be great for the end of the year or a sub day.

      I also love literature in the music classroom! I try to save these for the end of the year so the kids can laugh and sing along with the story. Sometimes, though, I love them so much I pull them out whenever! Here are two of my favorites:

Grandma's Feather Bed by John Denver

Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah! by Allan Sherman

4. Always be ready to go

         It is the season of field trips, celebrations and allergies. I've already covered for a few teachers this week because of various things. They have covered for me and I am always happy to return the favor. Because of this, I am on my toes at all times. It might be the last week, but this is when things can go haywire in a second.

         Most classes will be out of the building at least once and forget to tell you. Or, it will rain and they will reschedule for another day, forget to tell you and come in without you being ready. ALWAYS BE READY! I keep several lessons handy for this just in case. I also have several classes that are off of each other because of snow days, presentations, etc. These filler lessons are things I want to do with everyone, but sometimes, I have to make the sacrifice. If some students have already learned it, it will solidify their knowledge even more and allow them to be leaders for the rest of the class. Here are some ones I enjoy at the end of the year, but also occasionally sprinkled in. 

Composers

Composer lessons are fun to sprinkle in throughout the year or give a small preview to at the end of the year. We usually read a short story about the composer, color the pages while listening and then have some kind of movement or instrument activity to end. I also like having them use their Beanie Baby Beat Buddies to lead each other in a steady beat to the music.

Mystery Songs

Cori Bloom is amazing! I was in love with her Mystery Song for Flight of the Bumblebee and asked if she would ever consider making more. These are something that could really hook students into listening and sharing their thinking and writing in the music classroom. She put this file together in 2 weeks and it is AMAZING! These are so fun to do and can take a whole lesson or several if you'd like. I plan on doing this once a month next year...I can't wait until she puts out more. Thank you, Rhythm and Bloom!

Well, I hope everyone has had a successful year. I am already planning and thinking about ideas for next year. Hopefully, these last few days are fun for you and the students in the music classroom. Some of them may be stinkers, but they are the ones I miss when they board the bus on the last day. Just remember the BREATHE and SMILE - you can make or break someone's day that way. So, go out and make the last few musical memories of the year!