Solfege in 5K

The Kindergarten Kids have been learning about solfege singing with the hand signs on the wall, viewing clips of "The Sound of Music", and "Whacky Do Re Mi" video from Plank Road Publishing. All the kids really loved "The Sound of Music" selections I showed them, and this would be a great movie to watch as a family!  (Usually on TV around the holidays)

 Boomwhackers are the perfect instruments to demonstrate solfege, and a LOT of fun to play!

Family Instrument Presentations

Mr. Paley's and Ms. Schmidt's classes had guest musicians (family) who shared their instruments and how music is still part of their lives. The presentations were so wonderful that I wanted to make sure others would be able to watch as well.
A HUGE THANK YOU to all our guest musicians!!

Mr. Joe Hartson

Mr. Andrew Pigott

Mrs. Ann Dever and Mr. Joe Dever

Ms. Amy Babula

Playing and Learning: on the Smart Board and with Instruments

First Graders are having fun learning with Groovy Jungle on the Smart Board.

This is a wonderful way to teach an overview of musical concepts, and engages the students!

We are adding instruments to songs we are learning.

The excitement is tangible as students enter the music room and spot the instruments!

2nd grade Collaborative Group Project- Updated!!!

I'm always looking for ways to improve my teaching practice, and hope that this new project idea will be both engaging and meaningful for my 2nd graders!

Par for the course with a new project involving technology, adjustments have been made!
A couple of the websites I mentioned in my video do not work with iPads, so I now have two websites that the students are exploring in their group work.
Arts Alive
Dallas Symphony Kids

However, the sites mentioned in the video are well worth exploring on computer or a device that has flash capability!
San Francisco Symphony Kids
NewYork Philharmonic Kids

Request from my Kindergarten Friends....

My Kindergarten friends have been loving our Nursery Rhyme unit with different versions of familiar rhymes.  Their absolute favorite is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" found on K8 KidTunes
It sounds like the "store" part of this website will be closing soon, so if you are interested in purchasing and downloading songs, please act quickly!  :)
Other parts of the site look like fun, so this may be a great one to bookmark!  :)

2nd Graders Explore the Instrument Families

Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Instrument Safari

In second grade music classes we are learning about the instrument families of the orchestra. This website presents the concept in an engaging and fun way.  Students are welcome to explore this at home, as well, and can register for a free account.

Find Your Name, Spartan Music Stars!

Word Clouds created on Wordle.net

5K Spartan Stars

First and Second Grade Spartan Stars

So excited to meet the new 5K students and reconnect with my first and second grade students!

I'm looking forward to lots of fun musical experiences with you all!

This is why I teach music:

I can't wait!!!    Mrs. Kellen