by Kristin Pugliese
Well it’s here! The craziest time of the year…until the spring concert hits! All of my classes are continuously practicing their songs and compositions for our holiday concert next week, so that is taking up a majority of our 30 minute class time; however, I still need to fill the few minutes here and there that come up in between. What’s a music teacher to do? Here are 4 simple lessons that you can stretch out or shrink to fit depending on how much time you have!
1. What instrument is in the mystery bag?
Today I put various shakers and bells in extra Note Knacks bags. I have their counterparts on the rug so that the kids could match them. They have fun listening and trying to figure out what bag went with what instrument!
2. What does snow falling sound like?
Have kids think about what snow would sound like when it falls and when it hits the ground. Look at all of the instruments you have in your room and let them choose. You can even extend it with questions like: would there be several short sounds or a few long sounds? …or would they switch from short to long while falling? …or when they hit the ground?
Other sounds to be created ~ Reindeer? Santa? Elves? Skiing and other winter sports? Etc.….
3. 3D compositions
I know I have mentioned these before, but I love them!! I love it when kids create a sculpture with Note Knacks and then sing what they have created!! Questions that come up: what part of the sculpture is the beginning? What sounds are next? Can one person play starting at the top while another starts at the bottom? They have so much fun building and playing their pieces!
4. Choose a favorite book for kids to add sound
You can choose any story, really, but here are a couple of suggestions ~ “The First Music” by Dylan Pritchett and “The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf! Read the story and discuss where the sounds might go. Then figure out what instruments would illustrate that sound the best! If you can, it would be great to have a student read it while his/ her classmates play the sounds at the appropriate time!
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