I got inspired to write a song about the Three Billy Goats Gruff by a classroom of preschoolers, especially the boys in the class. The classroom copy of the book featured the language that’s in my song, spoken by the third Billy Goat to the troll: “Well, come along, I’ve…
Have fun creating and decorating shakers using a variety of things you can find around your house, especially the recycling bin. I like this video about making a maraca out of a small plastic water bottle and an empty toilet paper roll. Experiment with different fillings, from beans to rice…
The days are ticking down to the beginning of school. I hope all teachers of young children are excited to get everyone learning right away with … SONGS! If anyone needs a reminder about the value of music in early learning, here’s why music is an ideal tool, especially for…
What better way to celebrate spring than with singing? Well, frolicking in the great outdoors, of course, but singing is great fun, too! I wrote my “Song of Spring” with four-year-old children at a Boston area school. We talked about things we like to do in the spring and used…
Counting is often one of my themes for early childhood music in early March because … I’m counting on spring! Here are a few of my favorite counting rhymes. The first one features snow, because here in New England, the snow is still coming down in March 🙁 Five Little…
As September draws closer, early education teachers everywhere are gathering their strategies to meet academic goals for our youngest kids. To prepare children for reading, traditional nursery rhymes remain a terrific tool. Sure, there are some you wouldn’t want to recite in today’s world, but many nursery songs and chants…
I love making music with kids aged 3-6, especially pairing music with early literacy learning, which is a natural fit. I once taught at a preschool where the director told me: “Just have fun singing with the kids,” implying that they’d pick up the literacy learning elsewhere in their day….
I’ve been teaching my students in kindergarten and first grade about musical opposites. Right now, we’re especially focused on how pitches can move up and down, high and low. I learned the following finger play from a friend; the author is unknown. I adapted the words to teach more clearly…
This past week, I have had the chance to visit some of the children and families from the school where I’ll be working as a music teacher this fall. Many of the parents are so excited and eager for their children to learn, especially for them to learn to read….
This morning, I offered a toddler version of my “Do-Re-Mi ABC” program that I’ve been enjoying with kindergarten students this year. At our local store that sells tots’ clothing and other fun kids’ stuff, I did a sing-along workshop for parents and children about how to have fun singing while…
