Many academic studies have shown a strong connection between musical activities and early literacy learning. One study that especially interests me is detailed in “Early Language Learning With and Without Music,” by Douglas Fisher, published in Reading Horizons in 2001. The study evaluated four classrooms of students in kindergarten and…
I’ve been on a hiatus from this blog because I started a new job this summer. I’m helping found a KIPP charter elementary school in Lynn, MA. I’m the music teacher for the school’s 120 new kindergarten students. Each year the school will add a grade, up through fourth grade….
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…
Here is a finger-play and simple literacy activity that’s especially fun to do in the spring when you hear lots of birds singing. My “Two Little Robins” song is based on the traditional nursery rhyme and finger play that’s often called “Two Little Blackbirds.” This song is on my CD…
Hearing and feeling the natural rhythm of a language is an important part of learning to speak and read fluently. The Spelling City website points out that “syllables play an important role in spoken English, in that they greatly influence the rhythm of the language, its poetic meter and its…
A couple of years ago, some kindergarten teachers asked me to write a song about word families, and I was happy to oblige. The result was a simple song that keeps being rewritten again and again, by children in PreK through First Grade. Making up verses for this song is…
During studies for my master’s degree at Lesley University, I had an opportunity to take a class on early literacy learning with Professor Jean Ciborowsky Fahey. Jean works closely with a group called Reach Out and Read, a non-profit organization that partners with pediatricians’ offices to encourage reading-related activities for…
2014 was another super year for my work singing with kids and focusing on early literacy learning. Among the highlights were my new songs for learning about rhyming words: Animal Rhymes and Halloween Rhymes. I hope these songs will soon become part of the music/literacy recordings that I sell through…
Here are two rhyming songs that I’ve recently shared in the classroom. I pair a classic nursery song and book, “Oh, A-Hunting We Will Go,” with a song I wrote, “Animal Rhyming Words.” This video shows how I work with the first song. I recommend getting John Langstaff’s book,”Oh, A-Hunting…
