Storytelling is a compelling art form that engages children in a story in a different way than a picture book. Storytelling has many valuable benefits, not the least of which is that the listener must mentally envision the story. My work as a music specialist has been greatly enhanced by…
It’s early November and the season is definitely changing, at least it is where I live in northern Vermont. It’s a good time to sing with children about how animals get ready for winter, using songs such as my “Nuts for the Winter,” which features my little stuffed squirrel, Chipper….
I’ve just posted the “Sleeping Beauty” – Revisited video to my YouTube channel. Here’s more about the background of the song and the video. Early in my music-teaching career, I learned the “Thorna Rosa” circle game that reenacts the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. I probably learned the game at…
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…
If you’re a parent reading this, I hope these months of the pandemic have given you some opportunities to share extra special experiences with your children. I know it can be pretty tough at times, especially if you are trying to do that other job (the one where you might…
“When children dramatize, move to, or create music to represent a story, they become actively involved in working with the ideas in the story … As they translate the words to art forms, each story comes to life. Indeed, the act of transforming or translating is fundamental to attaining understanding…
It was a bit too cold on Thanksgiving this year in New England, a reminder that real winter is just around the corner. You can find some of my favorite winter songs and stories on this blog. Leo Lionni’s classic story of Frederick the mouse is always great. You can…
I recently watched a video about arts integration at the Two Rivers Charter School in Washington, D.C. Second graders created giant Jackson Pollock-style paintings while learning about the physics of flight; fourth graders learned about their local rivers by enacting the history of a river through poetry, movement and drama….
It’s great fun to engage children in stories with music and acting. Elsewhere on this blog, you can find posts about my musical versions of stories such as “The Three Little Pigs” and “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Click on “Story Songs” to find several examples. These musical dramas don’t…
The story of the Three Bears is a fun way to help children learn about high, medium and low pitches. This idea is not original to me (I’ve referenced some lesson plans below), but I found a way to involve students playing different instruments and repeating lines of the story….
