New school year!

Hello everyone!

I'm so sorry to have not posted sooner in this new school year. As we all know, the beginning of the year is a hectic time. Please take a moment to enter your email address into the white bar at the top of the blog page and hit "submit." You will then receive an email every time I write a new post on this blog along with a link to the blog page- super convenient! This makes it easy to know when to check up on my blog. I will also add new videos and pictures throughout the year, so don't forget to scroll down to check those out.

I attribute my lateness with this post to my sincerest attempt to make the most of including what I learned during my summer training course into my teaching this year. The course I took culminated with a Level I certification in the Orff Schulwerk approach. Orff Schulwerk is a way to teach and learn music. It is based on things children like to do: sing, chant rhymes, clap, dance, and keep a beat on anything near at hand. These instincts are directed into learning music by hearing and making music first, then reading and writing it later. This is the same way we all learned our language. I have been having so much fun incorporating this approach into every lesson so far this year. I even attended a workshop this past Saturday, the 8th, to brush up and get more new materials. That was one of 5 such workshops I will attend through this school year.

So far this year....

Kindergarten- we have been focusing on a few key points: the 4 ways to use our voice (whispering, speaking, singing, calling), being a good audience member, finding the singing voice, and learning about moving through self-space (staying in your spot) and general space (around the room.) We've learned the songs "Hello, Everybody", "Rover", "This is My Space", and "Counting Song". We've also worked with several rhymes and have learned basic technique for playing hand drums. We learned about the new words "conductor" and "solo."

1st/2nd grade- we began the year by coming up with a gesture (a unique body movement) to go with our name. We played a game with the song "Rig a Jig Jig" in which we paired up with multiple different partners in class. We learned a circle game/song called "Wake Me, Shake Me."We came up with lots of ways to move to the steady beat, including body movements (tapping the floor, patting your elbow) and even playing the steady beat on mallet instruments (this is called a bordun pattern.) We had our first experience playing mallet instruments with the song "Stars Shining." We experience playing with two hands together and one hand at a time while we counted the numbers of the stars in the song. We also got to figure out how to play our favorite food answer on the mallet instruments from the song "Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner." We have begun our discussion of musical opposites, beginning with loud and soft (piano and forte are the music words.) We learned the new words "bordun", "xylophone", "metallophone", "glockenspiel", "piano", and "forte."

3rd/4th grade- we began the year with the rhyme "Acka Backa" and played a game involving moving around the room and meeting classmates. We learned a song and game called "Wind Up the Apple Tree" that got us moving right away and taught us about AB form in music. We also immediately dove into reading notes on the staff, starting with the notes B, A, and G with an activity called Mad Minutes. Students have one minute to correctly identify the names of as many B's, A's, and G's on the paper as possible, out of a possible 30. We learned to sing the song "I've Been Wishing" which we then figured out how to play on the mallet instruments- the students had to find the notes by ear until they could play the melody! We learned a cumulative song called "I Bought Me a Cat" (see video here). We have also learned a traditional folk dance called the "Galopede" which involves a series of movements with a partner facing across from you. The kids had fun with this! We learned the new words "bordun", "ostinato", and "form."

5th grade- we began the year by examining our names. Names are such an easy way to begin the study of rhythm. We each had to find a unique way to say our name and the class would echo. We then had to try to fit our name into one pat, clap pattern. Students were divided into groups of 4 and created their own "name compostions." Students would choose one name to be the ostinato (a musical pattern that repeats over and over.) For example: Da-vid, Da-vid, Da-vid, Da-vid. They then had to choose the order in which to share the 4 names of their group members. For example: Da-vid, Syd-ney, Jack, Al-ex. Students then could decide whether their composition would start with the ostinato pattern or with the 4 name pattern, or both simultaneously. We performed these for the class and transferred the speech to percussion instruments. Students learned a song in a minor (sad sounding) key called "Who Has Seen the Wind?" Students learned a bordun pattern to accompany the song, figured out how to play the melody by ear on the mallet instruments, and also improvised their own new melodies. We also immediately dove into reading notes on the staff, starting with the notes B, A, and G with an activity called Mad Minutes. Students have one minute to correctly identify the names of as many B's, A's, and G's on the paper as possible, out of a possible 30. We have also learned one traditional folk dance called "Lucky Seven." It begins in one big circle but involves some tricky movements that took us several tries to master! We learned the new words "soprano", "alto", and "bass."

Please continue to read my blog throughout the year- it's here for you! Feel free to leave comments and ask your kids to further illuminate/explain/demonstrate some of the activities I summarize in these posts. :) Thanks!

Summer's almost gone!

Hello, again!

I hope everyone is having a great summer, as I am. I have been busy visiting family in MN, and taking care of lots of things back in Greeley. I've spent some time updating the blog with the following:

• some new videos- see "True Colors" video below
• links- see "Other Useful Links" below
• a new playlist- see the blue box below and click play to hear some songs!
• a Spanish translator (this translates all words on the blog into Spanish for families who prefer to read en español!)
• new recorder music (on the 'Recorder Music' tab)

Please explore and enjoy these exciting new features! Happy practicing!

Summer time!

Hello, everyone! It has certainly been too long since my last post. For the past two weeks, I have been taking an intense summer course offered at UNC. On Friday I will complete the course and I will be Level I certified in what is called the Orff Schulwerk. What is Orff Schulwerk, you may ask?


Orff is a way to teach and learn music. It is designed for all children, and includes a unique mix of singing, body percussion, dancing, playing instruments, and improvisation. I am so very excited for this upcoming school year to have the opportunity to implement the ideas and approaches I have been learning about. Students: get ready for some amazing music classes this year. Parents: be prepared to watch your children develop into more creative and thoughtful musicians.


Also, have you been practicing your recorder? Visit the recorder page NOW and enjoy some summer music making.


Other ideas for including music in your summer break:

• listen to the radio (or CDs, or Pandora, etc.)
• sing songs you remember from music class
• play your recorder alone or with a friend- try making up your own song!
• dance to any music you hear
• instead of talking to a friend, try singing back and forth to each other
• attend a concert (lots of outdoor concerts can be fun in the summer!)
• make an instrument at home- try cardboard boxes, aluminum cans, or experiment with pots and pans in the kitchen!

Happy practicing!

Concert Thoughts

I could not be happier with how the spring concerts went for all grade levels! Students performed at their best and created an amazing display of their musicianship. This week, we will be watching a video recording of the concert to re-live/evaluate the experience. Students: you should be PROUD of your performance. Parents: you should be PROUD of your kids! What a great way to close out the school year! Thank you so much for all the support.

SPRING CONCERT!!!

Our Kindergarten and 1st/2nd grade concerts are one week from today! I can't wait to share some great music with you all.

Kindergarten students must be at their classroom at 5:15pm. The concert begins at 5:45pm.
1st/2nd grade students must be at their classroom at 6:30pm. The concert begins at 7:00pm.

Our 3rd/4th grade and 5th grade concert are 8 days away! These are shaping up to be fantastic performances.

3rd/4th grade students must be at their classroom at 5:15pm. The concert begins at 5:45pm.
5th grade students must be at their classroom at 6:30pm. The concert begins at 7:00pm.

All students must be on time and dress nicely- please no jeans, athletic wear, or sneakers if at all possible. Thank you for your continued support of music at University Schools and I look forward to seeing you all next week!

This week (4/23-4/27)

This week in....

Kindergarten- we played percussion instruments with shape pictures- our introduction to reading music! We also continued to prepare for our upcoming spring concert!!!

1st/2nd grade- we learned our last new concert song "One-Two, One-Two-Three" and continued to perfect other songs for our spring concert.

3rd/4th grade- we worked hard on the song "Get Up, Get Up, Get Up!" for our spring concert. We also ran through several of our other songs and worked on smoothing out the details.

5th grade- students were assessed on their ability to identify woodwind and brass instruments (we have been studying them in the last couple of weeks.) We also played instrument bingo as a fun way to wrap up that unit. We worked hard on concert music and played "When the Saints Go Marching In" on recorders.

Very much looking forward to the spring concerts soon! May 9th and May 10th!

This week (4/9-4/13)

This week in....

Kindergarten- we are continuing to work hard on learning our music for the spring concert. We began learning a new song called "Marching Rhythm." We played rhythm sticks and drums along with the different sections of the song. We also began singing some of our concert songs on the stairs in my room, which are similar to the risers we will be performing on in the auditorium.

1st/2nd grade- we continued learning the song "Ere the Waters of the Deep" for our spring concert. We worked hard on the song "Everybody Has Music Inside" and discussed concert etiquette. Students sang some concert songs on the stairs in my room, which are similar to the auditorium risers. We are also continuing to work on singing songs with sign language.

3rd/4th grade- we are continuing to perfect our new F# fingering on recorders with the song "Twinkle, Twinkle." Students assessed themselves in the four categories of recorder playing for that song. We also continued to work on "Get Up, Get Up, Get Up!" and "True Colors" in preparation for the spring concert. We reviewed note reading with a Mad Minutes activity, as well.

5th grade- we worked hard on music for our spring concert early this week. We focused on energy and style for "Start Your Day With a Song." We worked on memorizing a very wordy song called "Nifty Fifty." Students also learned about the brass family of instruments (last week was the woodwind family) and began learning how to identify the 5 main brass instruments by sound only.

Sing along tomorrow morning!