Peter and the Wolf is a great piece of orchestral music to engage young listeners.  The music tells a story which is perfect for young learners.  Each character is represented by an instrument, so there are plenty of opportunities to become familiar with the names of these instruments.  

I would like to share some of the resources that I have used in my classroom along with a few tips for planning your unit.  Some of the links below are *affiliate links.

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Need some pirate treasure? Let me spill the dubloons! Here are some super simple resources to add a little pirate fun to your music lessons!

Questions You Might Ask 

"Why would I need pirate resources?"  Themed lessons can add a little bit of extra engagement for students!  Make believe activities are a part of childhood.  Incorporating make believe into your lessons gives students a safe way to try things in a different way.  Perhaps taking on a pirate persona for a day might bring out a little more boldness in your students. 

"When can I use these activities?" Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19. October is a great month for dress-up and make believe.  Spring months are also a great time for sea shantys and treasure hunts.  You are free to decide when a theme might fit into your existing curriculum!

Now, let's get into the resources and how to use them.  (Some links are *affiliate links.)

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Recently, I've seen many comments from music teachers whose administrators are asking them to incorporate other subjects into music lessons.  I love arts integration!  Today, I am sharing a lesson idea that can incorporate music, art, social studies, and reading.

Have you already discovered the book The Noisy Paintbox by Barb Rosenstock? What potential for a marvelous cross-curricular lesson! Wassily Kandinsky was an important 20th century artist and is known as one of the first to create abstract art.  He was a Russian artist who experienced sounds as colors and colors as sounds. How interesting!

(*affiliate link)

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Music teachers, especially at the elementary level, have so many students. So Many Names! Learning all those names (and their correct pronunciations) is an important step towards showing respect, building trust,  and creating a positive classroom community. But, there is still the huge challenge of actually learning those names. 

My experience has been in an elementary school with 500-750 students.  The population in my school was very transient, so our numbers varied a lot over the years. The biggest in/out changes came at the end of each quarter.  I remember coming back to school one January to find that we had 50 new students and we had lost quite a few as well.  Learning names wasn't just something I had to do in August. It was year-round.

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We all want our music classrooms to feel warm and inviting. How many of us have taken hours setting up and decorating the music classroom in preparation for that first week of school? My hand is raised! 

Pinterest-worthy classroom photos found on social media add to the temptation to over-decorate. How can I make my music classroom cute while providing the best environment for students? Here are some tips to consider as you decorate your classroom for music learning.

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The first tasks of the class period are often called "Bell Ringers," "Do it Now" tasks, or "Board Work," and serve the purpose of setting the tone for the rest of the class period.  When we come in this classroom, we work! Most bell ringers should take about 5 minutes at the beginning of class.  While this type of opening task has been common in general classrooms for many years, I have found it useful to use an opening task in my music classrooms.

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It had been a very long time (pre-pandemic) since I have seen my sister and her family.  We finally had the chance to travel to Florida for a much needed visit and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have papaya trees growing in their yard!  Sweet!  I was humming calypso all week.

I have used the song Shake the Papaya Down many times over the years and always have to give an explanation on what are papayas and why are we shaking them down?  Students will become more engaged with a lesson when they have some background knowledge on the topic. Papayas aren’t found in too many grocery stores, so not many families are able to include them in their regular meals.

I know my students would love to see my pictures.  Maybe you and your students will like to see them, too.

What are papayas?

Papayas are a soft tropical fruit that is yellowish-orange in color. They are healthy, low-calorie food, with lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

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