All about my life

Technology Thursday (sometimes Tuesday) begins now! Every year in January and February, my grade 2 and 4 students prepare to go to the orchestra. Here in Winnipeg we have an amazing symphony concert series designed especially for elementary students. The performances include dancers, artwork, visual effects, and children performance collaborations! As we study orchestral instruments and the concert repertoire, I always like the children hear or see different interpretations of the pieces. Here are two excellent Youtube videos to show your students, especially if they have already heard the orchestral versions. "Ode to Joy" by James Turner Beatboxing Peter and the Wolf So cool eh? What are your favourite classical music videos with a twist? - Steph

Holiday concert is over and vacation has begun! I thought I'd post a couple costumes from the concert. This year my grade 1 to 3 students performed the new Hal Leonard musical "Twinkle and Shine" by John Jacobson and John Higgins. I loved it, the kids loved it and I heard a lot of great feedback from the families and our staff. I left most of my pictures at school so I will show more costumes later... but in the meantime, here are two of the bird costumes that a parent volunteer made. Besides for forest birds, the musical also included pine trees! I made these with the help of some amazing educational assistants and teachers! I found a couple Youtube tutorials from Expert Village to make the NO SEW ponchos! Link on the videos below for the tutorials. I measured my ponchos to be 1metre x 1metre. They are soooo easy! No-Sew Fleece Ponchos: Supplies for Making a Child's Poncho No-Fleece Ponchos: Trimming the Edges No-Fleece Ponchos: Cutting the Neck Hole for a Child'...

Here is the last of the Tips and Tricks for Engaging Rehearsals! I will start posting photos of my concert costumes, props and backdrops this coming week! Yay! FUN GAMES TO MIX IT UP A BIT! Sometimes I notice that my kids are getting restless during a rehearsal. I take 5 minutes to play a quick game that will get their jitters out! Four Corners Most of you probably already know how to play a version of this, but here is the version I play with my kids that I got from the teacher I was student teaching with 5 years ago!  1. Create 4 cards that each represent a different song you are working on.   2. Post the cards in different corners of your room.  3. Choose a caller to stand a t the front of the room. The rest of the students start in the middle of the room and the caller turns away closing their eyes.  4. The caller then says, "Choose your corner. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1". The rest of the students go to a corner while the caller is not looking.  5. Before tu...

Report cards are done- YIPEEEEEEEEEEE! I have been MIA on my blog with those darn things, concert prep, the flu, aaaaand a lame car accident this week (no one was hurt thankfully)! Our school's K-3 concert preparation continues. 10 days until concert night number one. The kids are doing a fabulous job, but it is starting to peak a little early. At this time, students are getting close to the point where they are sick of the songs. WE CAN'T HAVE THAT YET! Here are some more tips and tricks to keep your kiddos entertained as they continue to practice their concert songs over, and over, and over again... I am not a fan of blog posts without photos, mostly because I have the attention span of a 6 year old... So I am truly sorry that I have limited pics for this post! I know it's a long one but it'll be worth the read! MORE TIPS AND TRICKS FOR ENGAGING REHEARSALS: How Does My Voice Work? Show them this neat and super short video about the voice. As the video plays, stop it t...

I sometimes forget that there is great value in simple activities that don't necessarily have tons of pizaaazz, props, and fancy visuals that I love!... especially when kids are developing their own musical ideas and sharing them with their peers. During the last couple of weeks, I have really been working on reading standard notation with my grade 4 students before they begin learning recorder. Once we get into recorder, it can all become soooooo overwhelming: reading rhythm, reading melody, doing both simultaneously, figuring out a new instrument, and then doing all of those things at once. I find boomwhackers so useful for students to use while reading music! It gives forces them to track, they don't have to worry about their instrument too much since it's so simple to play and it gives them a fun focus tool while working in independent groups. Back to Basics Reading Activity with Boomwhackers: 1. Using four different 4 beat melody cards (I have the Hal Leonard ones, the...