Sometimes during extended programming at schools, I have the opportunity to link into a focus topic for the week. One focus topic in the summer was the OCEAN! For some of my first and second grade students, I gave the old Raffi classic “Down By The Bay” a make-over! Since the original included a
I selected this traditional Irish saying as inspiration for one of my Orff-Schulwerk groups. In class, I was just introducing music that featured movement between the I and V chord on Orff instruments. Since it was March, I thought I would use this beautiful Irish saying and incorporate it into my lesson plan. I often enjoy adding American Sign Language
Slow It Down: A Piggyback Song for Calming Down from Megan Resig on Vimeo.
Utilizing body movements or motions to cue instrument play with students is a great way to foster timing and connectivity. The student in this video is playing an open tuned guitar. The strings are tuned to a G chord. Throughout the song "Ten Minutes Ago", the musical goal is to play the G chord as it appears in
I love incorporating positive thinking and self-empowering statements into vocal improvisations and songs with my students. I find that many of my students will report how a specific affirmation explored in music will enter their thoughts at "just the right time". Some examples of affirmations are "I rejoice in the love I encounter every day.", "Every decision
Rhyming is an important step in developing sounds, understanding language, and building both reading and writing skills. In music, rhyming also assists in processing steady beat and understanding phrasing. In the tradition of Mother Goose nursery rhymes, I often create my own rhymes based around some of the popular tales. "Oh The King" was inspired
Vocal warm up exercises are an important part of any voice lesson. Warm ups help improve vocal preparedness, performance skills, and vocal health. In adaptive voice lessons, I often incorporate some element of music composition, speech/language, or writing skills. One warm up experience I have explored with students is composing a short reverse poem. My
Morning circle time at school is a way for the classroom to come together as a community of learners. As a music therapist, I often provided the classroom with songs to support their involvement, recall, and learning of academic materials. Many teachers already incorporate some kind of "calendar song" by playing a sound recording or a YouTube
School is back in session, and I wanted to combine a welcome back song with identifying different school subjects. For some of my students, I provide music support specifically to address academic skills. By singing through “Back to School”, I have a fun way to outline different subjects, and then later either assess specific skills
