Let's Move to the Music!

Kristine (Pre-K):  I was looking on the blog for some music and movement ideas...do you have any?

Blogoni Sandwich:  Nope, sure don't.

Casey:  But we can add some!

Ask, and you shall receive my friends!

Music and Movement was my favorite time in the day because it incorporates two arts that are quickly being removed from schools:  music + dance = some brilliantly creative young minds.  The great thing about music and movement is that it is soooo flexible!  You can incorporate ANY academic subject matter into this time of the day AND teach arts that are no longer taught in schools after kindergarten.

Let's start with Music!  What are some fun ways we can play with music? 

• Make musical instruments (I started explaining how to make each instrument, but couldn't remember exactly how to make a kazoo... so I googled "homemade kazoo" and discovered Expert Village which is a You Tube "How To" channel.  So enjoy all of these videos and become best buds with Annie Brunson who will teach you how to make some super cool instruments!)
• Drums:  use coffee cans as the drum, and pencils for drum sticks 
• Guitars:  empty tissue boxes with rubber bands wrapped around them length-wise also work 
• Kazoo
• Tamborine, you can also use coke can tabs instead of jingle bells 
• Rain Stick 
• Maracas, you can also use 20 oz. coke bottles.  Experiment with rice, beans, beads, coke tabs, etc. to make different sounds.
• Oboes... this one is super cool!

• Teach about Tempo: you don't necessarily have to use fun sing-alongs like the Hokey Pokey during each of your M&M sessions.  Teach your students about songs without words!  Experiment with different beats and tempos.  During one class you can talk about upbeat and fast tempos by maybe playing a fast-paced jazz number, then for the next class, pick a slower melody, such as a classical lullaby. 
• To emphasize the tempo in a song, pace your movements accordingly.  Have your students move freely with the music.  Use sharp movements for staccato, and smooth, flowing movements for legato. 

• Teach about Mood:  Teach your students how music can be an expression of moods.  You can further emphasize moods by using colors, illustrations and facial expressions.  Have them concentrate on moving their FACES during these lessons.  You may also continue to teach moods in a center using paint colors.  Having students paint what they are feeling, or paint quickly/slowly with the tempo, or having them only use blues/purples for sad songs (for example). 
• If you are a musician, play for your students!  Using a violin, I taught my students about tempo, staccato (choppy), legato (smooth), forte (loud) and piano (soft), and  mood by playing the same song at different paces and by subtly changing notes to make a "happy" song "sad."

• Types of Music:  Teach your students about different types of music and dance.  Have a country themed week and teach your students the box step, or how to square dance.  Teach about blues and jazz which is so relevant to Louisiana culture.  Teach about rap and hip hop and rock and contemporary and classical... just please be sure that only POSITIVE and AGE-APPROPRIATE songs are played in your classrooms.

The possibilities are ENDLESS!  Music has been around since forever and is ever-evolving... there is TOO MUCH to choose from!  Be sure to teach students to love music and who knows?  Maybe one of your students may become a world-famous musician one day!

Now this is called Music and Movement... so let's define movement.  According to the FreeDictionary.com, movement is "the act or an instance of moving; a change in place or position."  So let's play with this definition...  what are all of the different ways we can move?

• Movement can be fast... or slooooooow.  Try moving at different speeds.
• Movement can be HIGH... waving hands up in the air, or low crawling on hands and knees
• Movement can take the form of many things.  Can you move like a frog?  Can you move like a baby?  Can you move like a flag?  Can you move like a snake?
• Movement can be BIG... jumping up and down, or small like blinking our eyes.
• Movement can be few... (tapping our feet) or many........ (wiggling our entire bodies)

Do not get stuck in only creating a hyper-active dance/music activity for your students during your M&M time of the day.

Your Music and Movement time can make you always remember that this job is so much FUN!!!  Let your 4-year-old self re-surface... dance, sing, act goofy and shake it!  Are you ready??? Let's ROCK OUT! 

Here are some fun songs and activities that you can do for your Music and Movement section of the day starting with my absolute personal favorite...

• "Who let the Letters Out?"  To the tune of "Who let the Dogs Out?"  By Dr. Jean
• Who let the A out?  /a/ /a/ /a/ /a/
• When you make the sound, do a movement!  
• For /a/, move your arms like the mouth of an alligator, 
• do a movement that matches your sound/letter cards in your classroom, 
• or have your students think of something that starts with /a/ and you can create your own dance! 
• "Letter Aerobics" also by Dr. Jean
• Your body moves to the shape of the letter depending on if the letter goes 
• high like a lowercase 'b' (hands in the air), 
• low like a lowercase 'j' (touch your toes) 
• or stays in the middle like a lowercase 'a' (hands on your hips).
• If you don't have the Dr. Jean CD, just sing the regular alphabet song that you have known for 20+ years, but sing L, M, N, O, P at the same pace as the other letters...
• Instead of singing like this...
• A  B  C  D  E  F  G...
• H  I  J  K  LMNOP...
• Q  R  S...
• T  U  V...
• W  X
• Y and Z...
• Sing like this...
• A  B  C  D  E  F  G...
• H  I  J  K  L  M  N...
• O  P  Q...
• R  S  T...
• U  V  W...
• X  Y  Z...
• (Sing it out loud, it really does work with the melody)
• "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"
• Always a favorite with the kids... sing it normal once, then SPEED UP THE TEMPO... the slooooooowwwww it doooowwwwnnnn.
• "The Hokey Pokey"
• Once your students learn this all-time fav, then let them suggest parts of the body to throw into the Hokey Pokey!
• "Today is Sunday" by Dr. Jean.  Now here is an awesome work out for you!
• Sunday chicken... hands up in the air
• Monday peanut butter... hands on head and move head to the left (peanut), then the right (butter)
• Tuesday snap beans... hands on shoulders and move them up and down
• Wednesday sooooup... hands on belly, and move belly in a circle
• Thursday ice cream... hands on hips, move side to side
• Friday hot dogs... hands on knees and bob up and down
• Saturday pizza... hands on toes and bob up and down
• There is also a book called Today is Monday in Louisiana by Johnette Downing that uses Louisiana cuisine instead of the above listed foods.
• Ohhh and I just found a video and song on You Tube!!!
• Ok, so I just googled Johnette Downing, and she has her songs and books on You Tube and this is so much fun!  My Aunt Came Back 
• Any song like "Tooty Ta" by Dr. Jean where you do "Thumbs out, elbows in, bottom out, tongue out" and then you try to sing it all silly.  Cracks everyone up.  It's a hoot.
• "Number Rock" by Greg and Steve.  So as much as I love Dr. Jean songs, I equally love Greg and Steve!  (My students and I took a field trip to see Greg and Steve and our class was selected to rock out on stage with them!  I was 7 months pregnant and was bouncing around like crazy with my kids.  Serious awesomeness.)

Since this turned into a Dr. Jean love fest, here is a list of Dr. Jean Songs.  Some of them have links to short snippets of them so you can hear.

How do you teach Music and Movement in your classroom??? Please comment below or e-mail me at casey.hilty@gmail.com.