Music Lab: A Developmentally Appropriate Approach to Music

I teach music to Pre-K and Kindergarten children at a Reggio Emilia inspired public school in Washington, DC. Up until this year, I was asked to teach whole group lessons for a 50 minute period to 4 classes a day. The school schedule did not allow me to work with small groups. I designed my lessons to be as child-centered as possible, but I still felt that some of the deeper learning was not taking place in the large group format.

This year I have had an amazing opportunity to work with Kindergarten students in small groups. Here is an example of what I call Miss Rachel's Music Lab.

Feel free to comment, ask questions, and share your own small group teaching experiences.

Music Lab

March 15, 2012

Rachel Ann Cross

Carrington, Bailee, Natalie, Sophie, Josie

We pass around a tuning fork. What is it?

N - Part of a mixer for dough and cakes

C – A tool

B – It’s something you use for ……?

S – I don’t know

J – I don’t know

I strike the tuning fork on my shoe then touch the end of it to the children’s hands.

C – It’s a massager

S – It wiggles on your skin

N – It’s bumpy

J – It feels weird

B – It feeled like something going back and forth. It was touching my hand and making it move around

I strike the tuning fork again and this time, I hold it by the children’s ears.

N – It sounds like a tiny bug wiggling in your ear

S – It feeled like a trumpet. If you touch it, it will stop.

N – It definitely is part of a mixer

The kids take turns striking the tuning fork and touching it to their chests.

N – It feels like little squiggly worms on my body

B – It feels really funny and it feels like somebody is touching your heart

J – Like a squiggly line

S – It feels like my heart is moving. It tickles my ear when I hold it near my ear.

I bring out cards that show different colored hand bells and the musical note they represent. I also bring out 2 boxes of hand bells. Each child picks 8 cards.

N – We could ring the bells in order of the cards! Then you could make it sound like something pretty.

Any surprises today?

S - The bells sound like little twinkling stars.

Four Fantastic Teacher-Friendly Websites

Hello early childhood educators!

 My name is Rachel Ann Cross. I am a musican/educator currently employed in a Reggio Emilia inspired public school in Washington, DC.  I am also working towards finishing my master’s degree in early childhood education.

I have found the four teacher-created websites below to be abundant and relevant resources for new and experienced teachers alike.

Enjoy!

Rachel Ann Cross

1) Kelly’s Kindergarten

http://www.kellyskindergarten.com/Classroom%20Organization/classroom_organization.htm

This website provides tried-and-true ideas and resources for Kindergarten teachers and parents. The author, Kelly Nyman is not only an experienced teacher; she is also a parent, and foster parent. Her experience shines through on the pages of her website.

This blog is a plethora of organizational tools including sections on designing your classroom, templates for weekly and daily schedules, games, behavioral management tools, and ideas for centers. Kelly has provided many ready-to-print materials such as labels for many classroom materials, lists of children’s songs organized by theme, and 4 different versions of individual behavior charts. She also provides links to support materials such as books about supporting children with emotional and behavioral challenges, and websites galore.

2) PreKinders

http://prekinders.com/links/

PreKinders, a website created by veteran Pre-K teacher Karen Cox, is user-friendly and filled to the brim with ideas for activities, photos, and printables such as Pre-K assessment forms, games, and charts. Especially helpful, is the Classroom Tips section. This section contains practical step-by-step advice for acclimating students, teachers, and parents to the first days of Pre-k.

          Another standout is the section on centers. This section features a slide show of an actual Pre-K classroom, and close-up photos of individual centers and materials.

3) Special Education Strategies And More...

http://michellespecialeducation.blogspot.com/

As early childhood classrooms become more and more inclusive, educators are working alongside special education professionals, therapists, parents, and other support staff. This blog, written by a special education teacher, provides insight, humor, and practical examples of how to incorporate reading throughout the day, how to provide quality individual instruction, and schedules and activities that work with young children. The experienced voice of the author and educator shines through. The author also provides an extensive list of resources for teachers, parents, and children including math games, social skills games, and literacy games.

4) Take Your Learning With You Wherever You Go 

A blog describing my crooked pathway toward educational enlightenment through classroom design.

http://gooomanjiblog.blogspot.com

This blog focuses specifically on classroom design. While some posts and examples of classrooms are not specifically geared towards early childhood classrooms, the concepts and ideas discussed can still be applicable. The author’s post from January 23, 2012 really resonated with me. He talks about the value of creating “the campfire, the watering hole, and the cave” in each classroom. The campfire is the central community meeting place, the watering hole is designed for small group work and more informal interactions, and the cave is a secluded area designed for quiet focus. What a wonderfully anthropological way of viewing a classroom! This blog addresses big ideas about classroom design while offering practical solutions.