Nisse Polka

nisse

Nisse Polka This past summer I was in Finland at JaSeSoi Ry’s International Music Village (Finnish Orff Association).  It was amazing and I loved my time both in Finland and making music with musicians and teachers from 14 countries.  I also fell a little in love with the Scandinavian lifestyle and their connection to the…

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Take It Outside

Take It Outside

Take it Outside!  As the weather gets warmer, and classrooms get much warmer (especially for those of us without air conditioning) taking the kids outside can be a nice change for music learning! I’ve compiled a selection of lesson ideas for meaningful and engaging music lessons in the out-of-doors.  Games:  Any of the singing games you…

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Colors Springing, Voices Ringing

Colors Springing, Voices Ringing Orff Schulwerk and New Beginnings This lesson will use a process in which important nouns, verbs, and descriptive language are chosen and used as a springboard for individual and group creativity. A canon will serve as a unifying piece of music and a music literacy component will take shape as this piece…

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Teaching and Dancing the Circle Waltz Mixer

Circle Waltz Mixer

Teaching and Dancing the Circle Waltz Mixer If you are dancing regularly with your students then it is a short and easy step to have an evening community dance with students and parents. I recommend starting out by having a dance for, say, only the fourth graders and their parents and siblings. Have the fourth…

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Making It Work: Family Folk Dance Night

family folk dance night

Making It Work: Family Folk Dance Night Folk dancing is one the most popular components in our lower school music curriculum.  Through controlled chaos the dance consistently brings a sense of joy and a feeling of community to its participants. In a subtle way folk dancing encourages risk taking, exercises a sense of self-confidence, and…

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