Music Games Road Trip

     Well, I may not be on vacation, but I'm headed out on part of a musical road trip hosted by My Musical Menagerie. 

     This week's focus is games!  There are so many great games out there for music learning.  This year, I have focused on creating games to help students learn the proper names for notes and to show they understand music terminology.  Truthfully, I also like to include some games that are just for fun and enjoying the music you are listening to (see #5)!  Here are some of my current favorite games:
     1.  Music Note Bingo Bundle--Lots of great levels to name the proper names of notes so students can proper music terminology.  Great for non-music subs too.

     2.  Music Undercover--Great for stations or just to play with a partner as review.

     3.  Music Monster Match--Test to see if your students understand the relationships between notes and their rest counterparts.  It's like concentration with a monstrous twist that students love.  It can be played as a whole class or in partners/groups. 

     4.  Note Naming Bingo Triple Bundle--Teach you students how to name just the spaces, just the lines, or put them together!  It's up to you!  A great review for students who have been introduced to note naming.  It can be used with the treble or bass clef.

     5.   The Broom Game:  This is the game I close every year out with because students can get their energy out and have a blast!  Put three chairs at the end of an alley formation (2 lines facing each other).  Put one person in each chair with the person on the middle chair getting the broom.  That student can choose to hand it to the person sitting on either side of him/her.  Whoever gets the broom goes to the middle chair.  The remaining two students (including the student who used to have the broom) connect hands and gallop down the center.  The lines move forward (the lines end up facing the chairs) and two new people are seated on the chairs.  I usually put Rhythmically Moving CDs on while we are playing this game and the students love it.  If you want to make it more tricky, only allow them to pass the broom at the end of a phrase!  If you want to win your students over, put their favorite pop song on as a surprise :)
     One last thing, all of these games listed above will be 25% off through Wednesday!  I also really like:
Lindsay Jervis' Steal the Bacon 
Malinda Phillips' Annoying Aliens
Amy Abbott's Swat that Fly!
     If you want to read about more games that are on sale, check out other posts by clicking on the road trip logo at the top of this post!
     Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Reviewing My Resolutions

     Well, since it's about half way through the year, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my resolutions (for better or worse!).  So I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to review the goals I set waaaaaaaayyyy back in January:

Personal:  Devotions and prayer
     I have to say while this has increased in my life, I could still use more discipline.  Perhaps a continuing resolution for many years to come!

Professional:  Take a levels course.
     I'm SUPER excited that I will be taking Kodaly Level 1 at CMU in just a couple of weeks!!  I LOVE professional development opportunities because I know I will always walk away a better teacher because of them!

 

Classroom:  After-school music club
     Well . . . . I was interested in that whole "after-school music club" until I found out I was going from K-5 to K-12 next year.  I guess I will have to save that after school time for my own planning for now :)

Blog/TPT: Stay active/don't second guess. 
     I have decided to pace myself as a TPT seller because I have a husband and two young daughters at home.  I haven't put out as many new products as I would have liked to which is kind of disappointing.  But, in another way, I'm so proud of myself for spending time with my daughters as my main priority in life (although this whole K-12 thing is taking a lot of my time right now too). 
     Don't second guess.  Well, I think I still do that sometimes.  But a big step forward for me is that I will be presenting about Teachers Pay Teachers at the Michigan Music Conference.  Make sure to come see me if you are attending.  I would love to meet you!

 

Just for me:  Proactive about health.
     Without going into the boring details, I've had lots of nagging health issues for many years.  I DID stick to this resolution and am happy to say that going gluten-free has pretty much wiped out my migraine and stomach issues that I have had for years!!!  Now I can work-out again--which I have been doing regularly for a couple of months!!  So glad to have a healthier body :)

     I hope your year has also been blessed with great successes!  Feel free to share something wonderful that has happened to you or something that has made you proud of yourself!  If you would like to see other resolutions from music teachers, and how they are going, click here! 
     Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Book Review: "Classroom Management for Art, Music, and P.E. Teachers"

     A little over a week ago, I wrote out some of my summer goals, and though I still have 3 days of school left, I’ve already accomplished part of my summer bucket list!  I just finished reading “Classroom Management for Art, Music, and P.E. Teachers” by Michael Linsin.  In two days. 

     Here are some of my thoughts on this book:

1.     Every new music teacher should read this book.  It expresses much of what I have learned over the past ten years of teaching.  

2.     Michael Linsin, though a P.E. teacher, points out many of the realities of teaching music and how they differ from a classroom teacher.  It’s nice to hear from someone who can relate!

3.     His approach is calm and respectful to both the teacher and students.  This is paramount to me—that my students feel they are treated fairly and with respect.  

4.     Experienced teachers can benefit from it too.  It’s always good to hear someone else’s approach to teaching in a specials classroom (I say specials because of how it’s scheduled, but please know that I consider music to be a core class).  You may learn some new tricks, or you may just enjoy hearing someone else chime in to say that what you’ve been doing is a good idea.

    Some favorite quotes:

1.     “The purpose of your classroom management plan is to protect each student’s right to learn and enjoy being part of your class.  It’s a positive, not a negative.”

2.     “It’s in your positive relationships that the secrets of managing difficult students reside.”

3.     “Only proceed when your class is giving you what you want.”

     If your class hasn’t quite been doing what you want, check it out!  It’s a short read and you will likely find some helpful tips :)  Catch you next time I have something noteworthy!

Please note:  Noteworthy By Jen is an Amazon affiliate.  Links may be monetized to help pay for the upkeep of this blog.