INTRODUCTION In a perfect world, music is part of young children’s lives: mothers and fathers sing to babies as they are fed, changed, bathed, and put to sleep; songs, games, and dances are an integral part of playtime; students entering elementary school can sing, chant, move, and improvise in the musical context of their culture. In reality, music is bought, downloaded, and played via electronic devices; children’s songs are performed on Barney and Sesame Street; families are glued to couches and recliners while watching “Dancing with the Stars”; students entering elementary school do not “speak” the language of music, as they lack the very foundation of audiation: listening and speaking vocabulary. Musical Age vs. Chronological Age natasha sigmund natasha sigmund The term musical age refers to students’ musical development regardless of their age. However, most resources are presented in a format according to chronological age and grade level. Teachers who work wit...

I was introduced to early childhood music in 1997 at Temple University, where I observed music enrichment classes based on Dr. Gordon's Music Learning Theory. It's been over two decades, but I still remember the feeling of excitement and wonder as I watched the beautiful and interactive "dance" of songs, chants, patterns, movement, and play. It looked so easy, but as it turned out, leading a rich and meaningful early childhood music class is not easy at all. It requires an enormous amount of preparation, from understanding how very young children learn music to developing a repertoire of tunes to learning to improvise in every tonality, meter, tempo, and keyality in the moment and on the spot. Over the years of leading early childhood music enrichment classes, I have noticed that each class had a similar shape. While songs and activities varied from week to week, the overall shape followed somewhat of a classical sonata. The following "map" is based o...

Lately, I've been having a lot of fun creating music education materials. Thank you for all the views, likes, and downloads! In appreciation for your support, I'd like to share this game with you. My students have been having a lot of fun playing it! You can use with the whole class, in small groups, or with individual students. If your students are beginning to learn rhythm reading, read the patterns aloud as they play the game. If your students are more experienced, invite individuals/whole class to read the patterns. Competitive Rules: Two Teams Divide the class into two teams. Decide which team starts first. I ask a volunteer from each team to come up, and play "Rock, paper, scissors. The first team sends a student to flip over the first card. Then the team sends a second student to flip the second card. If it's a match, the team earns one point. The turn goes to the other team. Tie Breaker If your students are playing the 4-pair version, and the s...

Picnic day, field day, special programs, assemblies, trips...the end of the year is a busy and exciting time. After teaching for 20 years, you'd think I have it all figured out, but to be honest, the end of the year always catches me off guard. It takes a few days to adjust to the realization that there will be no consistency from one day to the next. In reflecting upon the last two decades as a general music teacher, I present to you my personal end-of-the-year survival guide. Maintaining expectations Do your students forget how to act in class, raise their hands, or use indoor voices? If only there was a vaccine for end-of-the-year amnesia! Now more than ever I find it is crucial to be consistent with classroom expectations, and to continue to hold my students to the same standards I have been all year. Some days, I'll spend part of the lesson helping my students practice our classroom routines like we did in September. It may take 1 minute, or half of the cl...