Life is unpredictable...unless you are a teacher. In my case, I can't be sick on Wednesdays and Thursdays because of after school programs, or on cycle days 1 and 2 because of Choir. I especially never want to be sick right before or during the concert week, and definitely not in the first week of school. But life is unpredictable. In the beginning of the year, sub plans are especially tricky. Here's an activity  that is meaningful, requires little set-up, is easy to communicate to a substitute, and is realistic for a substitute without  music skills.  Have a healthy school year, everyone!

Moving in my classroom is interwoven in everything we do. Besides building a movement vocabulary , we use movement to: learn classroom routines and procedures build a listening vocabulary in various tonalities and meters acculturate to new repertoire create and improvise explore musical concepts (tempo, dynamics, form, expression, etc.) acculturate to a variety of styles learn to cooperate and work with others This year, I am refining my movements expectations visual. Here's the new and improved version, condensed on one page. For a free poster set, visit my store here . 1. Steady Feet For many students, the absence of desks and the abundance of space in my classroom signifies a "free for all" mindset. I discovered that losing balance and tripping is one of the favorite funny things to do in 3rd and 4th grade. To pre-amp it, I added "steady feet" to the movement expectations. Instead of saying "don't fall", or, "you are ...