I just have to say that every day that I play music in the classroom, we're all in a better mood and the day goes much more quickly. I realized the power of music for teaching when I had to teach Spanish to my third graders. It was on their report card and we didn't have a Spanish class or materials, so I felt obligated to teach them something meaningful if I was going to grade them on it. Luckily I had taken three years of Spanish in high school. I also taught students who spoke mostly Spanish as a first language when I student taught and in my first two years in second grade.
However, I had a very challenging class that year in third grade - 12 of my 22 students received a special service - from Resource Room with an IEP (4 students) to a 504 for ADHD (2 students) to OT (4 students) to Pt (1 student) to ESL (1 student) to speech (1 student) to basic skills (4 students)... As you could probably tell, some students received multiple services. I didn't include pull outs for gifted and talented or instrumental music in that either! Needless to say, I hustled up and finished my Masters degree in Special Education that year!
So anyway, back to the music....one of my students who had an IEP for a specific learning disability sat there during the Spanish test on colors and stared into space. His mom assured me they had studied, and that he should be okay since they spoke Spanish at home. I had taught the students little strategies, like rosa = red roses and verde = very green and we listened to a song about the colors over and over. It wasn't until I hummed the tune of the song that he started to work very quickly...and ended up scoring 100%!
I'll keep updating my Pinterest with more songs and videos...but for now, here are a few of my favorite cds / song resource pages...do you have any to recommend?
http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/memory-boosting-mnemonic-songs-for-content-area-learning
The cool thing is you can preview a lot of it before buying...the bad thing is there isn't a cd, so you have to figure out the pacing (they give you the tune and tell you the song it was modeled from) AND you have to sing out loud with the kids! (My old roommate even used some of these for her HS history classes - the kids got a kick out of the presidents song!)
Stuck in my head:
"Noun names person, place or thing
office, doctor, school, or ring
school or ring, place or thing
ohohohoho!"
Some people have asked how we get Austin to eat so well.
1)) I’m no expert - it’s a *big* part luck!
2) We don’t force him to eat anything.
3) We don’t prioritize certain foods over others (like veggies over dessert) and sometimes put them all on a plate at once.
4) You have to recognize that sometimes you’re more hungry than others and the same goes for kids.
5) They also have preferences that may be different than ours.
6) I do sometimes use strategies likeL
offering choices of plates and utensils (especially offering a “big” spoon or fork when he gets tired)
adding toppings or dressings
playing music that does or doesn’t correspond to what he’s eating
sometimes reading a story or looking at his ABC book when he’s eating.
7) We don’t watch TV during meals because he can’t concentrate.
8) There are definitely times when I pick my battles and sometimes feed him because my priority is for him to eat and feeding himself is secondary if he’s too tired to eat it and too hungry to fall asleep.
Anyway, here is my food playlist. He instantly perks up about eating when the songs play!
We have a few food-related videos that are favorites. Check them out below.
The Lunch Box Song
Yes, Yes Vegetables Song
Breakfast Song
F is for Food song
Here are some products that make food time just a bit more fun:
KidsFunwares Robot Me Time Meal Set with Portion Control Divided Plate, and Fork and Spoon
The world is a scary place right now, and always for many kids. I have compiled some of my son's favorite books, songs, and videos that are helping him through a variety of situations and topics, from potty training, to sleeping or being in the dark, getting a haircut, going to the dentist, and to trying new things. I have also included some of the resources I've used in my elementary school classroom.
"Logan is a stay-at-home bunny - but he's about to discover how brave he really is. It's time for his first adventure, and he doesn't want to go. But there's an amazing world outside, if he can just pluck up courage to look."
"Wemberly worried about spilling her juice, about shrinking in the bathtub, even about snakes in the radiator. She worried morning, noon, and night. "Worry, worry, worry," her family said. "Too much worry." And Wemberly worried about one thing most of all: her first day of school. But when she meets a fellow worrywart in her class, Wemberly realizes that school is too much fun to waste time worrying!"
"I Am Brave follows a little girl as she navigates her own family vacation, complete with her first airplane ride, a giant water slide at the hotel, a spooky cave—with bats!—and the main role in a disappearing trick. Thankfully, with her brother, parents, and even a magician as a guide, she learns to overcome hesitation and embrace her family’s new adventures. Repeating the affirmation that “I am brave” allows courage to take over and helps her have a very happy vacation."
"Meet Ruby--a happy, curious, imaginative girl. But one day, she finds something unexpected: a Worry. It's not such a big Worry, at first. But every day, it grows a little bigger . . . And a little bigger . . . Until eventually, the Worry is ENORMOUS and is all she can think about. But when Ruby befriends a young boy, she discovers that everyone has worries, and not only that, there's a great way to get rid of them too . . ."
"Being brave isn't the same as not feeling scared. Being brave is about what you do, even when you do feel scared." -Gator
"Thomas and his friends face their fears in their boldest adventure yet! After a monstrous storm on the Island of Sodor, a landslide unearths some very unusual footprints. Thomas and Percy are eager to find out what could have made these marks but obstacles and danger seem to appear around every bend in the track. With the help of new friends, a little digging, and a heap of courage, they discover the surprising answer and, along the way, uncover the true meaning of bravery. Join Thomas & Friends in this exciting and inspiring movie adventure."
Thomas & Friends The Brave Song - "Such a Brave Little Engine" video
"Buffers and Bumpers! There are times to be brave and times to be strong, Thomas knows what must be done! He knows and what is more... He's the leader! Number one! Such a brave little engine for sure!"
Is your child going to get his or her first haircut or are they returning to the barber's chair for the first time after a long quarantine? This video may help.
"Baby John's getting his very first haircut, and he's very nervous! There's nothing to be afraid of baby, especially when the hairdresser has you dancing to baby shark! Enjoy this fun song about getting your first haircut."
"Belly Breathe" video by Common, Colbie Callait, and Elmo
"Esperanza thought she'd always live a privileged life on her family's ranch in Mexico. She'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home filled with servants, and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to care for her. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. Esperanza isn't ready for the hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression, or lack of acceptance she now faces. When Mama gets sick and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must find a way to rise above her difficult circumstances-because Mama's life, and her own, depend on it."
―The number four ―The tip of a newly sharpened No. 2 pencil ―A crisp white pad of paper ―Her neatly aligned glass animal figurines
What’s not perfect is Molly’s mother leaving the family to take a faraway job with the promise to return in one year. Molly knows that promises are sometimes broken, so she hatches a plan to bring her mother home: Win the Lakeville Middle School Poetry Slam Contest. The winner is honored at a fancy banquet with white tablecloths. Molly is sure her mother would never miss that. Right…? But as time passes, writing and reciting slam poetry become harder. Actually, everything becomes harder as new habits appear, and counting, cleaning, and organizing are not enough to keep Molly's world from spinning out of control. In this fresh-voiced debut novel, one girl learns there is no such thing as perfect."
Sara Bareilles - "Brave"
Kelly Clarkson "Breakaway" is a great song to help empower kids to face fear of the unknown. Lyrics are clean and the song is calm enough to be played at school.
