by Guest Contributor Carol Swinchoski Old Mill School, Wall Township, NJ In the last installment, I described the basic steps used to get musicians to create their first sounds and discover how to take their known folk songs and express them through their new instruments. We can now follow their progress over the next ten...

Here is a fun way to move with some wonderful music in a way that will draw big smiles from students, who can pretend to be world class skiers who are as comfortable doing an Olympic ski jump and getting a trophy as they are waving to their adoring fans! Directions to Hungarian Dance #5-Ski...

Judas Maccabee Finger Play Lyrics Mattathias bold [Flex both arms, showing strength]  Five great sons had he, [show 5 fingers of one hand]  Elieazar, oldest son, [show 1 thumb] Simon, John and Jonathan, [show fingers #2, 3, and 4] And Judas Maccabe, Judas Maccabe [hammer fists together]   This finger play was shared with me...

Check out the Facebook LIVE interview with Missy Strong and Connie Greenwood from November 2018!  <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span>...

Check out the Facebook LIVE interview with Missy Strong and John Feierabend from November 2018!  <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span>...

The ideas behind this Move It! were to add another seasonal selection to the holiday arsenal and to create movements that could be done seated. I’ve used this at all-school sing-a-longs and in a holiday concert. The form and phrasing of the piece made for a natural movement sequence that can be done with a group spontaneously with little...

by Guest Contributor Carol Swinchoski Old Mill School, Wall Township, NJ It is the first week of October and Beginning Band has their first rehearsal with instruments today! As you might imagine, the preparation for this important and exciting first day actually began a while ago. The beginning band model I describe in this article...

In this presentation given at a gathering of FAME of the Mid-Atlantic in Fall of 2017, Endorsed Teacher Trainer Chris Anne Powers talks about how the teachers in her district successfully present tonal and rhythm units concurrently as well as how they layer activities throughout the First Steps years that will come back in Conversational...

Name: Owen Hughes School District: Bedford Central School District Town/City: Bedford State: NY Grades Taught & Specialty Area (previously and currently): K-5 General Music 4th and 5th Grade Chorus All-District Elementary Chorus Educational History: Bachelor of Music (Music Education, Vocal)- SUNY Fredonia (2010) Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)- SUNY Fredonia (2010) Master of Music Education- Hartt School […]

by Lindsay Jackson A few months ago, I attended a workshop at Wisdom of the Earth that had elements of medicinal aromatherapy, meditation, and mindfulness. WOTE’s Education Director, Cynthia Olivera, led us through a fantastic movement activity where we started as seeds and slowly (over 30 minutes) grew into trees that danced around the room....