The Bear Snores On

I love building lessons around children's literature and finding ways that I can incorporate folk songs with them. Some of the books I choose are based on a song, such as "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" that I sing to the students, and others are not based on a song, but I find ways to add instruments or incorporate a folk song on some of the page turns. It can be a great way to introduce a song because they get a lot of listening repetitions of the song and by the end of the story book, you can often invite them to join in and sing on the page turns.

Here is a great one for January when all we really want to do is hibernate until summer.

"Bear Snores On" - This book is fun on its own with a cute story and illustrations, but as always, music makes everything better!

Here are two different songs I like to use with this book depending on the grade level/concept we are working on. I simply sing the song on the page turns or every few page turns if I am running short on time.

Grizzly Bear is perfect for if you are preparing or practicing Loud/Soft in kindergarten:

Later in the lesson or on another day you could expand upon this song with rhythm visuals at the board.

This slide comes from my "Grizzly Bear" song file. Find it here.

"Frosty Weather" - You could use this song when preparing re or even practicing ta and tit.

Visuals for "Frosty Weather" can be found here.

I use the book to introduce the song. They get a lot of hearing of it that way. Before the book is over, I am inviting the students to sing with me on the page turns. Immediately after the book, we will play the singing game.Students join right in singing because they are already very familiar with the song.

Before you rush to Amazon, Ebay or West Music to purchase this book, you might see if your school library already owns it or if any of the primary teachers have it in their classroom library. They are often happy to let you borrow it for a short time if they are not using it that week, and they get really excited to find out that you are incorporating books into your lessons!

What is your favorite children's book to use in the music room in January? Let me know if the comments below!

Target Dollar Bin Finds and a Giveaway

I love have a slight obsession with Target. I have even passed that love on to my daughter. Every time we leave there she sighs a huge sigh and says, "Mommy, I love Target."

I LOVE to find a great deal, so I am especially good at checking out the end caps at Target and all of the clearance sections tucked away in their own discreet sections in the store.

My shopping may look a bit like this bottom picture, but I have a fear of missing out on anything spectacular, I just have to give the whole store a good look over!

Image source

On our last trip to Target, I came across them foam gems in the dollar bins.

Big and little foam apples that I plan to use for "Apple Tree" and "I Climbed Up the Apple Tree":

 Big and little foam stars that I plan to use for "Starlight, Starbight" and "Good Night, Sleep Tight":

I plan to attach magnets to the back and use for rhythms or melodic patterns on the board. 

They come with 4 little and 4 big foam pieces in a set for $1, so if you want enough for the song "Starlight, Starbright", you will need 4 packages of the stars. If you want enough for Apple Tree, you will need 6 pack (that will also be enough for "I Climbed Up the Apple Tree"). I like using foam as opposed to die cuts because them seem more durable and tend to last longer, don't get all bent up, etc.

I hope you can find them and use them too!

One last thing - I recently passed 2,500 followers on TpT. To celebrate and help you get back to school, I am offering a $25 TpT gift certificate giveaway.

One of the options is to join Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Classroom Share Group on Facebook. This is different than my other page in that you can write posts on it, ask questions for others to comment on. Share pictures and videos more easily. I can also add files to it, which will make it a very easy way to share freebies with those in the group (for your personal use other - please do not redistribute). You can join this new group, just click here and join the group. There is already a freebie file in there waiting for you!

Click on the rafflecopter link below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Year's Resolutions

I am linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to share my Resolutions for the New Year. If you ask my hubby, he will tell you that I am personally not big on New Years resolutions. That is not to say that I don't set goals or reflect. I do both very frequently, but turning the calendar from 2014 to 2015 doesn't give me the sudden urge to change my life.

Photo from:

 https://www.facebook.com/981TheBull/photos/a.135264599836366.19566.111127745583385/954319884597496/?type=1&theater

I will play along though and give you a peek into some of my current "resolutions" or goals for 2015.

Personal - spend more time with my hubby - 

Having a toddler, teaching full time, working on a masters, and creating for TpT doesn't really leave you with a lot of free time. I am often up really late creating resources for my classroom and to share, but I am making more of a priority this year to cut down on some of that creating time and spend more time with my hubby. I am off to a good start already. Ben and I took a trip to NYC for just the two of us as our Christmas present to each other. 

We had a great time and went to 3 broadway shows (Les Mis, Book of Mormon, and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder). We loved them all. The last show was a gamble as I really hadn't heard any of the music from it, but it ended up being one of my favorite shows I have seen. If it ever ends up in your area, go see it! It is so funny!

Professional - present out of state

I am looking forward to this month because I will be doing my first out of state presentation for the Amarillo School District. I am presenting on "Tools for Music Literacy using the Kodály Concept". I will be showing how I integrate play and singing games with technology and other manipulatives to give students a joyful experience in my music room and to help them along the path to music literacy. 

I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I still feel like a really young teacher, but I am hopeful that I will still have new things to share with these teachers and that it will be a really fun day for all of us!

Classroom - find more ways to stay organized

I am always looking for more ways to organize my classroom. I hope find more solutions for organizing manipulatives and just keeping my room in order from day to day. If you find any life saving organizational systems, please post them on my Facebook Page! :)

Blog/ TpT - Blog twice a month/ create more resources for upper grades

Blogging- my blog is often left to the wayside. I hope to blog more often, but I have to be realistic. :)  I think I can accomplish two posts a month!

TpT- Generally, I create out of what I want/need for my classroom. I get a lot of requests and I try to work them in as I can. Some I jump on right away, and some, I just can't do for various reasons. One request I have gotten often is for resources for upper grades/concepts. That is on my "to do" for TpT for 2015.

Just for me - Get more sleep!

I pull a LOT of late nights working on things for school, grad school, and TpT. I am really going to try to get more sleep this year. My biggest reason is that I think it will really help with my overall health. I've been sick a lot this school year, and I am hoping more sleep will really help me to stay healthy. Also on the list: cut down on the soda, make better food choices, and exercise more. Whew! We'll see! Let's just start with trying to make it to bed a bit earlier!

Do you do New Years Resolutions? What are your 2015 resolutions?