Easy Half Note Chant

Learn the name and beat of the half note in a super easy song!

This chant is a super easy way to remember and learn the name and beat of a half note.

Half notes are musical notes that are held for 2 beats.  They are white or not colored in, compared to the quarter note that is completely filled in black.

Children remember best if the words are clear and rhythmic.

Trouble viewing the video?  Click here.




Easy Half Note Chant
By Tonya Dirksen

Half note, two
Half note, two
One, two,
Half note, two!

Carolyn, at Wise Owl Factory, has a fun  Free Do You Know Your Music Notes Power Point.  This is a great way to practice the names and beats of the notes as well as seeing how all the notes compare with one another.

Musical Twister Hopscotch is another fun way to reinforce note names and beats.  My students love playing it whenever we get a chance.  They spin and have to tell the name and beat of the note the spinner lands on.  Then they get to hop to the correct colored circle. 

Musical Twister Hopscotch

 



Check out the Easy Quarter Note Chant!

 

 

Enjoy!

 



Finger Play Fun Day: 5 Little Turkeys

5 Little Turkeys - a Finger Play for Thanksgiving

 

 5 Little Turkeys is the perfect finger play to teach your children for Thanksgiving!

My students have been laughing at the turkey finger puppets that I made to go along with this finger play.  They think the feathers look like a hat coming out of the turkeys' heads instead of tail feathers!  Oh well! 

Trouble viewing the video?  Click here.







Carolyn, from Wise Owl Factory has created a great 5 Little Turkeys power point that includes all the words to the finger play along with some fun animation.  Plus a Turkey Number Matching Game!  Be sure to check it all out!

Free 5 Little Turkeys Power Point

Free Turkey Matching Activity for 1-12

5 Little Turkeys

Five little turkeys were standing by the door;  one saw some corn, and then there were four.

Four little turkeys flew up in a tree; one fell down and then there were three.

Three little turkeys gobbled as they do;  a dog chased one and then there were two.

Two little turkeys strutting in the sun;  the wind came along and then there was one.

One little turkey saw a farmer with an ax; run turkey run!

Enjoy!

Fantastic Fall Recital, November 3, 2012

This Saturday the students from Strings, Keys, and Melodies performed at Emeritus at Laguna Creek, a senior assisted living home.  They did a wonderful job!

First, our violin students performed several Suzuki pieces together.  Then two of the intermediate students performed solos.  It is difficult to learn to play together but they all did their best and sounded great!

Next our Music and Movement students sang "Oh, Once I Had a Pumpkin".  That is a favorite song with all of our students so they had a lot of help!

One of my piano students performed "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with the boomwhackers.  Boomwhackers are rhythm instruments that are fun to play.  Our student did a great demonstration of how they work and sound.

Each of our piano students played songs they have been working on all month.  Many of them played Halloween songs and others played their favorite book songs.  Everyone did a fantastic job introducing themselves, finding their hand positions and playing their songs!

Then our voice students treated us to 4 lovely songs from famous musicals that they have been working on all fall.  One of my students was sick and could not perform but the other students stepped in and were able to continue without her.  All of the girls sang with confidence and strong voices.  I am so proud of them!

To end the recital, the students passed out rhythm instruments to all the audience which included the residents and parents.  Then we had a sing-a-long time with folk songs we had been practicing all month.  We wanted to include the residents so we picked songs they were sure to know such as Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Oh Susanna, You are My Sunshine and Skip to My Lou.  The children sang loud and clear and the residents rang their bells and sang with gusto along with them!  It was so fun seeing the different generations make music together.

We have more recitals planned for this year because I think it is extremely important to share the music that we love with other people.

Our next recital is December 1 at 1:30-2:30 at the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library.  We will be sharing all our wonderful Christmas music.  Family and friends are invited!

A Halloween Party without Candy???

A Halloween Party without Candy???

 

Last night, my friend and I put together a Halloween Party for our children that emphasized games instead of candy!

It was a HUGE success!

Read about our sensory rich games and allergy free menu at GoDandelion.com

Finger Play Fun Day: 5 Little Pumpkins

Finger Play Fun Day:  5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Fence



 

Halloween is on its way!

Today is Finger Play Fun Day and we will be sharing 5 Little Pumpkins.

 

My students have been enjoying this finger play all month long.  I made 5 jack-o-lantern finger puppets to add to the fun!

 

There are different variations for this finger play but here is my favorite!

 



Here are the words I like the best:

5 Little Pumpkins

5 little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh my its getting late."
The second one said, "I hear a noise."
The third one said, "It's only some boys."
The fourth one said, "Let's run. Let's run."
The fifth one said, It's Halloween fun."

Then oooooo went the wind and out went the lights.
And away rolled the pumpkins on Halloween night.





Trouble viewing the video?  Click here.


Carolyn, at Wise Owl Factory, made an awesome skip counting Power Point with Pumpkins!  Count by ones, twos, threes, fives,
and tens!  The children might watch silently the first time through and then count aloud while watching the second time!

Free Power Point Skip Counting


Happy Halloween!

Finger Play Fun Day: The Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Great Big Hairy Spider

We Sing About a Variety of Spiders in the Popular Children's Song

 

We are continuing with our Halloween theme this month for Finger Play Fun Day.  Today's song is the very popular children's song - The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  But in our version, a few other spiders come to visit too.

We have the Great Big Hairy Spider,

the Very Fast Spider and

the Very Slow Spider!

Children enjoy songs that they know but with a little twist.  These variations help develop a bigger vocabulary, including opposites such as fast and slow, itsy bitsy and great big.  I encourage you to be creative and make your own pairs of opposites!



Trouble viewing the video?  Click here.


Carolyn, from Wise Owl Factory, has made a Free Itsy Bitsy Spider printable plus a great book review and worksheets to go with Gail Gibbon's book Spiders.

This book has a lot of fascinating facts about spiders that will interest you and your child!

 

Free Printable for The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Free Spider PDF from Wise Owl Factory

 

Free Opposites PDF

Enjoy!

An Easy Quarter Note Chant

Children's Song to help them learn the quarter note.

One of the first musical notes my students learn is the Quarter Note.  I made up a chant to help them remember its name and its number of beats.

Quarter note = 1 Beat

I have made a video to demonstrate the chant.  If you have trouble viewing the video click here.

Quarter Note

By Tonya Dirksen

 

 

Quarter note

Quarter note

Tap your knee

 

Quarter note

Quarter note

Black and neat

 

Quarter note

Quarter note

Has one beat!

 

 Carolyn, at Wise Owl Factory, has a fun Free Do You Know Your Music Notes Power Point  This is perfect for learning and reviewing notes.  It also shows the relationships between the different notes.  Be sure to check it out!