Skittles Board Game with an Easter Twist!

While I totally enjoyed my spring break, I'm slowly getting back into the teaching groove. I wanted to do something fun this week to help my students get back into the swing of lessons after their own spring break from school, so I took Susan Paradis' Skittles board game and modified it using...jelly beans! I know this isn't the most creative, but I had to find some way to use the up the leftover jelly beans without eating them all myself! ;)

Anyway, if you're not familiar with the game, check out this post from Susan's website for more details. Basically, students draw a card with a note name on it (Bass G, Treble F, etc.) and then place a skittle (or jelly bean!) on the correct note on the grand staff gameboard that's also included. A fun and yummy way to review notes!

For my younger students I'm simply adapting the game using a tabletop keyboard. After they draw their card, they place the jelly bean on the correct key.

Have you been playing any fun Easter or spring related games with your own students recently? I'd love to hear about them!

Great Website for Inexpensive Game Pieces...and Lots More!

While searching around for some studio game accessories, I came across this great website. Not only are there some neat game pieces available like dice, play money, pawns, chips, sand times, and spinner sets (all at very inexpensive prices), check out the beads and findings section! There is also a page with charms, decorative brads, and under the 'ephemera' page you'll find a kitchen sink pack, tickets, paper bits, and an alphamania pack....have I sold you on this website yet!? There are so many great items for games, studio prizes, teacher projects, etc...I am super excited about taking advantage of several of these great deals for my own studio. Happy shopping! :)

St. Patrick's Day Note Name Worksheet

Yet another worksheet for my beginner students. I've taken on an awful lot of beginner students in the past month, and I'll be using this in my upcoming group lessons for students who are just learning the names of the keys.

I got the inspiration for this worksheet from Susan Paradis' wonderful piano teacher resource website- thank you Susan! I wanted to design a worksheet that drilled note names while keeping with the St. Patrick's Day theme for March.

You can find this worksheet over on my piano printables page.

Let's Think Spring with a Pentascale Worksheet!

For group lessons this month, I'm really going to be drilling key signatures, the circle of fifths, and...pentascales! This is one of my favorite concepts to drill with my young students. Teaching them the simple pattern (Start-W-W-H-W) we discover new pentascales together and experiment with transposition. I'm always amazed at how quickly they pick it up and how well it sticks- usually! :)

But for those who need a bit more practice, and as a good review, I've designed this worksheet that drills a few simple pentascales, as well as tonic and dominant (a concept that always seems to be a little harder for my students to grasp!). If you don't teach pentascales outside of the Piano Adventures series, your students should be ready for this sheet by the time they're in Level 2A and begin learning D, A, Cm, and Gm. If you teach pentascales earlier, then this worksheet can be used anytime. it's available for download on my printables page.

Let me know if you have feedback or suggestions!

Rainbow Landmark Note Worksheet

I don't know about all of you, but I am more than ready for spring! We had more snow this past week- yuck! To take my mind off of the snowy landscape outside, and to find just one more creative way to help my students learn their landmark notes, I created this worksheet:

It's perfect for spring and for St. Patrick's Day! Please feel free to use the worksheet in your studio, and send me any comments or suggestions you may have.

Chord Challenge Worksheets for St. Patrick's Day

If you have students who need a little more practice building major and minor chords, I've designed these worksheets for use in the coming month:

Students are given the root note of the chord on the first cloverleaf and are asked to build the rest of the chord in the remaining leaves. You can print individual sheets for each student, or laminate each sheet and reuse it for multiple students. There is a major and minor worksheet. They are available under the printable section of my blog.

This is my first attempt at designing a worksheet and offering it for general use, so please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions!

Valentine Activity for Note Recognition

As I'm always looking for innovative ways to emphasize and brush up on musical concepts, I couldn't let Valentine's Day pass me by without incorporating that theme into a special activity somehow ;). I've been wracking my brain since the beginning of the month trying to design a game/activity that I felt would work well for my students. I looked a several different websites, and read many many great suggestions.

Here is what I'm planning to do with my younger students this week:
I printed the Valentine Notes page off of Susan Paradis' website and bought some candy hearts.



Each student will choose 10 flashcards and then place a piece of candy on the correct note on the Valentine Note page. Then, they uncover and name each note. If they get it right, the candy goes in their bag. If they get it wrong, the candy goes back in my bag. A fun, and hopefully motivational activity!

For my earliest students who are not yet reading on the staff, I plan to use the actual keyboard as the 'gameboard' by having them draw musical alphabet letters and then placing candy on the correct key.

That's my plan for an opening activity this week- I'll let you know how it goes ;)

Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbetphotography/5354219167/

Question of the Week: Jan. 31, 2011

I'm looking forward to a lighter-than-usual week. Three of my students are out of town and my church choir director is in St. Lucia which means no rehearsal on Wednesday. I have to admit that I feel a somewhat guilty pleasure in the prospect of a bit more free time this week! :)

With Valentine's Day coming up, I'm looking for some great ideas for short activities I can incorporate into my student's lessons for a fun change. I have a few ideas, but I'd love to hear from other teachers! So:

Do you have any Valentine-themed studio activities/games you plan on using in the upcoming weeks?

I'll share some of my ideas at the end of the week, but in the meantime, please share your own ideas!