How the Body Works Unit Study I have spent a lot of time the last several months preparing for the next school

I can't wait until next year when I will see Pre-K and Kindergarten (woohoo!), but my first grade babies this year are working so hard! I am getting very close to presenting steady beat with them (probably next week). When I was in my level 1 training, my teacher Jo Kirk had these wonderful hammers with bells inside that we used to tap the steady beat. I couldn't afford to buy them and don't currently have the time or know-how to make them (although that is on my list), but last year at Target, I did find some hammers in the dollar bins so I picked up about 25 or so to use with a few of our favorites for preparing and practicing steady beat. They sure do take up a lot of storage space, but they are awesome to have! I first pull them out when using "Johnny Works With One Hammer." First we sing the song as an action song. After we know it pretty well, we form a circle and I go over procedures for the hammers, what it's resting position looks like, and what happens if you don't take care of the hammer (you will have to put it away and just use your hand!). We pass them out so that everyone has a hammer, and we sing the song again tapping the floor: Mending our shoes: And tapping our neighbor's knees, which they love! Then we move back to our seats and I put up the hammer icons on the board. I usually find that my beat visuals are the most successful after the kids know the song really well, so the visual preparation is usually the last thing I do. I use one of the hammers or a pointer to tap the beats while the students pat their knees. Once they get the hang of this and know how I move from one line to the next, I invite them to come up and try to be the pointing maestro: (Notice, my projector screen is too high, I think I am going to put in a work order this summer to have my projector point down so that I can use the board and not the pull down screen. There's lots of times that I would like to write on the slides and the screen doesn't work too well for that, plus it's a little high for my kids. When my kids point to this one, I erase the top two lines of hammers and say that when they get to the end, they go back and do it again. So we learn repeats early! :) Sometimes I have my students who are not pointing at the board point to their own beat sheet or play "the hammers" on their rhythm sticks. My hammer beat sheet is available for FREE on my TpT page - click here!

Howdy! I am Mr. Greg from The Kindergarten Smorgasboard. My real name is Greg Smedley-Warren. I have been teaching for 11 years. I spent a year teaching fifth grade, two years in second grade and am now in my 9th year in Kindergarten. Kindergarten is my passion and my calling but honestly, that wasn’t how it started. When I was moved to Kindergarten (not voluntarily!) I called my mommy and cried. But on the first day, I fell in love and knew that Kindergarten is where I belonged. I have remained in Kindergarten ever since. I plan to never leave the classroom as the kids are what drive me to continue my growth as a teacher and person.

Leader in me Lesson Plans School Counseling Blogs 7 habits

Still trying to get caught up on sharing what my kids have been learning about this year! A few months ago (How is it already April???) we ...

Is this you? You start off the first part of the year, letting your students "explore" skills, but as the summer months approach, you are starting to feel the threads of panic. I am looking for evid

These books help those with disabilities feel seen while fostering conversations around inclusion as we work toward a more accessible world.

Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.

Teaching life skills has become so important to me! I've created these posters to help teachers get the discussion started in their classrooms, come on over and get them for your students!

This week, the boys and I went on a simple Scavenger Hunt {on a trail near our house}. We packed our clipboards, pencils and picnic, and off we went. I decided to keep things simple -- I made a list using words for my six year old and added little pictures for my younger two boys. You can download a {free} version of the list I made here. The boys had a great time "checking off" all the things on the list, and I really enjoyed our walk through the woods. :-) Have you ever taken your little ones on a Scavenger Hunt? If not, why not print off my list and give it a try? ♥ Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Inside: It's April, so we're going to be bombarded with Autism Awareness. Here are some awful examples of autism ableism that are a part of

April is occupational therapy month! These free OT graphics help to define everything that occupational therapy does to promote function.

Welcome to the party! Can you believe that school will be out in just a month?! Eee gads! If you're frantically putting together a program of at-home summer fun, look no further than the activities

Help your preschooler learn some sweet spatial reasoning skills through play. An edible project your child will definitely love and learn.

Click on the image below to take you to the speech and language development information for each age group. For more information on speech and language development, check out my ABC’s of Speech and Language Development Series by clicking on the image below

Instrument game song that's easy to play and super fun to learn the classroom instruments. I love using this game to help students learn to take turns, identify the instruments. They love playing the game! Teaching instruments? Keep students happily engaged playing the Music Game Song "Who Will Play the Instrument?" Best for grades Pre K through 3rd. Easily adaptable to the instruments you have in your classroom. Includes sheet music for "Color Coded" instruments too! MUSIC CONCEPTS: Improvisation so-mi-la-do Playing a Melodic or Rhythmic pattern. Dynamics Note Identification and Reading USE THIS GAME: DYNAMICS IMPROVISATION so-mi-la-do CLASSROOM INSTRUMENTS NOTE READING PLAYING RHYTHMIC AND/OR MELODIC PATTERNS/PHRASES RESOURCE INCLUDES: Song in Orff Arrangement Sheet Music for both parts- Melody and Bass Sheet Music in multiple copies with Note Names, Solfege, Lyrics Mp3 of the Accompaniment you can use to play the game or teach Teaching Power Point Teacher PDF with directions and sheet music Game Directions Lyric Sheet Solfege Poster for do mi so la Instrument Poster with typical classroom instruments HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE: Teach or review do mi so la solfege notes. Use the color coded sheet music with your bells and other color coded instruments. Use as a reward day activity. Use as an assessment activity to identify and play instruments. Use to present classroom instruments to your students. RELATED RESOURCES: INSTRUMENT TEACHING BUNDLE GAME SONGS *************************** Sing Play Create LLC Store Info: All products and works are copyrighted by Sing Play Create LLC. For questions about content, other resources and copying, please use the “ASK A QUESTION” section. Want to get Free store Credits? Go to “my purchases” and click on “Provide Feedback”. CONNECT WITH ME HERE: Click on the Star under my store name and FOLLOW ME for news and updates SING PLAY CREATE YOUTUBE SING PLAY CREATE WEBSITE SING PLAY CREATE FACEBOOK SING PLAY CREATE INSTAGRAM PINTEREST Let's Move and Learn with Music! Sandra #musicgame #elementarymusic

50 FREE indoor & outdoor printable scavenger hunt pdf with lists & clues for toddlers, preschool, kids, teens, families, groups and party!

Work on ordering the months of the year with this fun, hands-on Months of the Year Activity using sequencing sticks for kindergarten.