Teaching with Snacks

To introduce note values to my students I use graham crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallows. The grahams are already conveniently divided into 4 sections. Each rectangle represents one beat. Then we add the chocolate chips and pretzels to make quarter notes on one cracker or marshmallows & pretzels to make half notes on 2 crackers. This helps kids visualize that half notes are bigger and therefore longer. Once they have successfully "clapped" the rhythm on their crackers, then they get to eat them.

Meteor Match 1

Click on the music learning community link to play this quick game to review quarter notes and half notes. It may be a challenge for some young students to control the mouse quickly enough, so you can have them point to the correct answer on the screen or call it out while you click on it.

Letter Fly

Check out this fun game on the Music Learning Community link to introduce the white keys CDE to your child. I introduce "D" first by having them find the 2 black key groups and saying this little rhyme - "Hey Diddle Diddle, the D's in the middle." Another fun way is to call the 2 black keys the Doghouse and tell them that the "D" for Dog lives inside, but for young preschoolers who may not associate D with Dog yet, this analogy won't be very effective.

Who Took the Cookie From the Cookie Jar

I was surprised at how much my preschoolers loved this familiar song. It helps them improve their sense of rhythm and large motor skills. Check out this video on Youtube for a demo.

Once a Year on Halloween

This fun Halloween song from Susan Paradis's website (see link on the right) helps young beginners clearly distinguish between up & down stem notes. Try tapping the correct hand for the notes (down stems left, up stems right)to help. Say the hand as you tap...ex: left, left left, right: left, left left, etc. Once this is mastered they can tap finger #'s off the piano and then try it on the keys.

SanFran Orchestra Fun

I discovered this fun music website for kids. Some of the material is geared towards "readers" several of the activities even young beginners could try.
The "Radio" has many short clips from Classical Music. Try having your child listen to different samples and ask them to draw a picture of what the music makes them think of. When children can associate music with pictures, stories or emotions they end up being more expressive performers.
The "Performalator" in the Music Lab can reinforce concepts of reading from left to right. It also reinforces the idea for children that notes high on the page are high on the keyboard, low on the page are low on the keyboard. Although it doesn't involve true music reading, kids can have fun "playing" familiar tunes on the keys like Twinkle Twinkle & Row Row Your Boat.

Wendy the Whale

Click on the Faber Piano Adventures site at the right to watch a demonstration of this song. Often I like to introduce songs to preschoolers by first doing a larger body movement as they listen to it. For this one we pretended to be whales on the ground and swayed our "tails" to the rhythm.