Music Teacher Coffee Talk

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #189: Halloween Spooktacular! Announcements: Carrie and Tanya will both be presenting at the  OAKE Western Division Mini-Conference  on November 7th and 8th in Denver. Tanya will be presenting a session on Friday, Carrie will be presenting on Saturday, and we'll be doing a live podcast recording on Saturday. We are looking for questions to answer live on our podcast. If you have any questions, we love for you to submit them here . If you plan on attending the conference, you can ask your question live if you would like to! We will also both be presenting in January at the  Colorado Music Educators Association state conference  in Colorado Springs. Be sure to say hello if you go! Main Theme: Halloween Spooktacular! Here are some of our favorite songs and activities for Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Going on a Goon Hunt by Michael Rex: A great Halloween twist on the classic chant Going on a Bear Hunt. This is a great book and cha...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #184: Desert Island Music Room Essentials   Main Theme: Desert Island Music Room Essentials It's back to school time! In this episode, Tanya and Carrie share some of their essential materials in the music room, both tried and true stuff and things that are new to us that we are planning to incorporate this year. Materials and Manipulatives: Popsicle sticks and beat charts Puppets, preferably with moveable mouths or a "pop-out" feature Recorder stands: both soprano stand and consort stand Whiteboards, staff boards, and noteheads (mini erasers, bingo chips, etc) Parachute and stretchy band Related resource: Parachutes and Ribbons and Scarves, Oh My! Storybooks and picture books Curriculum Materials: Susan Brumfield's First We Sing series , including pedagogy books and songbooks Our own folk song collection and curriculum materials as developed in Kodály certification courses, workshops, and conferences World music song collections: Fi...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #173: Simple Sub Plans Announcement! We are starting up a new Membership site on Buy Me a Coffee. We have two membership options: Solo Single Shot ($5/month) and Duet Double Shot ($15). Check out our  Buy Me a Coffee membership site  for all the details including the perks you get with each level of membership. We appreciate you supporting our work! Main Theme: Simple Sub Plans In this episode, Carrie and Tanya share some ideas and tips for when you need to leave sub plans in the music room. Here are some things we mention in the episode: Musication YouTube videos Lomax the Hound of Music YouTube videos Remarkable Farkle McBride  YouTube video Ready Go Music  YouTube videos Elementary GrooveTracks  YouTube videos Mr. Henry's Music World YouTube videos Tanya's Rhythm Tent Cards including directions to the "King of the Mountain" game Cheryl Lavender's Instrument Bingo Musicplay Online Edpuzzle : create interactive lessons Blo...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #162: Week at our Week (1st Grade) Main Theme: Peek at Our Week (1st Grade) Carrie: These songs and activities are in my 1st grade plans this week as we practice fast/slow, prepare and present loud/soft, and do early preparation of beat vs. rhythm (ta and ti-ti) Engine Engine #9  - to practice fast/slow Engine, engine #9, going down the railroad line, If the train should jump the track, do you want your money back? Yes, no, maybe so! Tortoise and the Hare - to practice fast/slow Quickly/Slowly  - to practice fast/slow Quickly, quickly, quickly, goes the little mouse, Quickly, quickly quickly, all around the house. Slowly, slowly, crawls the garden snail, Slowly, slowly, along the wooden rail. Fast/Slow Assessment Cards Going on a Bear Hunt  - to prepare loud/soft Grizzly Bear - to prepare and present loud/soft Lucy Locket  - to practice loud/soft The song is linked to Kathy Kuddes's Folk Song Collection. Be sure to read her research...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #160: Peek at Our Week: Kindergarten   Main Theme: Peek at our Week - Kindergarten plans Tanya: These songs and activities were used over two 45-minute lessons with a focus on practicing routines and procedures, preparing loud and soft, preparing the 4 voices, and having fun! That's a Mighty Pretty Motion - movement When Dogs Wake Up - vocal exploration Hickety Pickety Bumblebee - name game Hickety, Pickety, Bumblebee Won’t you say your name for me?  (child says his or her name) Bye Low, Baby-Oh and Here's a Little Baby finger play - preparing loud and soft Grizzly Bear - preparing loud and soft Cuckoo - singing voice Very Lonely Firefly   and Firefly - picture book and listening Johnny Works with One Hammer - steady beat movement Come Along Everybody - following movement Listen, Listen Here I Come - Playing drums Peanut Butter and Jelly - picture book and preparing 4 voices Carrie: These songs and activities were used over 3 days of ...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #152: Performances in a Pinch   Main Theme: Performances in a Pinch In this episode, Tanya and Carrie discuss strategies for putting together a musical performance when you are short on time. Keep a simple theme or concept to your performance Picture book adaptation Thematic concert Informance Interactive experience like a Singing Games night or Folk Dance night Keep costumes/scenery at minimum Maximize class time Split different parts or sections of the performances among different classes/sections so each group doesn't have to learn everything. Use musical selections that you have already taught Give students opportunities to practice at home by sending home practice sheets or posting to Google Classroom (or whatever LMS you use) Get help from other teachers or parent volunteers Avoid the time crunch next year Schedule your programs for next year in May Limit your performances to what is doable for you and don't say yes to everything Past Mu...

Music Teacher Coffee Talk · MTCT #147: 6 Picture Books for the Music Room Happy Anniversary to Music Teacher Coffee Talk! We are excited to celebrate our 6-year podcasting anniversary this month. Thank you for listening and supporting us for so many years! Main Theme: 6 Picture Books for the Music Room In this episode, we'll be talking about our 6 of our favorite picture books for the music room and how we use them with kids. 1. Under the Sea  by Harriet Stone and Catharine Robertson and illustrations by Ella Bailey (Purchased at the Scholastic book fair - here is a similar book you can get on Amazon. ) We'll read this book to generate ideas of things that live in the ocean in preparation for singing Sea Shell: 2. Who Stole the Cookes from the Cookie Jar by Margaret Wang and illustratios by Christine Schneider.  This is a great book to read as a way to introduce the traditional chant. 3. Over in the Meadow  by John Langstaff and illustrations by Feodor Rojankovsky. ...