PREPARATION IS A KEY INGREDIENT FOR SUCCESSFUL MONTESSORI LESSONS
Carolyn's Vlog 2 from Magical Movement Company.com
Preparing
Welcome to my second Vlog in my Vlogging Series about Music, The Arts, Outdoor Classroom, Kids, Little doggies, and the Pygmy Forest. Just a few of my most favorite things!
How do you prepare for your day? And especially how do you get inspired for your work with children in the Montessori setting, the Home setting, or wherever you spend time with kids?
Often, I need to go out and explore my beautiful neighborhood with my little Pomeranian doggie first thing in the morning and there I find so much inspiration for my work with children.
CLAY
In this Vlog, we take a walk on my "Pygmy Path" through the unique Pygmy forest near my house. There, walking on the forest floor of hardpan clay, I remember how much I love introducing clay to children. My favorite artist for first experiences with clay is Picasso. (Actually, Picasso is my favorite artist for introducing just about every medium in art to children!)
Image from Adobe stock: "Picasso's Ceramics." National Picasso Museum, Vallauris, France
STEADY BEAT
As well, when we got the rhythm of our walking together, my doggie Gigi reminded me of how the music concept of "Steady Beat" naturally lends itself to the walking rhythm of a quick adventure walk in the morning. We just naturally tend to walk in a steady rhythm and so we find that real experiences effectively lay the foundation for more in depth and formal lessons in music concepts as well as the elements of art.
These activities, "Exploring Steady Beat" with Mozart's music, and "Introducing Clay" with Picasso's Art, are explained more thoroughly in myMusically Montessori eCoursesand myArtfully Montessori eCourse now available at the Trillium Montessori site.
Join my email listand access 30+ free digital activity packets, including my Musically Montessori eBook.
Thank you again for visiting with me today. I hope you enjoy my Vlog 2 at my Youtube channel.
Did you happen to lose touch with your kid students in 2020-21?
As a result of the pandemic, I had lost my bearings in my work and career.
Yes, I did have fun doing Zoom Music classes with some of the groups I had worked with in person before covid.
The children were so happy to "see" me again, and I did get the hang of teaching online. That was an interesting process since some of the children were piled up cozy in their beds, some were rolling around on the rug in their living rooms, and some were "glued to their parents' side" as they were still a bit scared of the zoom experience!
Gradually, we all got better at it, and it was always fun.
Children were using wooden spoons from their kitchens for Rhythm Sticks. Sometimes, we even used tissues as a substitute for movement scarves. It was an ongoing and creative process, and the teachers were so appreciative and excited to give their little "zoomers" some enrichment experiences during those unexpected and sometimes confusing times of online learning.
However, when the kids returned to in-person schooling again, I was not comfortable being in the classrooms of 24-36 young children, and so until recently, I've been a "virtual teacher" for adult educators and I've only had special times when my grandchild, god child, and their little friends have made music with me in- person in my home or theirs.
During the past year, I have been collaborating with the Trillium Montessori team to move all my eCourses over to that site, and it has been a wonderful success!
In the meantime, I realized that what I really want to do nowadays is work with a small group of local children in the afternoons making music and art, and exploring the outdoor classroom. My three favorite things to do with kids!
ENTER: Montessori Kids Studio
Fortunately, I have my entire music studio with a small Orff Instrumentarium set up in my home.
Two of my rooms are dedicated to music and art activities for a group of six children in the afternoons.
It has been an exciting new endeavor that gives me a satisfying "purpose" again.
Not that teaching online eCourses isn't giving me a purpose in my work. Actually it is very satisfying...but I had to face it:
I'VE BEEN MISSING THE KIDS!
I miss the classroom experience with its routine, its "bee hive buzz" and its community of young learners.
So, I thought I'd start "Vlogging" about my old stand-by Montessori curriculum, my new small home studio setting, and my new ideas for music, the arts, and the outdoor classroom that I have been developing over recent years when I had lots of time to take eCourses and Webinars from some of my favorite creators.
Now that Trillium is handling my eCourses, I have time to develop more activities for music, the arts and especially the Outdoor Classroom. And, with my adorable Montessori Kids Studio, I have children to try out those activities and give me even more ideas!
I hope you enjoy my Vlog Series, where you can get a little glimpse of how I prepare for my music and art lessons and explore some of the beautiful places in my neighborhood in the Redwoods of Northern California. And you'll meet my sweet little companion, Gigi. My beautiful little Pomeranian doggie that was a gift from my daughter. She loves my little collection of rhythm instruments!
Carolyn's Vlog 1. Intro to my Youtube "Vlog Series" About The Things I Love from Magical Movement Company.com
Thank you again, for visiting with me at my Blog today. I hope you get some inspiration from my new Vlog Series. I invite you to explore the many articles here in my blogspot where I've written for many years, about the fun activities my groups have enjoyed.
THE SEASON IS WITH US AGAIN FOR CELEBRATIONS AND MUSICAL EVENTS!
How about some fun activities for your group featuring Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet Suite?
Here are some of my videos to give you a small idea of how much magic you can create with this wonderful music of the season. I invite you to check out my "Nutcracker Suite for Little Kids" eCourse and learn more.
If you are on my email list, then you have access to my Subscribers Freebie Collection , and there are 2 lovely and free Nutcracker Activities just waiting for you to download and set up for your little ones.
There are also two Magical Movement Company Activity Packs featuring The Nutcracker Ballet Suite for children at my Teachers Pay Teachers Shop:
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR CREATIVE WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR PRESCHOOL GROUP? TRY MUSIC! Here is what I have for you: "24 Strategies" ~5 Days of My Group Management Secrets of Success ~ they are musical, effective and there are 24 different strategies you can use! This article is "Day 1," the first article in my "24 Strategies" series. Watch for "Day 2," coming up next!
After hearing from my AMS interns in a recent Montessori training I taught, I found that many new teachers are searching for group management strategies that really work. So, I decided to gather up my own best group management strategies and present them to you in a five day succession of Blog articles right here! (and a BONUS sixth day too)
HERE IS AN OUTLINE OF EACH DAY:
You can read the other posts at the links below:
Day 1: The VERY BEST Strategy: Using "Musical Messages!"
Now, I have to tell you that I have not ever been able to come across as a strong authority figure with the children. That means that during my decades in the Preschool classroom, I have had to develop strategies for managing the group that are effective and also compatible with my gentle style of teaching.
My most effective strategy: MUSIC!
Here is an example.
When it is time for the children to get ready for lunch. There are ways to prepare the children.
~ You can say:"Time to put your work away. It's almost lunch time!"Some children will hear your words and respond by quickly doing what is necessary to prepare for eating their lunch.
Or...
~ You can sing: "Time to put our work away.
Let's get ready for lunch today!" Just about
every child will perk up when they hear you
singing and quickly do what is necessary to
prepare for lunch. This works like magic!
A BIT ABOUT SINGING
So many, many educators have said to me, "I can't sing!" or "I'm not musical!" That is when my heart genuinely goes out to each and everyone who feels that way.
Because, I truly believe that we can all sing and I want to give you some insight about this belief of mine. I have some tips that will help you sing with confidence:
*Breathe, in such a way that you support your lungs*
~ Part of what singing involves isbreathingto support the voice. (this can be practiced) When you breathe from your belly, you are using the muscles of the diaphragm to support your lungs and this gives your singing voice strength and vitality!
Practice: 1) Stand or sit with your back straight. Place your hands on your belly. This is where you want to focus your breathing, rather than up higher in the lungs themselves. 2) Breathe in through your open mouth and you will feel your belly go out. Using those muscles of your diaphragm will give you much more air for your exhale where you will be making your song come out! 3) As you exhale, (breathe out) you will feel your belly moving inward and your lungs will be lifted upward. This is a little like blowing up a balloon and then gradually releasing the air inside the balloon. 4) When you begin to sing, remind yourself to breath from your belly, and you will see how much stronger and clearer your song will sound!
*Sing songs you love*
~ Part of what singing involves is choosing songs/ melodies that you love(this can be developed) 1) When you are singing a song that has a melody (or words) that you like, the children will feel your enthusiasm! Listen to collections of children's songs and you will soon develop a list of your favorites. You don't need tons of these...even half a dozen will be great for a start. However, you can choose from any of my favorites that I have assembled for you in my "Let's All Sing"on-line eCourses at this link.
2) Here is one of my favorite resources for children's songs: "200 of the Greatest Nursery Rhymes Ever, "from Sugar Kane Music. 3) You can also check out my listing of 100 favorite songs of my groups in this collection of my Blog Posts, Musically Montessori 100 Songs. All of the songs listed have links to hear samples of each. ****A special note: If you have a favorite song or two from your own childhood, the children will love learning it from you, even if it is in a different language!
*Sing with ENERGY*
Part of what singing involves is channeling the energy of your heart(this can happen!) 1) Choose your song 2) Take a nice breath in 3) Close your eyes 4) Let your song come out Then... Sing your song once again, this time with energy. Let your heart open and just sing, baby, sing!
DAY 1: THE STRATEGY OF USING "MUSICAL MESSAGES"
Maryanna Higgenbottom, one of my AMS mentors, gave me this handy term, "musical messages." Basically, you can sing (or play) whatever it is you want the children to understand, and nine times out of ten, they will listen AND then do it! It's the magic of "musical messages."
I have relied on this technique for decades, and I am so grateful to have discovered how effective it is for group management in the Preschool environment! If you are a seasoned Montessorian, then you probably already use this strategy consistently throughout your day...
Strategy #1. Sing your messages
When you need to let the children know what you
want them to do next, try singing it. You can make
up these little songs with the simple "sol-mi melody."
(melody of "Rain, Rain Go Away.")
Another melody that works well for just about any
"message" you have for the children is "Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star."
Strategy #2. Play your messages
Try playing a rhythm instrument (or even
piano or guitar) as a familiar "cue" for the
children that it is time for the next activity.
(ex: time to get ready for lunch or time to come in from outdoor play.)
Okay, so if you don't get to my upcoming 20 more musical strategies for group management, you will still have a solid foundation with these four techniques that are described here today.
That is just how much I LOVE using "musical messages" for managing my groups of little children. They really work!
Have you checked out my other educational resources?
Thank you again for visiting my Blog today. I hope you have gotten some ideas for activities with your children and I know you will find "musical messages" to be an effective group management tool!
Advertising Disclosure: Magical Movement Company may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. Thanks for your support!
SOME OF THE FAVORITE PRESCHOOL MUSIC ACTIVITIES FROM THE "HEAD & SHOULDERS, BABY 1-2-3" SONG CAN FIT BEAUTIFULLY WITH YOUR MONTESSORI STUDIES OF THE HUMAN BODY.
If you aren't familiar with this old-fashioned song, which has been a traditional playground game from the musical history of "play party games," you'll surely fall in love with it! The first time I heard this one was during my Orff-Schulwerk children's music training decades ago, and I have enthusiastically offered it to my Preschool groups ever since. And, the children love it just as much as I do! I always introduce this fun song when we are learning about the parts of the human body. It is a delightful way to learn the vocabulary of the Parts of the Body.
THE SONG
You can listen to children singing the song in this Youtube video:
MOVEMENT
Whenever I begin a Music Circle Time with Preschoolers, I plan for a way to incorporate movement with the music. The "Head and Shoulders, Baby" song IS a movement song. That makes it quite engaging for the children. I have often used it for transitioning to another part of the day.
However, the best part of this song is its rich way of exploring the names of the parts of the human body. And, this is one of those songs that you can embellish as you like. You can sing not only about head and shoulders, but also about knees and ankles, elbows, cheeks, wrists, neck, forehead, and the list goes on! Lots of vocabulary development can happen with additional verses to this song.
BODY COORDINATION
As Montessori educators, we like to understand the rationale of all activities we offer to the children. With movement comes understanding and refinement of how to use the muscles in an intentional and organized manner.
"The observation of the way in which the children pass from the first disordered movements to those which are spontaneous and ordered...this is the book of the teacher: this is the book which must inspire her actions." The Montessori Method by Dr. Montessori (1912)
In addition, when you combine movement with music, you as the teacher, give children more avenues of learning. Combining music, singing, and moving around is engaging for just about every young child.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT and CREATIVE THINKING
Now, as Montessorians, we also love to provide follow-up activities to reinforce learning.
With songs, I always like to create a "Song Card" with the words of the song written on it. Then, the children enjoy "reading" the words to the song during work time. Reading the words is easy for the children because they have learned the song through singing it!
With this fun song, you can connect the words to a set of Montessori 3-Part Cards featuring the parts of the human body. This classic Montessori Language activity can serve to bring the vocabulary development to the child that can reinforce the words of the song. It also gives children more new words (parts of the body) to include in spontaneous verses to add to the song.
Making a prop, such as a Moveable Stick Puppet, is not only a fun art project, but is also an involved process that enhances cognitive development. When following the step-by-step process of creating a puppet, the child refines important skills necessary in developing reading and math operations. Then, there is the small motor development when cutting out the shape of the puppet, coloring it in, and attaching it to the craft stick. These activities build the muscles of the fingers and hand that are important for writing.
Later, the children can move their puppet/props to go along with singing the song!
The activities I've presented in this blog article today are from one of my Musically Montessori eCourses.
Advertising Disclosure: Magical Movement Company may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. Thanks for your support!
DO YOUR MONTESSORI CHILDREN LOVE SINGING "THE CONTINENTS SONG" AS MUCH AS MY GROUPS DO? Here are ten fun extensions for creating learning experiences through Music and The Arts.
PREPARE THE CHILDREN
Fortunately, there are lots of materials in the Montessori pedagogy that lay a foundation for learning about the continents of the world through hands-on experiences with Manipulatives.
There is the sandpaper land & water globe, the color-coded continent globe, and then the color-coded "Continents Map."
Even if you don't have access to all of the Montessori Cultural Studies Materials, you can still offer children a Globe and Visuals of a World Map.
REINFORCE THE NAMES OF THE CONTINENTS
WITH A SONG
After the children have had lots of hands-on experiences with globes and puzzle maps, you can teach them "The Continents Song," while you point to each continent when its name comes up in the song.
There are lots of versions of "The Continents Song" that you will hear in Montessori classrooms all over the world.
My groups have two favorites: one that is short and one that is long!
1. "The Continents Song"
SHORT VERSION
I always introduce the short version to the children first. You can listen to my short version of the song at my Youtube channel HERE.
Eventually, you can introduce the children to the longer version, which is more repetitive and very fun rhythmically!
2. "The Continents Song"
LONG VERSION
Here's the YouTube video I created for the longer version of "The Continents Song."
PROVIDE EXTENSIONS FOR GROUP AND
INDIVIDUALIZED ACTIVITIES
There are lots of fun musical extensions to reinforce the names of the continents of the world.
One activity is to clap the rhythm of each of the names of the continents.
In Lesson #11 of my Musically Montessori eCourse, "Let's All Sing: 15-Day Challenge," you will be able to download a set of rhythm notation and recitation cards for each of the Continents.
3. Clapping the Rhythm of the
Names of the Continents
In that Lesson #11 from my Let's All Sing eCourse, you'll find lots of ideas for extensions along with downloadable Printables to bring the Lesson to the children through many of the areas of the Preschool curriculum, including:
Visuals of the Continents Map and Musical Notation Cards
Rhythm Pattern Cards for Movement Activities
Rhythm "Body Percussion"/ Command Cards
"Make Your Own Musical Map" Individualized Shelf Work
Picture Cards of rhythm instruments for creating a classroom "Performance"
Click here to learn more about the eCourse: "Let's All Sing eCourses."
MORE WAYS TO REINFORCE LEARNING ABOUT THE CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD
4. Greet children in the Language of the
Featured Country of Each Continent
"Jambo"
Saying "Hello" in Swahili, one of the languages of Africa, during
our Cultural Studies of Africa
5. Provide Activities for Movement
on the Montessori Line
Give children baskets to carry, trays of tea cups, or flags for marching that reflect the lives of the people of your featured country or continent in your Cultural Studies Curriculum.
I traced each continent from the Montessori Continents Puzzle Map, on color-coded paper, and then made calendar inserts, enough to create the pattern for the days of the month in which I first introduced "The Continents Song." You can sing the Short Version of the Song each morning so that the children can predict what comes next in the pattern.
7. Teach the Children Traditional Dances
from the Country or Continent being Featured.
Providing long ribbons for children to dance the Chinese Ribbon Dance is a fun way to celebrate the continent of Asia. Put on some lively traditional music of China and invite the children to dance!
You can read about how I do this Activity with my groups HERE:
8. Create Stories for Dramatizing the Daily Activities of the People from the Country Being Featured
This is a picture of children walking on a balance beam in our Drama Play Story of the "Alligator in the River" during our Cultural Studies of Africa. You can create stories for children to dramatize with Movement Activities, props, child-made stick puppets, masks, or with rhythm instruments that feature the country of study.
You can see how I've created these stories for my groups in my Blog Articles:
As you introduce each of the continents in more depth over the months, you can set up a fun station for creating "Sandpaper Continent" cards. My groups have always greatly enjoyed this activity!
Provide a tray with pieces of cardboard, a pencil, glue stick, and colored sand in a shaker bottle. The sand is color-coded for each continent.
The child chooses the continent to work with, then fetches that puzzle piece from the Montessori Continents Map.
Next, the child traces the shape of the continent on a piece of cardboard.
Then, s/he fills in the tracing with glue.
Now it is time to shake the sand onto the glue-filled shape.
After, the child has filled in the shape with the colored sand, then s/he can pour off the excess sand into a container to save for art projects.
Finally, the child (or teacher) can write the name of continent on the card.
10. Check Out My "Let's All Sing" eCourses
or my TpT Continents Song Activity Packet
CLICK HERE to learn more about my Musically Montessori "Let's All Sing" Free 5-Day Challenge and 15-Day Challenge
CLICK HEREto learn more about my TpT Activity Packet, Musically Montessori "Let's All Sing" The Continents Song
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I'm happy to see you here at my Blog today. I hope you have gotten some musical ideas for your children!
Photos in this Blog are from Adobe Stock, Depositphotos, and Magical Movement Company Archives.
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Welcome! I'm Carolyn, a grandmother, long-time Montessori Teacher, and Orff-Schulwerk Music Specialist. I hope you enjoy these activities that I have curated over my many years of teaching in many different settings! You can check out my website by clicking on my picture.
