Swim Noodles - Yes, Swim Noodles!

We are nearing the end of July, and most stores in this part of the world are clearing out the summer merchandise and bringing in the back-to-school supplies. Time to stock up on swim noodles - you know, those long flimsy towers of closed-cell foam so practical in the water.

If you are a classroom teacher, you need buy only half the number of students in your class because you will be cutting the noodles in half. If you are a parent, get at least one, cut it in half, and keep half for yourself!

Yes, there will be the greatest of temptations, especially among the boys, to immediately turn these into swords. It pays to have the noodles in sight but not yet available until you explain how "we use them at music time". (It also pays to have consequences for using them incorrectly, as in "Ooops. This noodle didn't learn the rule [or how to act] yet. Put one hand on each end 'til he can learn the rule.)

How do we use them?

1) Beat the floor with the rhythm of a recording. Progress from slow beats (1 for every 4 counts) to fast beats (one for every count) to "silly fast" ( as fast as they can possibly do it, just to get it out of their systems). By "progressing" I mean, play slow beats for a minute or two until most children aree hitting somewhere near the beat. Then go beating on counts 1 and count 3. Then, if most are getting that, try to beat on every count. (WARNING: Do not do this if there are children napping next door. It does get loud. Your neighboring teacher will not be happy with you!)

2) Beat the floor in different dynamics. LOUD soft soft LOUD soft soft or soft, louder, louder, louder, louder, LOUD (any combination of a beat pattern and/or a sound pattern.

3) If noise takes over, make the noodle a "unicorn", (make it a horn projecting from your forehead) or a "stinger" (make it stick out from your bottom). They will have to be watching, or they will get "caught"!

4) Older children who are learning to gallop can practice riding the noodle like a pony. The foot that stays behind becomes the pony's lame foot. (And a bandana suck in the top noodle hole becomes a mane, and one stuck in the bottom hole becomes a tail....) Any "cowboy" music will do! One of my favorites - Nickel Creek's "Little Cowpoke".

Have fun!

Shake it up! Pompoms!

Similar to, but not to be confused with scarves, are double-duty pompoms.

Pompoms' claim to fame is that they can be either a prop, or an instrument. You may use them in rhythmic ways, similarly to the way you use scarves, such as:

1) Moving up/Moving down
2) Swinging here/Swinging there
3) Showing left/Showing right
4) Punching away/pulling back

Or, you might create a first-class train, shaking the poms to these patterns:

Shake hard, Shake gently, Gently, Gently
Loud, Soft, Soft, Soft
Choo, Choo, Choo, Choo

All of this time, children are un-wittingly learning vocabulary (linguistic learning), ways to move (spatial/kinesthetic learning), patterning (logical/naturalistic learning), rhythm, dynamics, timbres - just for starters.

Then, if you decide to have your class make the pompoms themselves (more on this later!), you have a hands-on creative craft experience with rolling, cutting, taping - and a built in recycling lesson later, if you choose.

Scarves...a music educator's "go to"

A scarf is such a simple thing...a square or rectangle of lightweight fabric which can take on its own personality when used creatively!

Once, in a workshop given by an occupational therapist, we were told that movements which encourage the use of the upper body are essential in development of the strengths that later help to coordinate writing and other fine motor skills.

Scarves work with any kind of music. They will imitate any style as long as the arm guiding them does the same.

1) Smooth, long motions to smooth, connected sounds...short, quick, choppy motions to very beat-oriented sounds.

2) Alternate moving from "high" to "low" on consecutive beats. Or in a pattern, such as every 4 beats or 3 beats - depending on the meter.

3) Alternate going "this way" and "that way" (right and left) in exaggerated motions all the way across the body. Again, move on a beat and then wait for the next most comfortable beat to reverse. More on why this is important later... [If you have older children, go ahead and use the words "right" and "left".]

4) Tossing and catching is great for eye-hand coordination. Toss up on a strong beat. Wait for most of the children to catch or pick back up before tossing again - say on the strongest beat in a pattern. [Use 2 hands for younger children, 1 for older, or alternate right and left.]

5) Make "rainbows". Make an arch over your head from low on the right side, up, and reaching over and across your body to the left side, and then reverse. Alternate hands and arms.

6) Color-code the scarves to the seasons, if possible. Orange, red and brown for fall. White, blue, etc. for winter. Pink, yellow, light green for spring. Lots of green for summer.

These are the simplest suggestions, and there are plenty of variations of course. If you watch, the children will give you even more ideas!

A word of explanation...

Or perhaps a point of view...

My thought is that if any activity contains one of the musical elements, it can be claimed as being a somewhat musical activity - especially with young children.

So what are the elements?

1. Pitch - the high-ness or low-ness of the sound, or the number of vibrations in the soundwaves if you want to be technical. Melodies and harmonies come out of this.

2. Dynamics - the loudness, softness, or anything-in-between-ness of the volume of the sound.

3. Timbre - the "color" of the sound, as in the difference between the sound of a voice and a piano, or a violin, or flute, or drum.

4. Rhythm - the beat or pulse of the sound, which also includes the meter (the way the beats are organized) and the tempo (whether the beat is fast or slow).

5. Form - the way the melodies are organized into a whole composition.

6. Texture - the number of different melodies, sounds, etc. going on at one time.

Enough theory, right?