Teaching Notes, 20150903

Last week, I tried to get through as many activities as I could without going very deep on any of them, and it seemed to work pretty well.  I tried to do the same this week, although I did have a dance that I wanted to try with the students.  The teacher this time immediately arranged the students in a circle for me, and that helped me get the class started.

1. Opener: Hello My Friends Hello - yep, this was the same as last time, but I wanted to re-use it again since the students will be singing it a lot.  I didn't think the students would remember me singing it from last week, and so I sang through this once.
2. What's My Name? - This was pretty simple - I asked the students if they remembered my name, and probably half did.  :)  I had a parent also help me, so I took the opportunity to introduce the parent to the class.
3. Johnny Johnny Up - Again this was something that I did, and to spice things up after doing this once, I asked to "borrow" someone's name from the class.  The kids instantly focused their attention, hoping that they could use their name - I borrowed three total names before moving on.
4. I Can Sing Up High - More review!  But this time after going through once in echo, I had the students repeat, each time a little faster.  I probably could have ordered this a bit better - i.e. not right after Johnny Johnny Up, but the kids still had fun.
5. What's In My Garden? - Instead of asking the students what was in their garden, I asked if they remembered what was in my garden.  The students offered some guesses (strawberries, etc.), but eventually they remembered that I had oats, peas, and beans.  I really didn't think they'd remember "barley".  I started patting a beat on my knees, which the students followed, and I had the students echo my chant one time through, followed by an echo of me singing one time through.
6. Beat Practice - With the class tapping a beat on their knees, I had them stop, count to 8, and tap 8 times.  I then had them not tap on a certain number, first "6", then "3".  I then had them combine the two before moving on.
7. Oats Peas Beans II - I asked the students how farmers grow things like oats, peas, and barley, and while the students knew to plant seeds, water them, and provide sun, I asked them what the farmer would do after that.  Eventually one student said that the farmer had to wait, and that allowed me to walk the students through the second stanza.  We echoed (speaking) the stanza with movement, followed by an echoing of the song.
8. Simi Yadech - I quickly had the students stand up, and practice heel and toe.  I then had the students practice taking very small steps towards the middle - one step, followed by feet together, then the other foot, then feet together.  This helped limit the number of students wandering too far.  I then had the students do the reverse, and check if they were at the same starting spot before the walk.  With that, I then turned on the music, and I cued them at each step through the song.  It worked pretty well, with the students asking for another try - but of course, we had to move on.
9. Sounds of Animals - I asked the students what animal sounds they heard, and there was a lot of variation and non-animal suggestions.  Eventually I steered the conversation to be about bees, allowing me to chant Bee Bee Bumblebee.  I had the students echo me, and then it was time to go
10. Closer - Goodbye My Friends Goodbye - A few more students sang with me by the end of this song.

I ended up scrapping "Come and Follow Me" since the students were already in a circle.  That said, staying in a circle is a continuous challenge for the kids; there's always someone trying to change spots, or moving into the middle to be closer to me.  I did use "Show Me" to recapture the focus once, using alternate lyrics (face/ceiling/space).

Next week is going to be pretty warm, and so I may try to take them outside while it is still cool, again for another dance.  We'll see what happens.  :)