Seven on Saturday (Instruments)

Today I spent the morning with a few of my coworkers at the Steve Lyons Memorial, Rock out cookout at Winnekenni Castle! All of the proceeds go towards art and music education at Haverhill High School. We were there to not only promote our school but also to give back to an important cause in our community. Plus, we had lots of fun listening to the amazing talent from some awesome local bands and making instruments with the children who attended the event.  

 

 

This week's SoS will focus on my favorite recycled musical instruments for kids to create!!!

 

 

1. Paper plate tambourines! We made these today with the children that came to the fundraiser. We simply folded the paper plates, punched holes in the side, added macaroni to the inside and tied the sides shut with ribbon. We then had the children decorate them with markers, stickers and beads.

They had a ball shaking them along to the music and dancing around.

 



2. Plastic Egg Maracas from Made. A great way to use those left over eggs from Easter in a productive way.

 

3. Rainsticks! Made from paper towel tubes and toothpicks. Super easy and they sound just like the real thing. Click here for step by step instructions on how to make them.



 

4. Drinking straw Pan Flute from Krieger Science. I mean really, how cute and easy is this?

 

5. Paper plate hand held drums! We made these during Chinese New Year in my classroom. We stapled the paper plates together, attached them to a large popsicle stick and added the beads to the string to make the noise as you twirl them back and forth in your hands. Lots of musical fun and a multicultural lesson as well.

 

6. Cereal box Guitar from Red Ted Art. I have also seen these made from tissue boxes in the past for smaller hands.

 

 

7. DIY! One of my favorite things to do during classical music appreciation week in my classroom is to put out a whole bunch of recycled materials and see what the children come up with on their own for instruments! 

This is always a hit with the students and their creativity never ceases to amaze me! : ) 

 

 

"Education isn't just about feeding the brain. Art and music feed the heart and soul." -Julie Garwood





Seven on Saturday (Rocks)

 

While I was on vacation my amazingly creative co-teacher spent the week rocking out! ; ) 

 

This SoS features my co-teacher and good friend Sonia's best rock study activities for preschool! 

 

 

1. Sorting rocks by their attributes. Smooth vs. rough. A great way to get those little ones looking at details and using descriptive language.

 

2. Counting rocks activity. The children were encouraged to show how many small rocks were represented by the numeral on the larger rock.

 

3. Famous rock formation paintings at the easel. A great way to spark conversations about history and geography.

 

4. Painting with rocks. A fabulous process art project and sensory experience all in one.

 

5. Adding rocks into the block building area. Looking for a fine motor and balance challenge for your little ones? You have got to try this out. The children were encouraged to take their time and think creatively to carry out their plans all while improving their hand eye coordination.

 

6. What do we know about rocks? Where do rocks come from? It is always important to find out what the children already know about a subject and what they might be confused about. This way you can address any misconceptions at the start before they become imprinted in the child's mind for the future. As you can see, the children had lots of interesting ideas about rocks.



 

7. My personal favorite! Painted rock tic tac toe! The children were invited to use the rocks in a fun and engaging way where they could interact with others and practice some much needed social skills.

 

Click here to see how we use rocks to tell stories in our classroom.

 

Happy learning to all! Thanks for reading!



Seven on Saturday (Shark Week)

 

This week's SoS features my favorite shark week activities that I have found on the web.

 

1. Water Beads and Shark Math

From: Humble Hearts Academy

 

2. The Shark Bit My Cup Water Transfer Relay

From: Toddler Approved

 

3. Shark Bingo Group Game

From: Deceptively Educational

 

4. Where is the Shark? Positional Word Book

From: Playfully Learning

 

5. Shark Writing Template 

Fom: Kidzone

 

6. Footprint Sharks

From: Glued to my Crafts

 

7. Mr. Shark Alphabet Chomper

From: I Heart Crafty Things

 

I can't wait to try out these shark inspired learning activities in my classroom! Please feel free to link to your shark lessons/crafts in the comments below!

 

Click here for my Shark Week ideas.

Seven on Saturday (Debut)

Happy weekend friends!

I have decided to add a new segment to my blog entitled Seven on Saturday. Every Saturday, I hope to post seven facts, activities or ideas on a wide variety of topics.

 

For my first, Seven on Saturday I thought it might be nice for you (the readers) to learn some interesting facts about me. So, without further ado here is my debut Seven on Saturday post!

 



1. I currently work at the same preschool that I attended as a student back in the early 80's.

 

 

2. I have my bartending license! Which comes in very handy after a long work week! haha ; )

 

3. I love kayaking, boating and basically anything on the water but...I get motion sickness every single time regardless of anything I do to try and prevent it. However, I won't let that stop me! haha : )



 

 

4. I met my boyfriend and now soon to be husband on World of Warcraft. Yea...that's a video game! Talk about fate! : )
 



5. I was the queen of extracurricular activities as a student. I was involved in dance (tap, ballet, jazz and lyrical), baton twirling (all events), 4-H, cross country, indoor track, intramural volleyball, peer leaders, stick fighting, orchestra and pep band where I played two instruments (clarinet & bassoon) and anything else I could get involved in!

 

 

Seriously, how cute was I as a 4 year old? : )

 

6. I have traveled out of the US to Canada, Ireland and England and I hope to see many more countries in my lifetime.

 

7. I am a pretty awesome baker (especially when it comes to cookies) and I swear if I wasn't a teacher I would probably be a pastry chef. 

 

Thanks so much for reading my first ever Seven on Saturday! There is plenty more where this came from! Next week's SoS will be about my favorite week of the summer...Shark Week! It will host my seven favorite shark activities and lessons for young learners! Thanks for stopping by! : )