Monthly Archives: November 2017

36/60 Getting the children in and out

Most of my “transitions” with a class of primary school children happen in quite an orderly fashion, but I have one class of year 3s who chitter like a a cage of agitated monkeys as they move from classroom to … Continue reading

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35/60 The finger puppets have arrived!

I posted a while ago that I had ordered some finger puppets. It was over a month ago! I’m more used to deliveries taking a matter of days, rather than weeks, or even a month. I had pretty much given … Continue reading

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34/60 Christmas is a time for sudden progess

At this time of year I switch to focussing on Christmas Carols. With careful choice of book, many of the students will make great gains in confidence and motivation. As well as choosing “off-the-shelf” books, I’ve also transposed carols into … Continue reading

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33/60 Ballet with year 1 and 2 – next lesson

A few weeks ago I posted on this topic; what happened was that I thought I would be teaching in the hall (no IT, no big screen, just me, the children, instruments and my music system) when I was “bounced” … Continue reading

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32/60 The Elevator Song

  This is a song to teach by rote; at the end of it you sing up the scale 1 2 3 4 5, and back down 5 4 3 2 1. Once this is secure, you can then choose … Continue reading

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31/60 Hoovering and Swooping

  When the children in the choir slide between every note in the song… It is quite hard to break them of this horrible habit. Every time there is a leap between two notes they slither from one to the … Continue reading

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30/60 Happy Birthday to me

It isn’t my birthday just yet, but I am teaching ALL my piano and keyboard students to play “Happy Birthday” at the moment. Preferably from memory, as part of my “Active Repertoire” project. Easy-Peasy, for beginners who know the letter … Continue reading

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