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Spring Music Activities for Kindergarten and Elementary Music Classes. Sing, Move, Play spring activities for the elementary music teacher. So, I’m sharing my spring kindergarten music activities in this post. I love teaching Kindergarten! But, it’s very different than all the other grades and I realized that I needed a very specific set of materials for my Kindergarten music classes.
So, I gathered and created Kindergarten activities that focus on the music elements I thought I’d be able to teach over the course of the school year.
I want my Kinders to learn BEAT, tell the difference between HIGH and LOW, FAST and SLOW, LISTEN to music and EXPRESS how the music makes them feel or describe how it sounds, ECHO sing/chant/move , MOVE to music freely and with choreographed actions.
I feel that it’s also important to me to create a foundation for how music class “goes”, classroom management, and to make learning activities fun and memorable for them.
Honestly, here are many things I want to teach my Kinders, but I’ve found that if I focus on these core music elements, that they will have a set of foundational skills with which to progress in first grade.
I want them to experience beat activities every time they come to class.
So, no matter what time of year, I incorporate steady beat activities into every class time.
Whether transitioning from a movement activity to a sit-down activity and students march to the music, or just a drum beat, or playing the beat as I sing a chant, beat activities are an essential part of my spring kindergarten music activities.
Springtime Steady Beat Play Along Activity: Video, Games, Flashcards Google Apps
Springtime STEADY BEAT play along video activity is so fun! The heart beats play across the screen so that the children can see when to move.
RESOURCE INCLUDES:
This spring kindergarten music activity is easy to use online in the virtual classroom as the directions are already in the video!
You’ll be able to use the flashcards and google slides in smaller groups and at stations.
And use the presentation to teach and practice steady beat.
Ultimately, this spring kindergarten music activity provides a great activity to help your children experience the steady beat through movement.
After playing the steady beat, you may want to incorporate some body percussion activities to help children feel the steady beat.
I always feel that moving helps them understand and remember versus watching a video.
So I use this Springtime Body Percussion Steady Beat Play Along Activity
Springtime Body Percussion play along activity video is a great next step after patting knees or singing a song!
The springtime characters (frog, bird, butterfly, bee and squirrel) will have your students hopping, clapping, flying, gliding, marching to the beat.
And the animated video and audio directions make for easy teaching!
Turn on the video and let your students move on the beat!
Preschool and primary students will love the cute graphics and engaging video presentation. Consider using the Google slides online or in person for creating patterns.
Like flashcards? Me too! I make the flashcards, laminate them and then use the flashcards in stations and centers.
There are a lot of options for a variety of activities so that I can reach all my little learners.
RESOURCE INCLUDES:
As I said; it’s easy to use videos online in the virtual classroom as the directions are already in the video!
I like to create stations and the flashcards and google slides activities are perfect for smaller groups.
The nice thing about this activity is that the directions are in the audio so that the children can do it “alone”.
It’s a great activity to help your children experience the steady beat through movement.
And you may enjoy using this Animal Body Percussion activity too!
If you can sing in your classroom, then vocal explorations are a wonderful way for students to explore their voices. I feel it’s important to provide opportunities for vocal awareness and exploration.
I like using them because it’s easy to have the children copy your high and low voice, but I feel it’s necessary for them to get an opportunity to “try out” high and low.
These vocal explorations are perfect for spring kindergarten music activities and offer a variety of learning experiences for you to provide your students.
Vocal Explorations: Buggy Theme Video, Animated, Presentation, Worksheets
Warm up little voices with these adorable Bugs as they help students visualize high and low and prepare students for note reading.
I know that vocal play will help children find their singing voices.
CONCEPTS:
RESOURCE INCLUDES:
I like to use the vocal explorations at the beginning of class to help students transition to music class.
Later, I’ll use the printables in STATIONS or CENTERS and for individual work.
This resources comes with a GAME too! It’s is simple and just requires you to print out the graphics and attach them to Popsicle sticks or straws.
This is a great spring kindergarten music activity when students are a bit restless from testing or have spring fever.
After teaching kindergarten for a while, I came to realize how helpful these activities are for helping students with developing left to right reading skills, hand and eye coordination as well as discovering their singing voice.
Next, out come the instruments, and possibly some ear plugs!
I usually use instrument activities later in the year with my kinders because it really does take almost half the year to get them on board with singing, moving, listening and following directions.
I use instruments to help students feel the beat.
If my other classes are using drums, I will have my kinders use the drums to pat the beat to their songs.
By Easter, it’s time for egg shakers, and so we use shakers to play the beat.
I have beat icon charts and assorted music tracks that I use for these activities.
You can get spring beat charts and other seasonal charts from the SING PLAY CREATE FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. Just SUBSCRIBE and you’ll gain access to many different types of materials you can use in your elementary music classes.
Then I have them sing and play along with “Shaker Your Egg, Any Color”, and this activity is always a hit!
Movement Activity Song: “Shake Your Egg!” Egg Shakers, Video, Mp3 Files
My students love to trade colored shakers with each other.
So, I will allow them to exchanged shakers at the end of the song.
This activity is also helpful for SPEECH and SPECIAL NEEDS teachers. Students can sing the song while using colored eggs for fine motor skill development-and getting out the wiggles.
Learn colors, how to share and then do the coloring activity!
I’ve found that incorporating a movement activity into each of my kindergarten classes is an essential element of maintaining good classroom behavior.
The activities can range from 2 minutes to 8 minutes providing a “break” from teacher directed activities, transition time between activities, and supporting the learning concepts of the music lesson.
Since we’re talking about spring music activities, I’m sharing some movement activities that work well in the spring.
Movement activities can help teach concepts like HIGH/LOW, and FAST & SLOW.
I’ve incorporated these music concepts into the activities in these resources.
There are flashcards, worksheets and activities you can use with the movement activity.
Animal Friends Scarf Activity, Brain Break, Creative Movement Activity
Giraffe, Elephant, Cat, Dog and more are waving and swooshing their scarves around to help students move, burn energy, stay focused and get some exercise in during your classes.
There are many ways to use this engaging scarf activity!
Mini Lesson and worksheets included for music lessons on high/low, fast/slow and expression.
Animal friends always make an excellent brain break or creative movement activity.
The actions are directional words and students will love coloring the action words and tracing the scarf paths.
Scarf activities are my favorite for teaching dynamics!
My students love scarf activities.
Here are some reasons why you want to consider using them in your spring kindergarten music activities.
Spring Scarf Activity with Video for Brain Breaks, PE, Music, Preschool
1-Children love to move with scarves and music. This Spring scarf video with music will keep your active students moving in the right direction.
2- Scarf activities are a great brain break and give students a chance to exercise. Students can stand in their own space or dance around their living rooms while exercising gross and fine motor muscles. Movement is a powerful learning tool, particularly for students who are bodily-kinesthetically inclined.
3- Students can see HIGH/LOW, FAST/SLOW using scarves with music.
Check out this blog post for scarf activity ideas and musical selections!
Another favorite movement activity is Freeze Dance!
I’ve already shared how I believe that movement activities foster student engagement, listening, emotional health and brain connections as students have fun!
Freeze Dance activities can help your students in many ways besides just being a break!
And they can help the teacher!
Imagine students watching and moving with the video as you set up the next activity!
Animals Move and Freeze Dance, Brain Break, P.E. Exercise, Movement Activity
Animals are EVERYWHERE! Are you ready to MOVE and FREEZE with these Animal Friends? This multi-use activity will have your students hopping, marching, clapping, and spinning with their favorite animals to fun music.
The video, flashcards, coloring sheet materials provide many movement and music as well as learning opportunities for physical exercise, brain breaks and learning action verbs as well as helping children make connections to animal studies.
This resource is not just about moving- there are coloring pages for each action you can use in your literacy centers and 6 activities for P.E. as well as a sample lesson plan for music and movement teachers.
You may want to practice the actions and ask students which one are LOUD and which ones are SOFT?
You can have them play the actions soft and loud too!
Ask the students to move to the music as match the TEMPO!
I have done these activities and then I let the students move to the video without me watching them too closely.
Here are the actions in this video:
FREEZE
CLAP
SPIN
ROLL ARMS
JOG
WIGGLE
WAVE
JUMP
TAP TOES
HOP
GLIDE
MARCH
DANCE
STOMP
REST
FREE CHOICE
Again, there are many ways to incorporate movement activities to support learning musical elements and help students in many ways.
SPRING FREEZE DANCE, Brain Break, Movement Activity with Video
By spring, I feel confident that my Kindergarteners can play some games.
I have learned though, that I have to go slow and break down the sections or actions of the game for them to have enough time to “get it”.
One of my favorite games for kindergarten is “Blue, Bird”.
I teach the song at the beginning of school a long with learning the four voices.
But in the spring, I teach them the game.
There is a circle of students and 1 blue bird in the middle.
Basically, the children stand in a circle holding hands.
They raise their hands up enough to create a window for one student to pass through.
That is the name we use in the last line.
When we sing the child’s name, we drop our hands down (gently so as not to hurt the little birdie).
After we sing the last line, the birdie chooses another student to follow them through the window.
Play continues until everyone is a “birdie”.
My students absolutely LOVE this game. Here’s a video of the song:
I sing it a bit differently- and definitely slower so the kids have time to walk in and out of the windows.
Here is Deborah K. Oakes sharing her class playing this game.
If you can’t hold hands, use scarves to connect them together or a stretchy band.
Mostly, I am very clear on not hitting anyone during the game too.
Sometimes I’ll have students play a steady beat (bordun) on xylophones too to help stay on pitch.
Something to consider is if you’ve played instruments during the school year, then spring is a great time to play this instrument game.
Music Class Orff & Kodaly Song, Lesson, Game: “Who Will Play the Instrument?”
By the way, if you like games like I do, then here are some more choices you can use in spring kindergarten music activities.
My students love anything with bugs or animals!
Bean Bag – Buggy Bean Bag Activities and Games for Preschool, Music and Movement Classes.
Buggy bean bag activities are perfect for the music and preschool classrooms.
Finally, you show students the “bug” pictures and then play a fun bean bag game that will help all students connect music skills through movement.
So, when do we do some serious teaching?
I use a variety of songs and chants to teach music concepts. Mostly, I use game or action songs.
One of my favorite ones is “Grizzly Bear” to teach LOUD and SOFT.
Additionally, another favorite is “Engine, Engine No. 9”
And I created an entire curriculum of materials using train activities to go along with that chant and song.
Train Music Lesson Bundle: Beat, Rhythm, Tempo, Pitch, Dynamics (Pre-K & K)
Here’s what’s in this resource:
Get on board learning music concepts using the animated train action VIDEOS in this set of resources.
Preschool and Kindergarten as well as your first grade music students will experience lessons on beat, rhythm, fast/slow, high/low, long/short, loud/soft with this bundle of train themed music lessons, activities, songs, chants, flashcards, worksheets and movement activities!
The train themed music along with the animated videos are sure to keep students “choo-chooing” through their music lessons.
This bundle will give the new or experienced music teacher tons of materials to establish a music curriculum teaching the basic core music elements.
Perfect for Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade Music and movement classes.
RESOURCE OVERVIEW:
The train themed music and movement lesson and activity bundle provides all of the teaching materials you will need to teach Core Music Elements in music class.
The lessons and activities provide opportunities for your students to experience and develop music skills through various learning experiences: Verbal, Visual, Aural, Physical, Logical and Social.
These materials support a beginning level music curriculum comprised of these music elements:
Each resource comes with a complete lesson plan teaching guide for a unit on each music element.
The Movement Activities provide extension and stand alone activities that support the music concept learning goals.
The resources feature “Engine, Engine No.9” Song and Chant along with original and easy to learn songs and chants that support the learning goals.
Every Music Lesson Unit contains Video Activities, Flashcards, Movement Activities, Songs/Chants and detailed directions to give you many teaching strategies to help your students learn these music concepts.
Videos are animated and include original train songs.
Using the videos will give you the opportunity to work with your students hands free.
If you are a new or returning music teacher, you may want to combine the Kindergarten Level Train Music Lesson and Activities Bundle with Music Class Essentials Resource.
The MUSIC ESSENTIALS include songs, games, activities, presentations, videos, posters and decor for the elementary music classroom.
CLICK on the links to see the previews and full descriptions.
Music Teacher Basic Planner for Lessons, Concerts, Day-Week-Quarter-Year-Editable
Sing Play Create Web Shop Music Teacher Basics LINK
Sing Play Create Web Shop LINK
Music Class Essentials Songs, Activities, Games, Chants, Lessons, Planner, Decor BUNDLE
Sing Play Create Web Shop LINK
Music Class Essentials + BTS Bundle: Songs, Chants, Games, Mp3’s, Decor, Lessons
TPT LINK
Sing Play Create Web Shop LINK-
There are so many things I want to share with you about spring kindergarten music activities!
Although this is just a short post of some of spring kindergarten music activities, I hope it gives you some ideas on the key elements you will want to consider as you lesson plan for your spring kindergarten music activities.
Thanks for reading this post!
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Hi there! I’m Sandra, one of the authors behind Sing Play Create. My goal is to provide teachers with interactive resources and activities to improve the effectiveness of their teaching and enhance student learning.
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