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Apr 9, 2019
2 min

Cuckoo

Today I'd like to talk about one of my favourite lessons I use with my Year 1 students who have got their heads around so & mi and are working towards discovering both saa (crotchet rest) and la. One thing I love about the Kodaly methodology is the way it makes me look for connections between different activities in order to create a smooth transition, thus keeping my kids focused. This pair of activities has a bunch of natural connections, both melodic and thematic, so they

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Jenny Ferris

Apr 6, 2018
2 min

Two Teddies on a Trampoline

One of my favourite Kodaly quotes talks about making music a joy for your pupils rather than a chore. Today I'd like to talk about an activity for junior students that is exactly that - Joy. Pure, unadulterated fun! For the activity "Two Teddies on a Trampoline" you will need a canvas parachute (as pictured below) although you can also get away with using a large sheet of stretchy fabric such as lycra. You will of course also need two teddies: Place the two teddies in the mid

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Jenny Ferris

Mar 8, 2018
2 min

When You Wish Upon A Star

Prep music lessons can be a magical time - the children are young, with a vivid imagination and a thirst for knowledge. They haven't yet learned to be cynical about school or self-conscious in front of others. I therefore try to make the most of this golden window of opportunity and have them perform in front of their classmates and in front of me as often as possible so that they get used to it and it's no big deal later on. This means lots of solo-singing games - one of my

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Jenny Ferris

Feb 4, 2018
2 min

Closet Key

We work a lot on singing voice and solo singing opportunities with younger students (at least I know I do, it's a big focus of my Foundation curriculum) but I do find myself neglecting this with older students. It can be especially difficult if they are older beginners - if you are in your first few years at a school which is new to the Kodaly approach meaning the older students are not so keen on being asked to sing by themselves in front of everyone. (I wrote about this in

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