Two Little Sausages is a favourite chant of mine. It's a great one to use as a quick transition when kids have been sitting still for a little too long and need a bit of revving up, a bit of reawakening. In case you're unfamiliar with the chant, it goes a little something like this: Students get assigned either "Pop!" or "Bam!" and lie on the floor. When their word comes, they can jump up into funny shapes, like sausages popping in a pan. I like to get a little faster with ea

The humble slinky. Who would've thought it could be a crucial teaching tool in the music room? How so, you ask? Well! Vocalisation Slinkies can be a fantastic tool for vocal exploration, encouraging students to widen the range of their voice with the movement of the slinky. You can model for your students (like in the video below) and have them copy in a number of different sounds and voices Songs Props to the wonderful Kerryn Vezos for introducing this one to me recently. Th

If you at any point have ever been a child (something which applies to many of us) then chances are you've come across Eric Carle's classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". It is a staple of children's literary circles and I always love bringing it out with my students. But, of course, being Jenny of Kodaly Crafts I decided to find a way to implement puppets! I already have this guy, who I've written about already: So instead I decided to incorporate a range of puppets related

When I saw the wonderful Anne Comiskey present at the Kodaly National Conference last year, I was struck by a wonderful thing she said. Solfa is our musical language, why not immerse our students in it? In LOTE lessons, you will often hear the teacher speaking full sentences or even whole sections of the lesson entirely in another language, including words and phrases that the students are not yet familiar with, simply to let them soak in that language and hear what it sounds

One of my favourite Beatles' songs tends towards the whimsical. I am of course speaking of Ringo's wonderful "Octopus' Garden". I always enjoy introducing it to the children who haven't heard it before and reliving it with those already familiar. I first introduce it with the aid of this wonderful illustrated book by Rob Cook. I am always in two minds about whether to silently turn pages while the original recording is playing or whether to sing the lyrics myself in an authen

I love the weeks leading up to Christmas in the music room. The upcoming holidays are almost tangible and you can taste the festive spirit in the air - often because it falls to us to prepare our students for an end-of-year Christmas Carols concert. In my case this meant that I have been singing carols almost daily since mid-November (despite whinging about hearing the exact same thing in the supermarkets!). Whilst this is usually an enjoyable process and one that I am yet to

The other day, while down an internet rabbit-hole, I discovered this little beauty of a plushie. I thought to myself, this guy would be perfect for "Ooey Gooey"! In case you haven't come across this gem yet, "Ooey Gooey" is a chant/song (I've heard it in both spoken and melodic contexts) that can be used to teach a variety of musical elements. It is great for taa & ti-ti practice as well as introducing la, but can be introduced to your students much earlier for a speaking/sin

One of my favourite new finds at the KMEIA Victoria Autumn Seminar yesterday was this cute little duckling puppet from Folkmani's: I purchased him through the Music Works Magic stall (and I'd recommend checking out their other products, they've got some pretty great stuff!) though I almost passed him by just thinking he was a cute duckling puppet and nothing more. However, as you will see in the video below, he can actually be an amazing aid for singing voice development in y

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, or so goes the old adage. But did you know that an apple a day can also improve your students' musicianship? Apple, Apple In the early days of prep music (first year of primary school) you need to ascertain your students' prior learning and work out what skills & knowledge they already possess so that you can establish a program from there that is pitched at the right level for them. Depending on the type of musical education they receive

Hello there, fellow Kodalyphiles! Today you're in for a mega blog that has been a long time coming. I have been looking a lot recently at doing themed lessons (having a central idea that links together several different songs and activities into one cohesive lesson - great for smooth transitions!) and as I was going through my song lists looking for possible themes I realised just how many great songs there are out there about chickens! Now my chicken puppets are some of my f

I'm sure you will be familiar with this next puppet if you have at any point been a child (which probably applies to many of us). One of my very first encounters with puppets was with one similar to this, which my grandfather used to play with while singing "Pop, Goes The Weasel" and I absolutely loved it! Whilst that in itself is a great musical experience for an early childhood/early primary class, there are a few other directions in which this puppet could take you. A key

I'd like to introduce you to a Kodaly Crafts regular - Peanuts the Elephant. Peanuts usually makes an appearance in one of my first prep lessons and will be a mainstay of the music room for years to come. He's a great all-purpose puppet and my students respond to him in a really great way. In the early days of prep music, I use him for vocalisation exercises. I ask my students to follow Peanuts' trunk with their voices - when his trunk goes up, their voices must get higher.

This song is a cute little staple of my Junior School teaching. Methodologically speaking, it's great for taa & ti-ti, so & mi, experiencing a descending 5 note scale (or even having a trip down memory lane for older students when you present fa) but most of all, you wanna know the reason why I use this song? Because it's fun! First and foremost, I teach the song to my students with a fingerplay. I act out the song phrase by phrase and have them copy it back to me. Now, this

Getting your young students to discover and develop their singing voice is one of the first (and sometimes one of the hardest!) challenges you face as a primary music teacher. In my experience each child comes to school already having learned a lot about their voice and how to use it, having experimented with sounds since infancy. However, they may not yet know what you mean by a singing voice or how they themselves can create one. This is why we need as many different activi

My name is Jenny Ferris and I'm a Melbourne-based primary school music teacher. I have a passion for Kodaly music education, having completed my levels over the last few years and I love finding new ways to improve my teaching. ​ One of the biggest successes I've had with my classes has been with puppets - my kids absolutely love them! Even the most reluctant singers will find their voice when there is a furry friend to sing to. Puppets add some colour and variety to your les