Last Year's classroom tour:
Welcome back, king kids!
Let's check out our music classroom! When you walk in the door...
...you can see a glimpse of the wonderful instruments that are patiently waiting to be played!
Just to your right when you walk into the classroom, there is a bulletin board that reads "Fall into MUSIC" surrounded by musical symbols on leaves falling off of a tree. When we get into the classroom, take a look to see how many symbols and words on the leaves that you can recognize - I would bet there are a few!
Directly underneath the bulletin board are a type of instrument that is new to our classroom, called BOOMWHACKERS. They are exactly what you'd expect - you whack them on things and they go, "boom!" Okay, not exactly a "boom!" but they do make different pitches. We'll use them a lot this year since they are plastic and easy to clean between classes.
A major shout out to the Burns Park Players for supporting our music program by providing a grant to purchase these instruments!
Directly underneath the bulletin board are a type of instrument that is new to our classroom, called BOOMWHACKERS. They are exactly what you'd expect - you whack them on things and they go, "boom!" Okay, not exactly a "boom!" but they do make different pitches. We'll use them a lot this year since they are plastic and easy to clean between classes.
A major shout out to the Burns Park Players for supporting our music program by providing a grant to purchase these instruments!
This next picture isn't so exciting, but it is important! Inside those storage closets are drums of all kinds, xylophones, musical instruments from around the world, and so much more! On top of the closets, I am working on a display for different ways to make music. It's a work in progress, so check back later (or in class) to see what is added.
Next to the closets are the piano, a standing desk (cooldown space for students), and a bulletin board showing different formations. We'll use these posters to help us move around the classroom as we explore and move.
Next to the closets are the piano, a standing desk (cooldown space for students), and a bulletin board showing different formations. We'll use these posters to help us move around the classroom as we explore and move.
Drumroll, please... the photo everyone's been waiting for! Well, maybe just me. Here are our xylophones, beautifully cleaned and organized, just waiting to be played. The smallest ones in the front are the highest pitched instruments, called Soprano Xylophones. The two metal ones are called Soprano Metallophones, and they make a sound that lasts longer than the wooden bars. In the middle row are the Alto Xylophones and Alto Metallophones, which make a middle-ranged sound. In the back are our five Bass Xylophones - yes, even they are all different sizes, they make the same sounds. Musical instruments are amazing! Labels for each instrument will be coming soon, too, so they are easier to identify.
Behind the barred instruments, a bulletin board can be seen, which has the ABC's of music. We will add to this display as the year goes on. There are also two more storage cabinets, where we can put the xylophones if we need the space to move around. However, it is my intention to have the xylophones played every day, so they will likely be out all of the time. We are so lucky to have a room that is spacious enough to set the room up this way.
Behind the barred instruments, a bulletin board can be seen, which has the ABC's of music. We will add to this display as the year goes on. There are also two more storage cabinets, where we can put the xylophones if we need the space to move around. However, it is my intention to have the xylophones played every day, so they will likely be out all of the time. We are so lucky to have a room that is spacious enough to set the room up this way.
More instruments! This corner has been recently re-organized to highlight the instrument families (we will add them to the bulletin board as we talk about them, mostly in 2nd grade) as well as label the different kinds of instruments we have in our classroom. Some examples include: guiros, tambourines, maracas, triangles, and cabasas. On top of the storage are the xylophone mallets and all kinds of fun and quirky instruments I have collected over the years, like apple and banana shakers, a thumb piano (kalimba), railroad track nails, and so much more.
Our whiteboard looks pretty blank right now (ignore my to do list) but soon it will be filled with musical notation and activities! Underneath are our hand drums and above are some sayings that are meaningful to me, and I hope with be meaningful to the students of King Elementary.
The red bulletin board is still under construction...check back to see what ends up there!
As we finish the third wall of our classroom, a cutout of a tiny human (one of my sons, actually) shows us some of the different parts of our bodies that we can use while we are making music. This comes in handy for all grades!
Underneath the green human is a bookshelf filled with amazing titles: All Are Welcome, Groovy Joe, In My Heart, The Listening Walk, We Shall Overcome, and so many more. These will be used in our classes every day and I can't wait to make music with them and our students together!
One of our air purifiers can also be seen in this photo. The second one is in the storage space, but also helps to purify the air we use in our classroom.
As we finish the third wall of our classroom, a cutout of a tiny human (one of my sons, actually) shows us some of the different parts of our bodies that we can use while we are making music. This comes in handy for all grades!
Underneath the green human is a bookshelf filled with amazing titles: All Are Welcome, Groovy Joe, In My Heart, The Listening Walk, We Shall Overcome, and so many more. These will be used in our classes every day and I can't wait to make music with them and our students together!
One of our air purifiers can also be seen in this photo. The second one is in the storage space, but also helps to purify the air we use in our classroom.
A word wall! Except instead of the alphabet, these are words that describe the ways we can move our bodies. If you look closely, you can see headers of "Traveling Actions," "Weight," "Size," "Space," "Speed," "Expanding Actions," "Descending Actions, "Relationships," and so many more. How can you move your body today?
Underneath the bulletin board are more boomwhackers (again, thank you Burns Park Players!!), clipboards, our sanitizing station, and our trash/recycling.
Underneath the bulletin board are more boomwhackers (again, thank you Burns Park Players!!), clipboards, our sanitizing station, and our trash/recycling.