Mother’s Day Activities

Mother’s Day 2018  is May 13th

There are some great songs for Mother’s Day in Musicplay:
Musicplay for Kindergarten #143 Moms are Special
– there is a class Big Book template available for this song in the Printables section at Musicplayonline.com.
Musicplay 1 – #97 That’s My Mom
Musicplay 2 – #83 Mom, You’re the Best .  – there is a class Big Book template available for this song in the Printables section at Musicplayonline.com.

There is a new song for PreK, Mom is the Sunshine, that is written, but not yet recorded.  This will become song #121 in PreK atMusicplayonline.com I wrote it last Thursday, and our wonderful arranger got me an accompaniment track in time to teach it to my PreK class the same day.  The kids and I added movements, and they can sing and do the movements (will have kids demo soon too!).  My PreK class seemed to get that “Mom is the sunshine in my world” is a metaphor (without using that vocabulary), and I invited them to create new verses.  One thought of, “Mom is the Butterflies.” and that was lovely.  Then a hand went up, and this child suggested “Chicken.”  Chicken?  I asked her if she really liked chickens a lot and she said she did, so we sang, “Mom is the chicken.”  We won’t record that verse, but you can sing it with your PreK – Grade 2 students if you like!

This is the printable for the new song.

We thought that teachers might want to have the children color and illustrate what they think the song is about.  In PreK, this is responding and connecting in the USA national standards:  a With substantial guidance, talk about personal and expressive preferences in music.  MU:Cr3.2.PKa With substantial guidance, share revised musical ideas with peers.  (chickens or butterflies?).     MU:Pr4.2.PKa With substantial guidance, explore and demonstrate awareness of musical contrasts.   – should we sing it quiet or loud?  Why?

For your older students, we’ve created a poem/body percussion activity in the UNITS section in Mother’s Day at  Musicplayonline.com.

 

Objective:  The students will create an accompaniment for a Mother’s Day Poem.

Teaching Process:

1.   Project a copy of the activity, and discuss possible ways to fill in the blanks.  If you like, you could create a class composition, or could have students do it individually. If doing this individually, give each student a copy of the Mother’s Day Activity printable.  If you have very little time, you could use the exemplar that is given for the activity.

Say each line of the poem in rhythm.  For example:  M is for meals that my mom makes.
3.  When you’ve decided on a rhythm, create body percussion to accompany the word rhythm.  For example:  M is for meals that   my  mom makes
pat pat-pat pat pat   clap  clap   clap

4.  Discuss the performance and decide if you like it.   Try it a new way and decide if you like it better.

5.  If you wish, and if time permits, transfer the body percussion to unpitched instruments.

For example:
stomp – large drum
pat – small drum
clap – rhythm sticks

6.  Discuss the performance and decide if you like it.   Try it a new way and decide if you like it better.
The lesson plan that’s posted online, includes alignments to the USA national standards for Gr. 3 – Creating.   To all the teachers who are mothers or care-givers, you are busy, busy people and I hope your families celebrate you on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Find all the activities in this post at Musicplayonline.com in the UNITS section. (left menu)

 

Want a great PD workshop this summer?    Come to the Artie and Denise Summer Symposium #9 in Herndon, VA (near Dulles and Washington DC). It’s an awesome workshop with teachers from many states, provinces and countries attending!

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