St. Patrick’s Day Fun

Everyone needs a little fun on St. Patricks’s Day or just in March in general.  Here are two games you need to bring the fun into your Music Class.

First, you need Looking for Golden Rhythms.  This game is all about Music Math and Time Signatures. Students are given rhythms on coins and must add the number of beats in the rhythm to put the gold into the correct Time Signature pot.

   

A fabulous feature of Music Mom games is that you get three different ways to play the game.  Alternate game instructions are included.  There are ideas for both small and large groups.  Often the connection between Music Math and Time Signatures is overlooked. With this second semester game, you can combine the two concepts with a very fun race.

For the race, simply print a set of pots and rhythms for each team.

• Place the pots on a table, or the floor across the room from where students are lined up.
• Place a bowl in the middle between the pots and students.  Cut apart a set of rhythms and place in the bowl. There is a separate bowl for each team.
• As each child runs to their pots, they stop and draw a rhythm.  They must add the beats quickly and place the rhythm in the correct pot for their team.
• Once they have placed their rhythm they run back and tag the next student for their turn.
• Keep going through team members until all rhythms have been drawn from the bowl.
• The team to finish first gets 3 extra points.
• Check the rhythms for Team A.
• For every rhythm correctly placed, the team gets one point.
• For every rhythm incorrectly placed, they lose one point.
• Add the points for all other teams.
• The team with the most points wins. Don’t forget to add the extra points for the team that finished first.

The purpose for the drawing the rhythm on the way to the pots is so that the student cannot get help from friends standing in line.  However, they are not singled out if they misplace the rhythm.  Smaller teams will assist in classroom management because there is not as much time to wait until they go again. This may create just a little more work in cutting apart the rhythms for each team but moms are usually more than willing to assist with this.  Sometimes I will send a set of a game home with a student in a gallon resealable bag.  Before the week is out the bag is returned and ready for a game the next week.

One of the way I do this is at the beginning of the year, I ask for moms to sign up on a list called MY MOMs.  When I need game prep or laminating done or cut apart or both.  I simply email to see if anyone is available to come help or for me to send something home.

The second game you should look at is called Hat Tricks. This game is a fabulous way to show children where music symbols live in a piece of music and their function.  You can see the winter version of this game being taught here.  (This was my first live webinar, and we turned the feed on too early. (smile) Just slide the time dot to about 5 mins and the teaching starts pretty close to that time dot.)

 

This game is such an effective precursor to children reading music and paying attention to all of their music symbols so that they will know how to respond with their voice or instrument.  Enjoy!

I hope your St. Patrick’s Day is full of green and fun!

Keep Singing,

Mrs. Darlene