Two Old Tortoises

Two old tortoises going for a walk,

"Hello," said one, "would you like a little talk?"

"Yes," said the other, "I do enjoy a chat."

So they walked along together with a natter, natter nat.

This fabulous little rhyme is lots of fun for your young students. I begin with using index fingers to represent the tortoises as they walk along and talk. You can give one tortoise a 'high' voice and one a 'low' voice if you want to practice those comparatives. For a bit more interest, you can introduce a manipulative. Print these little guys on green cardboard, cut them out and laminate them for durability. Then sticky tape of hot glue gun them to paddle pop sticks. Each student can have two to dramatise the rhyme, or they can sit in pairs and have one tortoise each.

DOWNLOAD this PDF here: http://crescendo.com.au/downloads-category/early-childhood/  

Friday Finds 

Annette, homeschooler and blogger, has made these printable available for free. Use them as flashcards, memory games, matching games...

Find them HERE

Friday Finds 

Beautiful free printable calendar - some lovely options to print and motivate you all year! 

Find it HERE

Book Week 2015
This year Book Week runs from Saturday 22nd August to Friday 28th August. The theme this year is Books Light Up Our World.
Would you like a 'ready to use', 'cheap as chips' resource for all your classes? Would you something the kids will love that you can easily put into a celebration of Book Week, at the same time 'advertising' the great work you do in music? Just look HERE. Thank you Nathan Cahill!

Friday Finds #20

Check out this amazing device! Watch a young boy play the piano with his eyes, accompanying the singing of Joy to the World. HERE

Fabulous Australian Choral Composer Mark Puddy. If you do not know of his work, then pop in and have a look. http://www.markpuddy.com/www/home/

Which one of his pieces do you love?

Friday Find #7

Staff Wars

I know many of you know and LOVE Staff Wars (HERE), but did you know there is now an app version available from the iTunes store? (HERE)

At only 99cents it is worth a look!

How to Import Sheet Music to Your iPad

I must try this!

Friday Finds #5

Boomwhacker Sheet Music

Now, I'm sure you've all heard of Boomwhackers and just how much fun they can be as an alternative instrument in the classroom! But did you know there are some awesome boomwhacker sheet music resources on the net? 

This website has bunch of sheet music resources for boomwhackers. Some easy (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and some challenging (The Pirates Of Caribbean Theme!). And the best part is all the music is colour coded to match up with the boomwhackers. Awesome!

Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments below or if you have any other boomwhacker resources you'd like to share.   

Friday Finds #4

The Value of Music Education - TedX

This week's YouTube clip is a little more serious than the last but we think you'll find it just as interesting. Richard Gill, a powerhouse proponent of music education in this country discusses the relationship between music and our imagination and the power music can have as a tool for helping children's minds to grow. 

Check out the clip below and then check out our YouTube channel for resources to help you in the music classroom. 

Teachers Pet
Some nice free music printables!

Found on the Net - DSO Kids

DSO Kids (Dallas Symphony)

This site goes through all the instruments  individually, in the orchestra or you can hear the instrument play twinkle twinkle - which is great for comparisons. It gives a description and a ‘real’ picture of the instrument. You can also play games and look at composers and much more.

http://www.dsokids.com

Thanks to Luisa Battye

Found on the Net - Ukulele Wednesdays

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=bums%20ukulele%20free%20songbook%20download&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CDcQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bytownukulele.ca%2FPortals%2FUkuleleClub%2FSong%2520Books%2FUKULELE_WEDNESDAYS_SONGBOOK_2012_v1.pdf&ei=kC1VUKTEFo-QiQeU_YBY&usg=AFQjCNFxuHC7y7zOJ7SBr-tUfcFADe4vkA

A great Ukulele book. Just check the lyrics before using with your students!

Found on the Net - Text Art

Check this out. Very cool!

http://fsymbols.com/text-art/music/

____________.♥.
____________.♥♫♥.____________.♥. *
____________.♥♫♥♫.______-.♥♫♥. *
____________.♥♫♥♫♥._-.♥♫♥♫. *
_____________.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. *
______-.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. *
_.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♥♫♥♫♥. * . *
______-.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. * . * . * ..
___________.♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥♫♥. * . * . * ..
____________.♥♫♥♫♥._-.♫♥♫♥. * . *. * . * ..
____________.♫♥♫♥.______-.♥♫♥. * .* ..
____________.♥♫♥.____________.♥. * . *.
_____________.♥  

____________#####
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_____________###__#__#
_____________###___#__#
_____________###___#___#
_____________###___#____#
_______##____###__#____#
______#__#__######____#
______#___##_____#____###
_______#____#####____##
________#___________####
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_____##_____#_____#___##
_____##______####_____##
_____###________________##
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_______###____________###
_________####________###
___________#########

Bubble Letters

These look like fun. I have downloaded MUSIC and will print them out for the students to decorate and put around the room. I might turn some into colour by notes sheets. I thought some of you might like to use them too.