Friday Fave: The Season of Giving

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Friday Fave Season of GivingI absolutely love giving gifts.  In fact, I have a special savings account for Christmas money to which I contribute all year round, just so that I’m sure I can give everyone the “perfect” present come December.

However, I am not opposed to DIY gifts — I actually prefer making things myself rather than buying them.  I flex my crafty muscles each year when it comes to gifts for my 30+ students. This year’s gifts are pictured above; I’m giving them music note or treble clef ornaments (gold for the boys, silver with sparkles for the girls) with handmade initial tags tied with ribbon.

Last year, I had special postcards made and wrote an individual note to each student.  Then I laminated it and wrapped it up with candy and a cute little reindeer.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures to illustrate :(

Two years ago, I made ornament magnets for each student with his or her initial.  This was quite a labor-intensive process, which involved gluing the magnet to the back of the ornament, tying and curling the ribbon, and placing the initial on the front.  Of course, I had to make some for my husband and I, too:

ornament magnets

My husband and I also do DIY gifts for family members and friends.  Zach is the photo book expert of our family; he uses Apple’s iPhoto to create beautiful photo books of various events, which he gives frequently as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas.

We’re trying something new this year for my Grandma’s gift: she lives in Florida, so we are going to make a DVD wishing her a Merry Christmas and also surprising her with the news that we are coming down to visit her next month (she has no idea!).  I know she’ll love it more than anything we could possibly buy her.

Throughout the holiday season, I encourage my students to talk about giving more than receiving.   I use the song If You Could Give a Gift to get them talking, and they always have extremely interesting and sweet gift-giving ideas.

What about you?  Do you DIY your gifts (I’d especially love to hear about creative student gifts) or stick to store-bought goodies?  Please share!

10 Quick Tips for Caroling With Kids

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caroling-with-kidsI’m headed out the door in a few minutes to go caroling at a local nursing home with a group of my students from the Hope Institute.  But before I do that, I thought I’d share a few tried and true tips for successful experiences when caroling with children.

  1. Know your audience (and the students who will be doing the caroling).  This will help you decide whether or not it is appropriate to include sacred songs, or if it’s best to stick with secular.
  2. Choose songs (just about) everyone knows.  Save “The Holly & the Ivy”, “In the Bleak Midwinter”, and the like for more grown-up singalongs.
  3. Have lyrics to pass out.  Just because you’re singing familiar songs doesn’t mean that everyone (carolers included) knows the words.
  4. One verse is plenty, especially if the children are younger and singing from memory.
  5. Keep the tempo bright.  You’ll hold the attention of both your singers and listeners better that way.
  6. Use props.  Santa Claus hats, jingle bells, and other instruments are both visually and aurally stimulating.
  7. But don’t go overboard.  If you’re caroling in a nursing home as I will be today, don’t bring in cymbals and other over-the-top noisemakers.  Be mindful of the environment.
  8. Make it clear that you want audience participation (if that’s the case, which is usually true!).
  9. Don’t wear out your welcome.   Know in advance how long your group is expected to sing, or if it’s a surprise visit, keep it at 5-10 minutes (if that).  Again, knowing your audience and surroundings is key.
  10. HAVE FUN!  Your singing will be appreciated even if there are forgotten lyrics, out-of-tune moments, etc.

Are you doing any caroling this holiday season?  And do you have tips to add to this list?  If so, don’t keep them to yourself!  Please share them in the comments.  In the meantime, I need to dash through the snow over to the nursing home for my own caroling fun!

Friday Fave: Letting Kids Shine

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singing starFor the last three years, a group of my students have performed at The Hope Institute’s annual Celebrity Chef event.  Tomorrow is the big night — after only two weeks of rehearsal, those kids will get up in front of 300 people and sing their hearts out.

No easy feat, right? I was a nervous wreck that first year, not knowing how my students would react to such a huge crowd (let alone singing into microphones with spotlights shining on them).  But as it turns out, I was the only one who was nervous — the students certainly weren’t!

I have learned that if you give kids the chance to shine, they will take full advantage of that opportunity (in a good way).  That was apparent during the Celebrity Chef performances, when my piano students competed in Festival, each time I invite a child to sing a “solo” during a music class or therapy group, and countless others.  Those feelings of inhibition and self-consciousness we feel as adults?  Yea, most kids are lucky enough not to have them.

There’s no better feeling than the rush of performing for a captive audience, except maybe the applause and words of praise that follow.  My students have experienced that before, and are looking forward to doing it once again tomorrow night.  This time I’m keeping my nerves at bay…I can’t wait to watch them shine.

A Drum Song for Seth

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Paddle Drum

Seth loved drums. It didn’t matter what kind – if he could use a mallet or his hand to make a big sound, he was a happy camper.  What Seth didn’t love was following his music therapy schedule and completing his work.  On the rare occasion that he did finish a task, he was rewarded with the chance to play a drum.  His face would light up and he would say “Boom, boom!” as he played, which is what gave me the idea for a song that would serve two purposes.

All this time, I had been using the drum only as a reward.  Why hadn’t I thought to incorporate the drum into Seth’s goal-based interventions?  (The answer to that question: because I was an intern, and I still had a lot to learn.)  One of Seth’s IEP goals was to count to 20, and I was determined for him to achieve it with the help of the drum.  At that point in my young career, I hadn’t written many songs of my own.  But this one worked, so I still use it today.

Boom, boom!
We can count to twenty.
Let’s start with number one.
Boom, boom!
We can count to twenty,
While we play our drum!

1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 14, 15, 16,
17, 18, 19, 20!

I used a paddle drum just like the one pictured above when I sang this song with Seth.  He held the mallet, and I held the drum up only when it was his turn to play (during the “Boom, boom!” lines and as he counted).  Not only did Seth achieve his goal, but he wanted to count even higher so that he had more chances to play the drum!

This song took the work out of counting, just as music so often does for tasks that might otherwise be mundane or frustrating for children.  The key is figuring out the motivating factor.  I may have helped teach Seth to count to 20, but I owe Seth big time for teaching me this important lesson.

Sunday Singalong: Mia’s Composition

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This week’s “Sunday Sing-Along” is more aptly titled a “Play-Along” since there isn’t actually any singing involved. But anytime I have a chance to showcase my students’ creativity, I’ll take it! Mia came to her lesson this past week bursting with excitement; she had composed this tune over the summer break and couldn’t wait to share it with me.

As important as it is for my students to learn the songs in their lesson books and do their theory exercises, I think it is equally important for them to create, whether it is through songwriting, improvisation, or otherwise.  I have one student who comes to almost every single lesson with an original song, transcribed on notebook paper on handwritten staves, and another who has written not one, but two songs about bugs (her favorite subject).

Mia wants to add to her composition, and we’re turned it into somewhat of a summer project.  Once the music is finished, we’re going to use Sibelius to create sheet music (a hidden theory lesson), Mia is designing cover art to be scanned, and then we’ll print the final product out to look like a “real” song, as she says.

How do you encourage your own students’ creativity?  Fill me in…I’m always looking for new ways to do so!