I hear that question in the music teacher groups around the end of January every year. So I'm sharing my favorite music activities and brain breaks for my classes in February!
Pass an Object: Holiday Edition
My younger students (Kindergarten and 1st grade) love to pass around objects while we sing. I have a set of wooden shapes for each holiday, but you could use foam shapes, valentines stuffed animals, or anything else you'd like (Lucy Locket's pocket perhaps?).
We pass the object around the circle and sing a song - you can choose any song you'd like (Lucy Locket, Valentine Red and Blue, or something that you're already singing in class!). At the end of the song, we stop passing and sing, "Who has the _____?" with a so-mi pattern.
There are two ways to finish the turn:
1. The rest of the class will say, "Caitlyn has the valentine."
OR
2. If your students are ready for solo singing, the student that ended up with the object replies, "I have the valentine." (Or "I have the pocket," or "I have the heart.")
Pro Tip: If two kids end up with it at the end of the song, sing both names, or have them sing, "We have the valentine." They LOVE to sing that and it's so darn cute!
There's also a very sweet passing song that I learned from a clinic (I can't remember who!):
"The valentine goes around and around and around and around and around."
(Sing in a scale pattern starting on low s, like this: s, dd r rr m mm f ff m mm r rr d.)
This can be adapted to ANY holiday: The reindeer goes around, the turkey goes around, the shamrock goes around, the flag goes around, the bunny goes around, the treble clef goes around!
Reading Rhythm Practice
My middle-grade students love practicing reading their rhythms. Yes, you heard me right! They enjoy it because I make it a game!
I pop one of my smart board games on the board and let them select which rhythm to say by tapping a picture on the board.
While we love playing in teams, it's a great individual assessment opportunity for me to see who really understands each rhythm.
If you have a very mixed group of abilities, you can do a mixed point system. Your team can say the rhythm together for one point, or you can say the rhythm "solo" for two points!
Freeze Game
All of my classes - even the ones that are "too cool" for anything else I try - absolutely love playing this freeze game.
If you follow Sweet Sounds on TpT, you've probably seen the Christmas version (Reindeer, Christmas Tree, Candy Cane, Freeze!) or some of the other versions. I have tons of holiday versions, plus Carnival of the Animals Freeze, Nutcracker Freeze, and Pirate Dragon Unicorn freeze for other times of the year!
The best part about this freeze game is that it is non-locomotor. Some classes absolutely cannot do activities that move around during certain parts of the year. This has been true at every school I've ever taught at!
The solution? This super simple freeze game - you say the chant, pick a pose, and click the screen to see who is out. It's that easy! (And for some reason they love it! I think it's because it's more like Rock, Paper, Scissors than a freeze "dance" game.)
Classes that can handle the basic version get to add drums and other percussion instruments on the chant.
And if I need an additional improvisation activity for my takadi unit, I can grab almost any of the freeze game cards and they get so excited about improvising! Teacher win!
Pro Tip: This can be one of your stations - it doesn't have to be just for takadi (sixteenth notes beamed with an eighth note). Students could play the game, create patterns, improvise new patterns, add instrumentation - the possibilities are endless!
Pro Tip: This is great for subs! As long as you've played with your classes and explained the rules, my subs have had success using this as a backup activity when technology fails. Be sure to read "How I Teach This" inside the directions PDF for tips on making this a smooth game, where no feelings are hurt!
This Valentines-themed version of the freeze game is perfect for the end of January and beginning of February! My students beg to play, which gives me a nice bit of currency on those days after week-long indoor recess.
What music activities do you do in your music class around Valentines?
