Some Thanksgiving Worksheets

Last year I polished up and I posted some Thanksgiving worksheets that I had used over the years. I have so much material on my website that it is hard to find some of the older things, so I am reposting them today. You won’t need all of these, but you can pick and choose what intrests you. I plan to use some of them at my group lessons right before Thanksgiving.

Turkey Notes

This is a quick worksheet for beginners who are just learning the names of their notes. You can also use it to play games or to pass out at a group lesson. Be sure to print in landscape mode.

Funny Thanksgiving Food

I was in a whimsical mood when I made this. (I’m usually in a whimsical mood. I don’t know when I’ll grow up!) If you have some younger students who are still learning their keys on the piano, they will enjoy this. You can also use it with your own young children and let them color the funny food.

Color the Feathers

This is another worksheet that you can use at group lessons or with your own children. Be sure and check out the black and white version if you want them to color the entire thing. This is also something you can give to children who are waiting for  other siblings and have nothing to do.   

Turkey Find the Notes

It is real easy to set your PDF dialog box to 2 on a page and save some paper. Then you can use it for several weeks to see if your student’s time improves. 

Usually Thanksgiving gets lost in piano lessons as we prepare for Christmas so I hope you enjoy the change of pace.

New Fish Rhythm Matching Cards

New!! Fish Rhythm Cards that are more challenging!

To those uninitiated to the joys of fish flash cards, these may look just like all the other’s I’ve posted. But they’re not! The others were too easy. With the first ones I posted all the student had to do was match colors. That might be fine for the very young or brand new beginners. But once they know their notes they need something more challenging. So I changed the color and a few other things to make the game a little more difficult. For those of you who printed out the other version (like I did) and found it too easy, try this one. I guess we are keeping the color ink companies in business, LOL. Don’t forget to see if you can find a cute fishing pole at the dollar store. If not, the students like the handmade ones, too. Or don’t bother to use a fishing pole if you don’t have time. Just play matching games.

Happy fishing!

Rhythm Values for Fish Rhythm Cards

Rhythm Values for Fish Rhythm Cards

My little 5 year old student has enjoyed fishing for rhythm cards. He’s learned the names of all the notes now, and can almost remember the names of the rests. We played the rhythm memory game at our last lesson because he is learning the value of the notes now. Speaking of that memory game, how many teachers think I should make the cards bigger? Another teacher suggested I make some fish cards to go with the ones I posted a few days ago with the note values on them and the fish facing in the opposite direction. This way the student can match the note to the rhythm value with the correct fish facing each other. It seems really simple, but I think it’s going to be fun for a pre-school student. Let me know if it is fun for your pre-school student. I think even beginning first and second graders will like them!

To print, click on the link which will take you to my web site. Then click on “download” and you can print out a free PDF of the cards.

Wendy’s Giveaway

Head over to Wendy’s blog http://www.composecreate.com/archives/1391 and leave a comment. You will then be entered in a giveaway contest for a book of pre-reading pieces,  Hal Leonard’s Piano Recital Showcase Pre-Staff level book. I know a lot of you wish you had more pre-reading music for your beginners and this is a chance to win a copy. Wendy wrote 2 of the pieces, Cherokee Lullaby and Fire Dance and she is giving away 2 copies of the book. Wendy is an accomplished composer who has been very encouraging in my composing attempts. She has a great website, too, and you’ll enjoy looking around her site.

Unfortunately the contest ends Friday, July 31 at noon, so get over there right now!

 

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Picture of Table Top Keyboard

I decided to add a picture of the table top keyboard that my students are using from yesterday’s blog post. This one is sitting on the coffee table in my piano studio (living room). My husband got  a glass top to put on the coffee table so I don’t have to worry about students messing it up.

You can see the chips I bought last year. They are called Counting Chips and came in a package of 75 with 5 different colors. I got them at an office supply store in the “teaching” department. They are about 1 3/8″ in size (about 3.5 cm), so they are quite large for chips. This makes them very good for very young children.  Notice that they come blank, but I’ve written the alphabet on some of them. You can also use, milk carton tops,  checkers, or soda caps. If you want to make your own out of construction paper, find something around the house to draw your circles with, such as a medicine bottle.

Now think of all the games you can play with this table top keyboard!

Making a Box For Flash Cards

Do you have flash cards laying all around the table in your piano studio. Do they seem to multiply on their own?  I’ve tried  wrapping them with a rubber band but the rubber band either breaks or students take it off and I can’t find a new one. My husband suggested I make a box like playing cards come in.  I thought that was such a good idea I’d try it. So here, for your arts and crafts enjoyment is how to make a box for your flash cards that are the size of playing cards.

I used card stock, Staples brand 110 pound paper. If you anything thicker, it might not fold well, but you can be the judge of that.  Print out the front of the box and cut it out.  

Box_FlyFlashCards1

If you click the link below,  you can see the folding lines for the box and also print out a blank box template.

box_flyflashcards_inside

You don’t really need to print on the reverse, but if you do, be sure to use the graphic side when you cut it out because it is very hard to match up front and back precisely on a home printer. It might be easier to just look at where the folding lines are and fold accordingly.

Use a ruler as a guide to fold so you will have a straight crease. An ordinary glue stick worked well to glue along the sides. I used a generous amount of glue. 

 To set up the glue, I inserted a deck of real playing cards, not the ones I made, and wrapped some rubber bands around the pack to let it sit overnight.

My flash cards don’t quite fill up the box. I left some room in case you want to add a few extra cards.

The flash cards pictured can be used with the “Who Am I Swat Game” . The directions for this game by Cecilly can be found here. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this and has emailed me this year! I hope the new year will be a blessing to you and your family.

-Susan

“Twister” Game for Piano Lessons

Sheridan sent me an interesting idea to modify the Twister game to help learn the staff.  A lot of music educators say to start large and work down, so this might work with your students.

I haven’t played Twister since I was in high school, but I did a quick search and found Twister is sill being sold and is available at Target for $15.00. You could keep your eyes open at garage sales, or even go raid your parents or grandparents game closet! The picture above is from the original 1966 edition of the game. The one on the market now days looks quite different.  Are any of you old enough to remember this box?    Now I would probably pull a muscle if I tried to play it.

The following is from Sheridan’s email:

“I so enjoy reading all the ideas that you have on your blog. Wanted to contribute some things I thought of this morning. I woke up thinking about the Twister game. I’m going to turn my twister plastic mat over and put a staff on the back – big enough for the kids to use their feet for notes. I’m going to use Black electrical tape for the lines. Also – I’m making a spinner (maybe just using the back of the Twister Spinner?) with the note letters on them (A-G). I’ll probably start out letting them choose to play them on the piano or stand on them on the mat. As they get better I’ll require them to do both – and see how many they can get in a minute (or any other set amount of time). I think incorporating the gross motor skills will really help some of my students who are having a tough time getting the idea of notes on the lines and notes in the spaces.

 In order to space the twister lines – I used my shoe (a big one) and planned for the kids to step sideways (if that makes sense) – so they move right/left up and down the staff as they face/move forward like toward the end of the music. I haven’t made the twister spinner yet but will do that on the computer and just mod-podge it on the back. My spinner comes apart so it should be easy.”

Sheridan also sent me a picture of his homemade magnetic staff and I’ll post that tomorrow.

Peppermint Notes

I made the graphic Peppermint Notes to use real peppermint candy as notes. Play with it any way you like, in groups or with one student. Then eat the candy when you finish. (This link takes you to my web site. Click preview and then you can print it. You will need to down load Adobe Reader in order to print. Be sure and set your printer to landscape.)

Here’s another way you can use it this sheet. Print two copies, one on card stock and one on regular paper. Cut out the Santa (if your hands can cut that small) and use him to guess which note Santa is standing on. This might be fun for the younger students. I’m going to try it with some students who haven’t learned the notes yet, just as an introduction. By the time they finish with pumpkins, turkey eggs, ornaments, and Santa, I hope they get the idea.  But if they don’t, I already have valentine notes for February and shamrock notes for March.  Can you guess that I used to teach music in elementary school?

I drew the Santa. My daughter helped me with the shading. She’s so fast, she can do in a minute what I struggle with all morning. The peppermint clefs are my own design that I created in Photoshop.

Christmas or Thanksgiving Activities?

I try to blog every weekday, but today I am having trouble with my eyes again and I won’t be able to do much at the computer.  However, I am wondering when to start posting Christmas and Thanksgiving activities and music. Stored in my computer are some familiar early level Christmas and Thanksgiving hymns, carols, and worksheets I can post and I have some ideas for some new worksheets. I can also change the carols into pre-reading if I get any requests for specific titles. 

If you like my to download material from my blog, please take a second to take this poll so I can help you better. I have no way of tracking these polls, so you will not ever be contacted by me unless you email me.  

Kandy Keys

Kandy Keys

Linda suggested a fun way to practice key signatures. She gave her students a bag of candy corn and they would use them to place key signatures. I like the way she said she would magically change them from sharps to flats. Teaching children is so much fun!

At first I thought I would make this up for next year because it’s kind of late for Halloween, but I notice that teachers are downloading my Halloween stuff like mad this week, so maybe this will reach a few teachers who would like one more Halloween activity. Besides, you can do it next week when candy is on sale.

I want to do a Christmas worksheet like this, and maybe also one to put notes on the staff.  Does anyone have an idea for candy that would fit this size staff and is not too messy?

Now I can take a poll!

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Isn’t this a cool feature? Now I can find out what kinds of teaching materials you like to download! Please vote so I can see how this feature works. I haven’t quite figured it out.

I’m Firing My Editor

I noticed today that Once a Year on Halloween had the wrong fingering on the first note on the treble staff. You just can’t find good editors now days.

I’ve fixed it, and I’m surprised nobody emailed me about it. If you ever see a mistake, and I make plenty of them since I don’t have the best eyes, please let me know. One teacher in Europe pointed out some mistakes in my rests in one of my solos. I had never noticed them.

On-the-staff Halloween Music

I remember today that although I had posted these on my website, I had never posted them on this blog, so today I’m posting Halloween, Halloween and Halloween Is Almost Here.

My New Blog

Welcome to my blog where we can discuss  piano teaching pieces and resources.