Free Christmas Gift Tags

Art Stuff Printables is a new website with really cheerful and inexpensive printables for teachers, children,  and families. The site just opened last week and they have been adding new things every day. To celebrate their grand opening, they are giving away a cute set of Christmas gift tags. Plus, they are having a big grand opening sale.  If you want some last-minute gift tags, head on over there and download them before Christmas. Click on the pictures to go to the site.

In case you’re wondering, the artist is my own amazingly talented daughter who has taught me all I know about drawing in Photoshop. The gift tag with the piano playing Santa is the same graphic used in the Santa thank you cards that are on sale. I have looked all over for piano teacher thank you cards to give to my students, and finally I asked Liz to make me a set.  Right now she is working on a New Year’s banner that can be used to decorate your piano studio, and she has plans for a lot of other things.

If you have any requests, for example wall art for your piano studio, music teacher cards, or art for your children’s room,  leave a comment on their Facebook page and she might be able to make it.

If you go to ArtStuff Printables, be sure to like it on Facebook! I know she would be thrilled if you would pin some of her art on Pinterest!

Reindeer and Elves Keyboard Race Game

Reindeer and Elves Keyboard Race Game

When I made my first Keyboard Race game, I really had no idea that it was going to be the first in a series of games for every season. I’ve always used the snowflake version for this time of year, but my students wanted a Christmas version, so I drew one for them. The elves are students in my studio and each one is special to me! I hope you enjoy the diversity of elves from around the globe!

For Hanukkah or with older students, use the Snowflake Keyboard Race.

Notice I have cards for F# and Bb. That has proved to be a bonus for my average age beginners, because they learn the terms and how to use them early on. However, I remove those cards for my youngest students. I like to teach new concepts informally like this, rather than waiting for it in the method book. There is no reason students can’t learn something before they actually play it in their music.

Objective

• To quickly identify piano keys.
• To enjoy a seasonal game.
• To identify middle C.
• Optional: to identify B flat and F sharp.

Ages

• Beginners of all ages enjoy the keyboard race games, but with your older beginners, I suggest the Snowflake Keyboard Race.

Materials

• Piano or a music keyboard
• Keyboard Race Cards
• Two tokens (Inexpensive erasers will not damage your keyboard.)

Directions

• The game is played with two players, usually the teacher and student.
• The teacher sits on the right side and the students sits on the left side of the piano bench, at each end of the piano. The students chooses if he/she wants to play with the “Elves” or “Reindeer” cards.
• Each player has one set of cards and one token, and places the cards on the piano book rack. The cards should be well shuffled.
• The first player turns a card and moves his token to that piano key, the closest to his end of the piano.  The second player does the same.
• Play continues with each player drawing a card and moving his token toward the middle of the keyboard.
• The game is over when one player passes the middle of the keyboard. I like to use middle C with my young students.
• Note: The player on the right side (treble end) usually loses, so that’s where I sit. Games are more fun for students if they win.

Why I like this game

• My students love it and want to play it over and over.
• It is the fastest and most fun way to learn keyboard names.

A Fast and Simple Way to Use the iPad in Lessons with Skitch

If you are new to the iPad, I want to share the fastest no-fail way I’ve found to download and use graphic activities in piano lessons. Not all worksheets and activities are suitable for use with an iPad, but many are and not only is it more fun, but it saves paper and ink. The picture above shows a students doing rhythmic dictation on the iPad. For the purpose of this tutorial, I will use the Ladybug Board Game graphic that I posted on my website last week.

Download the Free App Skitch

To set this up, you will need to download Skitch., a free app from the iTunes store.   Skitch is not a super complicated app that will do a million things, but it fast and easy to use. Once you have Skitch on your iPad, you can use any graphic from the web in your lessons.

I have tried out many apps to use with my graphics since I was given my iPad, some that I bought and some that are free. In my experience, Skitch is the fastest and easiest to use. In a piano lesson I don’t have a lot of time to fool around with trying to remember how an app works. It has to be as easy as picking up a pencil and paper.

Before Your Student Arrives At the Lesson Set Up Your iPad

1. Using your iPad, open the Skitch app. On the home page there are several icons on the top row. Select “Web.”

2. When next window opens, there will be a place to type in a website or do a Google search. To make it easy for this tutorial, you can click on this link. http://www.susanparadis.com/catalog.php?ID=SP310

3. Select “Download”. This opens my Ladybug Board Game PDF document, just like on your desktop computer.

4. Turn the iPad to Landscape orientation. (You need to do this for any graphic in landscape orientation but not portrait.) Using two fingers, center the graphic exactly like you want to use it. You can make a graphic smaller or larger by zooming in or out. This is one of the reasons I like Skitch.

5. When you have it just like you want it, click the camera icon on the left. Skitch saves the Ladybug picture and puts it on the home page for future use. You cannot change the graphic (other than crop it or zoom in or out), but you can draw or type all over it.

6. Notice now there are a lot of icons on the left side. The Ladybug graphic is saved on the home page of Skitch for you to use in your lessons. It will be there until you delete it.

With Your Student in the Lesson

1. Do not tell your students you are going to play an iPad game. This will confuse them, (especially the younger ones) because iPad games have animation, and all you are going to do is draw on the graphic. I learned this the hard way, with a disappointed little child. (There are plenty of iPad animated games but that is not what this tutorial is about!) I simply tell them we’re going to practice notes or whatever on the iPad. Then they will not expect the ladybugs and bees to fly around and be all let down when they don’t. Sometimes I ask if they want to use paper or iPad. They always choose iPad because it is new and different.

2. Open Skitch and select the previously saved Ladybug graphic from the home page.

3. When it opens, select the colored *dot* on the left and select the size and color. Now select the *pencil* tool. So far it has only taken 20 seconds of lesson time to get ready to use with a student. Practice this before you use it in a lesson and see how long it takes you! That’s all you have to do!

4. To do the activity, use the same directions as the paper board game. Using either keyboard of grand staff flash cards, students select a card and move to the correct letter. Using the pencil tool, the student will cross out the letter he lands on. Use different colors for two or more players. Keep drawing, moving, and crossing out until the student gets to the end.

If you are on the bench, you can play a piano key instead of selecting a card. Be creative! I try to make activities that teachers can use in different ways.

The picture above is a screen shot that I used with my student. He crossed out in green and I used yellow. We find it a lot easier to use a stylus (around $15.00) than drawing with our fingers.

There is no eraser tool in Skitch, but there is an undo tool, and it will go back as much as you need. The garbage can icon will clear the entire board of any writing you have done, but it won’t clear off the Ladybug graphic. The shapes (the circle icon) are difficult for little ones to use, so I prefer the pencil tool. The pointed finger icon is the select tool, and if you select something you draw, you can move it around the board!

What I like about Skitch is that it makes it easy to use any picture on the web that gives you permission to download. You can use a giant staff and draw notes. You can draw a note, select it, and move it around the staff. You can use Skitch’s (typing) keyboard, type in letters, and move the letters around a grand staff. By modifying the rules of your activities, you can think of many ways to use Skitch. On my game, for example, you can draw a little ladybug and move it around the board with your finger. Or you can draw a circle to use as your “token” to move around instead of crossing out letters.

I plan to show you some more graphics that are good for the iPad this summer. In the meantime, check out the beautiful ones by Anne Crosby. (Go to her links section.)  Jennifer Fox has written a lot of ways to use the iPad in piano lessons, so be sure to check out her blog. If you are willing to share your iPad graphics, please let us know!

Leave a comment if you have any questions or if there is something you need help with. Comments are moderated to avoid spam, so it might not show up right away.

Bunny to Color Piano Keys

Bunny Keys

The younger the beginning student, the more they need reinforcement on concepts they have learned. Just because they know it today doesn’t mean they will remember it tomorrow! This is why some piano teachers get frustrated teaching younger children. You have to set your frustration meter very high!

With that in mind, I created a little puzzle for students to color in order to reinforce the names of the keys. One of my students loves bunnies, and around the Easter season is a good time for coloring bunnies.

This worksheet is in black and white for those of you without access to a color printer, or if you want to save ink. (The green watermark is not on the copy you will print.) I hope your young students enjoy coloring this. I know I have one who will!

Objectives

• To reinforce the names of piano keys
• To practice fine motor skills and writing letter names
• To enjoy a seasonal activity

Ages

• Preschool and elementary age children to about 3rd grade

Material

• Worksheet
• Crayons (brown can be substituted for pink)
• Pencil

List of St. Patrick’s Day Material

Some teachers asked for a list of my St. Patrick’s Day material. I’m listing it today in case you need something quick for next week. This material is designed for elementary age children.

To use these printables do not click on the picture. Click on the link below the picture and when a new window opens, click on the download link. Make sure you have the latest (free) version of Adobe Reader.

Shamrock composing activity   I recently put new graphics on this because I like the softer look. Let’s Go Marching is a pre-reading activity that even beginners can do. Use either finger numbers or note names.

Let’s All Go Marching, a composing activity on-the-staff  Young students write notes in the staff for this composing activity. It is suitable for students who have learned a five-finger position.

Shamrock Keyboard Game   This is the one I posted recently. It is teacher vs. student in this fun game on the piano keys!

Shamrock Notes for St. Patrick’s Day    This is good way to review all the notes on the grand staff.

Shamrock Rhythms Game   I recently completely re-made the graphics on this game to save a lot of green ink. Students draw cards to find missing rhythm values in a measure. There are some circle shaped cards to cut out. It is game for older elementary students who are comfortable with note values. It can be used as a theory class game. Print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Clover Full of Notes Rhythm Worksheet    I posted this a few days ago, but here it is again! You can print one copy of this and either laminate it or place it inside a sheet protector and use dry or wet erase pens. I made this as a review for students who have already learned rhythm values.

St. Patrick’s Day Card for your students   I’ve been passing these out to my elementary students and I they really like them. (I tell them a little leprechaun dropped them off!) I ask them to guess what the card turns into when they open it. They also like the little chocolate coin!

Have Fun!

Fun Ways to Learn Keys

I want to share with new teachers a way to make sure your young students never forget the names of the piano keys! Over the years I’ve collected a lot of tiny toys that fit on the keys. These little guys are erasers, but I have all kind of trinkets in my collection. First we learn C, then F, and over several lessons we gradually work up to all the keys. In this photo, my little student picked any item out of my collection that started with the same letter as the key. So that students won’t just count up from C, we let our little animals hop around to all the C’s, all the F’s, etc. I mix up the order, and the time it takes to learn all the keys depends on the age and ability of the student.

We also play the Keyboard Note Race games that I have posted with several different graphics on my website. This week we’re playing the one with the shamrocks. Click on the link below the photo to print it out. For older beginners I don’t use toys, but we play the keyboard race games. Older beginners are notorious about trying to play the piano before they learn the names of the keys, maybe because we move faster and they don’t have as much time for it to sink in. This game helps with that.

Shamrock Keyboard Race

In this game you and your student sit on each end of the piano, draw cards, and try to be the first one who passes either Middle C or Middle E. The original blog post is here, and I even have a version for German teachers! I guarantee you students will quickly learn their keys with this game. I’ve made it with pumpkins, snowflakes, hearts, and I can’t even remember what else, to make it more fun for students. Colored pencil erasers make good tokens for older students.

Roses Are Red – a Pre-reading Valentine

Roses Are Red

I have a new little student who just started lessons using the unique and very creative piano method book, My First Piano Adventures, by Nancy and Randall Faber. This wonderful series is has everything you need for young beginners, but I like to make extra material to go along with the book, just for fun or review.

My student was so excited when I asked her if she would like a Valentine’s song! When I checked out my resources, I could not find a Valentine’s piece that was easy enough, so I came up with a Valentine she can play.

If you like using this kind of material for young beginners, get a copy of My First Piano Adventures Book A and study it carefully!

A List of Christmas and Seasonal Printables

Ornament Bingo

I have a new student who is learning the letter names of piano keys. I was looking at my website trying to find something, and I found this game I posted last year. Last year I used green and red M&M’s as the bingo tokens. You can use the alphabet letters from my last post as calling cards.

I’m sorry I don’t have anything new for you today. But I thought I’d list some of my holiday season games here to make it easier for you to find something you might be able to use.  These printables include games for individuals or groups, composing activities for beginners, and worksheets. Some of the links below take you to the original blog post with a link to my website, and some take you directly to my website. Once on my website, click preview to download the item. Directions to the games are found by searching on this blog. Everything is free, but donations to help with running the site are greatly appreciated!  I want to thank from the bottom of my heart all of you who are supporting the site to keep it going as a resource for teachers all over the world. My only goal is to make piano lessons and music theory so much fun that children will love coming to lessons; that they will put their own children in piano so the legacy we love so much will continue.

In addition to the seasonal  games  and worksheets on my website, there are also 16 elementary Christmas songs and carols. I am working on some more carols and adding some more games, so check back.

Christmas Worksheet

Ornament Notes mixed up

Color the Chanukah Gift

Peppermint Notes

Ornament notes

Musical Christmas Lights

Draw the Ornaments

Gingerboy Keys

Light up the Tree

Christmas Musical Symbols Vocabulary

Make your own worksheet

Christmas Train Composing Activity

Christmas Note Bingo

Christmas Tree Vocabulary

Christmas Tune Game

Golden Menorah composing activity

Silly Sentences for Christmas

(be sure to download the cards that go with this)

Cards for Christmas Note Bingo

Cards for Christmas Note Bingo

Here are the cards I promised yesterday that you can use with Christmas Note Bingo.  (To help out teachers in the country that gave us Bach and Beethoven, I included an H, which they use instead of B.)

When you play Christmas Note Bingo, if you wish, the red cards can be treble notes and the blue cards can be bass notes. For fun, students can take turns deciding if the green cards are treble, bass, or both. Use your imagination. The wild card can also be used any way you wish. [Honestly, I added the wild card because I had a blank space to fill.] There is no right or wrong way to use my games. Well, that’s not quite true. The right way is to adjust a game so the students win more than they lose, and to make it light-hearted and fun. If you find the game is a struggle, change gears and help them out. Of course, you know that.  I’m preachin’ to the choir!

By the way, yesterday’s printable was in landscape mode, and today’s post is portrait, so be sure and change the mode if you are printing both. My printer does not do this for me, and I am always forgetting.

Other Ways to Use These Cards

Here are some suggestions to use these cards in other ways than the bingo game.

Beginners can learn the music alphabet by stringing the cards out on a table. These cards are small enough to use on the piano bench, unlike some cards, which are so big they have to be put on the floor. I don’t mind getting on the floor. It’s the getting up that’s the problem! Be sure to remove the H so they won’t get confused. (Unless you’re in Germany!)

For a Christmas piano party with young students, print out enough cards for 8 octaves. Divide the cards between the students. Tell them they have to make a string of cards on the floor that are the exact letter names on the piano. They will keep running over to the piano to count the keys and it is a good game for the group to work together.

Give a set to a beginning student and tell him you think you made a mistake. Ask if he can pick out the cards that do not belong.

If you’re like me and don’t know what to do with the H card, try using it as a wild card and call it the “Help” card. We all need a little help now and then. Plus it makes the game go faster.

I love it when teachers think of other ways to use material I post, so please feel free to leave a comment if you made up a fun game for your students.

Hurray, Thanksgiving Day on-the-staff

Hurray, Thanksgiving Day

If you used the pre-reading version of this song last year, you might be interested in my new version. I updated the art, changed the words a little, and added a very easy teacher duet that a family member can play. I wanted a Thanksgiving song that was fun to play, yet was more about the meaning of Thanksgiving.

The following are some hints for new teachers or parents who may want to try it with a beginning student or a student with some reading problems.

Teach the song by singing it to the child while you and the child tap the beat on the piano cover. Use a key higher than F because this song is not written in a child’s vocal range. When the child can sing the song, he or she is ready to learn it on the piano.

Discuss the time signature and point out the upbeat (incomplete measure) before the first measure. Simply show that the last beat from the end of the song is added to the beginning. Students accept that, and usually think it’s rather clever. If they are curious, I *sadly* tell them it can only be done at the beginning. As the child learns the notes, you can work on playing the upbeat softer than the downbeat. This concept can be explained in more detail when the student reaches that part of their method book, so a simple explanation is fine.

Help the child discover that the right hand moves by steps. This is a good piece to get experience starting on a note other than middle C.  They can have some fun by wiggling the thumb and pretending they are dropping it into some mashed potatoes. Parents, resist the temptation to write in all the notes or finger numbers.

They might feel more comfortable with the left hand because the thumb is on middle C. The LH notes are a little more difficult because there are some skips and leaps, so let the child find those places and circle them.  Spot practice difficult spots with fingers in the air, and then on the piano cover. I wonder what food the LH thumb can drop into!

Some young beginners have trouble alternating from right to left hand. I’ve found that a different colored highlighter for each hand can make a big difference. Use a pointer to help students’ eyes track the notes.

While this might seem like a lot to do for a simple 8 measure piece, remember I’m giving instructions for a beginner or a student who has trouble reading new pieces, not for a more experienced student. Taking time in the beginning helps the student become a good reader later down the road.

School Is Starting Back – a pre-reading piece with duet

School is Starting Back

I composed this little solo for a beginning student who has taken long enough to play on the white keys. In order to avoid skipping fingers I tried to make all the notes seconds. Sometimes that leaves a little to be desired when it comes to melody. Although Beethoven was able to produce the greatest 5-finger melody ever written using only seconds and a couple of skips,  I don’t have that ability by any means! However, I added a teacher duet you can play along to spice this up.

The most difficult spot may be the fourth finger in the right hand of the last phrase. That is not a strong finger so I plan to do a little spot practicing there.

As usual, my teaching suggestion is to teach the song first without piano (transpose, because it is in a register too low for children), tap out the rhythm like a drum on the fall board, repeat using the correct hands,  practice playing in the air with the correct fingers, play using fingers on the fall board, and finally try it on the piano. Usually if I do all that, the student is successful and very proud of himself! Of course, older students won’t need all those steps, usually.

Metronome Plus – an iPhone app review

 

Metronome Plus

The iTunes App Store has many metronomes, but until now I have not seen one that I think is really helpful for piano teachers and students. Recently I was introduced to Metronome Plus, and this elegantly designed iPhone metronome is the best I’ve seen. 

A metronome for educational use should be as easy to use as a conventional one. Metronome Plus accomplishes this with a clean, large interface. There are no messy, confusing buttons, and I don’t have to worry about the student waiting patiently while I try to remember how to set it.

The tempo can be changed by touching the large plus and minus signs, or by swiping to the left or right.  An animated graphic swings back and forth helping students stay on the beat. Swipe down from the top and the rest of the settings pop up.  There are just enough settings to be helpful, but not too many to make it hard to use. They are intuitive and can be changed with a touch  Accents, subdivisions, and different sounds can be added if you wish or deselected easily with a touch.  

Previously when I tried an iPhone metronome it was too soft to hear over my students’ playing.  This made me wonder if it was possible to have one that was loud enough for the piano. This metronome  is, and if you want it louder you can add accents to every beat.

Metronome Plus sells for 99 cents in the iTunes app store. I can tell a lot of work went into making it visually appealing and useful. This is the metronome I recommend to students who have an iPhone.  If you have given up hope for an excellent  iPhone  metronome, I suggest you try this one!

Full disclosure: As a piano resource blogger I was gifted this app by the developer.  I receive no compensation for my reviews.

A pre-reading version of Bingo

Bingo

I often receive email from teachers who are not used to young beginners or  parents who want to try out my pre-reading music,  so I am posting a suggested teaching plan for this fun folk song. Experienced teachers do not need to read on!

1. Before you begin, teach the song if you discover your student doesn’t know it. Have fun, and maybe play some instruments or march around the room.  

2. With both hands, drum out the rhythm on the fall board, singing along. At this point, chanting or singing the song in rhythm takes the place of counting.

3. Using the correct right and left hand, tap the rhythm on the fall board. Each hand has a different colored highlight to help students who get mixed up. 

4. I am going to assume your student knows piano finger numbers. But if he does not have experience with skipping fingers, you will need to work on that before you proceed. A good piano method book for young children is invaluable. Also, I have posted some pre-reading solos  easier than Bingo that I use as supplemental music.

5. If this is the first time he has used skipping fingers, practice 3 to 1 and 4 to 2 on the fall board. Circle the places on the music where these are found.

6. Play the song in the air, using correct fingers. Try it on the fall board. If he ”gets it”, he’s ready to play. Let him find his position.

7. Always count off. Like most folk songs, this one has a pick up beat, which you don’t need to explain at this point. It helps the rhythm if you count off 7 beats at the beginning:  “1 2 3 4, now let’s play….”.  Point to the notes as he plays so he will learn to read and not look at his hands. This is where all that preparation helps.

8. Make sure he drops into the keys using fingertips and keeps his wrist fairly level. Drop with the forearm. Avoid excessive lifting of each finger up and down in isolation to the rest of the hand. That will lead to some hard to fix problems. 

If you are not sure what I mean, watch the following videos.

Dennis Alexander This video shows the student tapping the rhythm on the fall board and playing with a relaxed hand.

Nancy Faber This video shows how to drop into the keys. Watch her other videos of beginning lessons for more information.

Piano Recital Certificate – Traditional

Traditional Recital Certificate

If the colorful  certificate from my last post was too much, you might be interested in this black and white certificate I made for my older students. This one is made to be printed on colored parchment paper that you can buy at office stores and even some craft stores.  

What do you think of my border? I didn’t want to use a pre-made one, so I made my own.  I drew the entire border in Photoshop, starting with one flower and then stringing them along, kind of like quilting.  Originally I made it in color, but I converted it to black and white for use with colored paper.

Piano Recital Certificate in a Casual Style

Casual Recital Certificate

Have you ever had certificates to pass out to everyone in your recital except for that one little student who just started taking lessons? Here is something you can pass out to him or to all of your students.  I designed this in a casual style, but I also made one that is more formal, and I will post that in a few days. So hang on if casual certificates are not your style!

We all know that students get a lot of certificates and awards nowadays.  Have you ever wondered what happens to all of it?  I visited one of my students a few years ago  and he proudly showed off a scrapbook he made with everything he had ever received from me carefully preserved. I was so touched, and it certainly makes the time and effort I put forth to make this material all worthwhile!

Of course,  your comments and emails are encouraging, too, and I very much appreciate them. Thank you!

Musical Memory Game Level Two

 

Musical Memory Game Level Two

Today I am posting the second set of my Musical Memory Game series. This level has the symbols of the second level of the Texas State Theory Test, but they are also appropriate for all average age beginning piano students. There are 8 symbols and vocabulary words: dotted half note, sharp, flat, piano, forte, 2nd, 3rd, and half step. I am using this set with second graders, if that gives you an idea of the age. Of course, it is also appropriate for older beginners. You can also mix these up with the level one game cards.  If you want the back to all 4 levels of this series to be the same color, pick the back you like best and use it for the entire series. I have found that a grid to place the cards really helps little ones, and you can print one here.  MusicalMemory_Grid

If you have never tried introducing theory terms before you introduce them in the student’s lesson book, you might want to rethink this. I love the fact that my students have been introduced to symbols and terms before they actually play them.

Take for instance the sharp symbol.  If you wait until the sharp is introduced in their method book, that is a lot more information the student has to assimilate in his brain for one piece, if you really want to teach the concept. You have to teach the physical properties of playing it, the visual, the concept of a half step up, and how to read it in a measure. Then you have to teach how to play the piece, including reading the notes and rhythm!

Alternately, if you do what I do and the student is already familiar with the sharp before they get to it in their book, there is a lot less to introduce at the lesson, and the student has a large measure of confidence, because they already know what a sharp is. 

So I do not wait for method books to chose the time when I introduce musical concepts. Who started that, anyway? I can’t imagine Bach turning a page in Anna’s notebook and saying, “Oh, look, today we’re going to learn an upper mordent.” I’m not anti-method book by any means, but I am trying to spread the word that we don’t have to follow a book like we’re chained to it.

Christmas Worksheet

Well, I guess I can put my turkey pictures away and start polishing up my Santas. I already have some Christmas themed material ready to be posted, so watch for it in the next week or so.

I would like to encourage teachers who use my  worksheets to sit with the younger students and do it with them. From all the worksheets I publish on this blog, you might think that my students are doing written work and games all the time. That is far from reality, but I do have to adjust my teaching from kindergarten to twelfth grader in a short time span.  Most of the time I work at the piano doing my best to teach musicality.  I’ve noticed that if I don’t use too much written work and if I do it with the students, they enjoy it more. It is also true if you teach very little ones, you need to break up the time. Sitting one-on-one with a worksheet such as the one I’m posting today can be useful for this. Plus, if you are doing it with the student, you can sing as you write. As Georg Telemann said in the 17th century, “Singing is the foundation of music in all things.”

My grandson and I worked this Christmas Worksheet together. He is very young and doesn’t take piano yet. But he loves music, the piano, and can write the alphabet. So together we learned that the music alphabet only has 7 letters and he was delighted to write the letters inside the notes with my help. By the time we got to the treble clef he knew that A comes after G.  We sang as we wrote. He also loved to be able to point to middle C. He proudly showed it to his mother when she came to pick him up. We want our time with our little ones to be joyful and fun.

For those of you who want a “mixed up” version of this worksheet for a student a little further along, I already have made it.  I have one little student that I’m going to sit with as we do it together. I’ll post it soon or send it to you are a PDF if you’ll email me. Also, I have a cute blank staff with peppermint clefs that you can use can use at a group lesson with peppermints as the “notes” that I’ll post in a few days.