Novelty = Learning

I've been noticing how the "novel" items allow and help students focus on the more "academic" items.  I've been working to find one "novelty piece" to finish up each class with, and it has definitely been paying off!  The students leave class with a really high energy and look forward to that time at the end when we'll be doing something special.

It's been most exciting when one of the novelty items can double as a creative way of spicing up a learning objective.  My favorite lately is the "Clothespin Bag".  I think it's probably an old concept, but it's new to me and I'm loving it!  Whenever I have a piece that I really want the students to internalize/memorize (either to add to their song repertoire or to teach a specific concept later), I pull out the clothespin bags.

I bought some colored washclothes, sewed them together, and put them on this "thing" (the blue stand above) that I found on the give-away table at school.  Each bag has a different collection of clothespins in it...."Sing like...", "move like...", "walk like...", "dance like...", "act like...", etc.  I'm planning to use the movement pins with Pre-K through 1st Grade as they're learning how to move conscientiously, but the "sing like" has been particularly successful with the older grades.

Some examples: pirate, snake, queen, la la, cowboy, girls only, guys only, opera singer, hum, lip sync, rap, monotone, crying, laughing, sneezy, sleepy, hyper, robot, grizzly bear, etc.

It's one of those "YES!" reactions when I bring it out, and each kid wants a turn to pick a clothespin out of the bag.  Before they know it, they've sung (usually echoing works best) the same song 8-10 times, and have it completely memorized.  AND, it provides an avenue for dramatization!

Best of all: I've never made it through a "bag" session without belly laughing yet.  It's been awesome to see the energy, excitement, and abandonment that these kids "perform" with.  Love my job!