Great music related websites for kids

http://www.nyphilkids.org/ - the New York Philharmonic's website for kids. This is the site we use to study the instruments in 3rd grade, but it's got some great games as things to explore as well.

http://www.dsokids.com/ - the Dallas Symphony Orchestra website for kids. More instrument clips, as well as info on composers and making your own instruments.

http://www.classicsforkids.com/ - Classics for Kids. A radio show on Cincinnati Public Radio that connects Classical music with kids. Info and quizzes about composers, games, and a list of links for music-related sites.

http://musicfamilies.com/websitesforkids.aspx - Music and Families: Strengthening Family through Music. A list of links including a piano pedagogy site that includes note practice games and a site for sing-along songs.

The little bit I now know about blogging.... :)

So this has been kind of a crash course in learning how to blog, since I really knew nothing coming into this, but it's pretty amazing that I now have my own blog that I can build from for the school year. The first thing I learned was just what blogging really was, and how it can benefit students that might not otherwise feel comfortable talking in a classroom setting but might be able to write it online. I also feel like I now have the basic knowledge to create a blog that students and parents can use as a resource to build on what I teach in my elementary music classroom. The last thing I think I learned is how secure this blogging can be - I think we all worry about who can read and comment on these things on the Internet, but it's nice to know there are ways to monitor what is put onto my blog.

To blog or not to blog - aka how can I use this in my classroom?

I've been thinking about how I can use this blogging to benefit my students in their 'quest' for musical knowledge. My initial thoughts are to use it kind of as a resource guide for parents and kids. I'll sometimes check out different websites during class, on subjects such as musical instruments or treble clef note practice, and the kids will often ask me about how to access that website at home. This blog would be an excellent way to compile those sites so that the students could explore them further from home. I think later on then I could pose questions for students to answer pertaining to the topics we're focused on in class, as well as maybe setting up a way for students to do research on certain musical subjects and then assign certain students to post their findings on the blog.

Interesting educational blogs to check out

http://mjsheetmusictips.blogspot.com - MJ's Music Teaching Tips, written by Marilyn Johnson. This blog is something I would mostly use for my personal use as a music teacher, but it is geared toward adults interested in a variety of music subjects such as becoming a wedding musician, learning to play the piano on your own, getting over performance anxiety, and trivia on different familiar songs. This blog seems worthwhile because the woman writing it has a degree in music as well as practical experience from which to draw.

http://kidsmusicthatrocks.blogspot.com/ - Kids' Music That Rocks, written by Warren Truitt (who is a children's librarian). This blog has reviews of childrens' albums, as well as pictures and videos. Some of it seems very personal to the gentleman that writes the blog, but it seems like it would be valuable for parents looking for appropriate music for their kids, and it would be fun for kids to explore as well. It might not be the most educational blog, but it's great to have a resource for me, parents, and kids to find entertaining and age-appropriate music for elementary aged children.

http://afamilyplacechildrensmusic.blogspot.com/ - A Family Place: Children's Music Classes, written by Kathryn from Rome, GA. This is a woman's personal blog that includes a lot of info about her teaching music through Kindermusik classes as well as Orff techniques. This is a blog for my personal use as a music educator, since it gets into some technical jargon. This blogger obviously has some training and experience in teaching music to young children, so that makes this a valuable educational blog to get some new ideas to use, as well as helpful pictures and videos of kids in action performing.

My first blog post - let the music begin!

Hi everybody! I'm Sue Geesey, elementary music teacher in the Upper Dauphin Area School District. I teach general music for grades K through 4, and I'm also in charge of a 3rd grade recorder club and a 3rd and 4th grade chorus. I teach an amazing group of about 450 students here at UDA (yes, we're that small we only have one elementary school for the district), which is a rural district about 40 minutes north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Hopefully on this blog I can give you all some of the great things I hope to do this year in elementary music class, as well as some cool websites and blogs that I think might be of interest to students and parents. Thanks for reading!