What To Do This Week with Elementary Music Classes?

The Lunar New Year will be celebrated on February 17 this year, marking the beginning of a new cycle in the lunar calendar. It is the Year of the Horse, a symbol often associated with energy, freedom, speed, and independence. Over the years, I have created a variety of steady beat and boomwhacker/xylophone melody play-along videos that have been enjoyable for many. These resources aim to enhance musical skills while celebrating the rich traditions of this festive occasion.

If you’ve used Wheel of Names as a fun name picker, you already know it’s engaging. But there’s a new update that makes this free tool even more powerful for practice, preparation, and assessment in the elementary music classroom.

Winter can be a magical time in the elementary music room—but it can also be long. Between indoor recess, shortened attention spans, and the need for meaningful review, finding calm, engaging, and musical activities is essential.

That’s where Color by Notes – Winter Edition comes in.

This printable resource combines music literacy, visual creativity, and seasonal fun in a way that works beautifully for independent work, centers, sub plans, or those “we need something solid but low-stress” days right before a break.

I'm popping in today to let you know that my presentation is going live at 12 noon EST where I'm talking all about Three Instant Wins: Using MusicFirst Elementary in Your Classroom Tomorrow for the Elementary Music Summit®: January Refresh!

My colleagues and I will be going over:

• Active music-making activities that fit with a song (playing instruments, improvising, composing

• Resources for recorders, boomwhackers, barred instruments, ukuleles, and band/orchestra instruments

• Orffestrations for elementary general music class

I also created a worksheet for you to follow along with!

My goal is for you to use MusicFirst Elementary next week in your classroom!

Want to try MusicFirst Elementary?

It’s not too late to regain your teaching energy and tackle second-semester challenges - Join us next week!

Creating music class resources is only half the job—sharing them easily is the other half. If you’ve ever needed to turn a PowerPoint into a PDF for students, families, or substitutes, this post and video break it down into three quick, stress-free methods you can use right away.

Say Goodbye to the Sunday Scaries!

10 Elementary Music Activities You Can Do the 1st Day Back

If you’re heading back into your classroom tomorrow after a long winter break, take a deep breath—you’ve got this. The first day back doesn’t need to be perfect, polished, or packed with brand-new content. It just needs to re-establish routines, rebuild musical confidence, and remind students that music class is a joyful place to be.

This Countdown to 2026 series was designed with real elementary music teachers in mind—activities that are short, flexible, and immediately usable across grade levels. Each idea can stand alone, work as a station, or be stretched across multiple classes depending on your schedule and energy level.

Across these ten activities, you’ll find:

• Play-alongs that reinforce steady beat, rhythm, and pitch without heavy explanation

• Movement and scarf activities that get students engaged right away

• Boomwhacker and ukulele options with built-in differentiation

• Low-prep manipulatives for review and retrieval practice

• Creative tech ideas that spark curiosity without overwhelming you

• Choice-based activities that give students ownership on day one

Whether you teach preschool, kindergarten, or upper elementary, these activities prioritize success, participation, and joy—exactly what students (and teachers!) need after time away from school.

So instead of spending your Sunday worrying about lesson plans, choose one familiar song, one movement activity, or one hands-on review game. Let students ease back into music-making, and give yourself permission to start the year calmly and confidently.

Here’s to a smooth first day back, happy music-making, and leaving the Sunday Scaries behind. 🎶

Since December 23, I’ve been sharing short, low-prep activities designed to help elementary general music teachers ease students back into music class after break. For the final activity in the Countdown to 2026, I wanted to end with something flexible, musical, and fun—an activity that truly works across multiple grade levels.

#1 Pete the Cat Ukulele Play-Along

This ukulele play-along is one of those rare activities that adapts beautifully to a wide range of learners. Younger elementary students will enjoy listening to the story and singing along, while older elementary students can take on the added challenge of performing A Major and E minor chords on the ukulele.

The play-along is based on Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons, using the read-aloud video from Buttercup Storytime:

🎶 #2: Auld Lang Syne Boomwhacker Play-Along

This Boomwhacker play-along is a high-energy way to welcome students back into active music-making. With clear visuals, color-coded cues, and a familiar melody, students can jump right in and feel successful within the first few minutes of class.

Boomwhackers naturally bring excitement into the room, and this activity channels that energy into purposeful learning. Students practice melodic patterns and rhythmic skills—including dotted quarter note rhythms—while staying engaged and focused.

#3 Auld Lang Syne Rhythm Play-Along

If you’re heading back into the music room after a long break, you know the feeling: students are happy to be back together, routines are a little fuzzy, and everyone needs a gentle on-ramp back into music-making. That’s where #3 in the Countdown to 2026 comes in—an Auld Lang Syne Rhythm Play-Along that’s low-stress, high-engagement, and easy to drop into your very first lesson back.

This activity is designed to help students reconnect with listening, steady rhythm, and ensemble skills right away—without needing a long explanation or extensive setup. I often start class by reviewing the free downloadable rhythm manipulatives before pressing play. It’s a quick retrieval-practice moment that gets students thinking musically again and sets a calm, focused tone for the rest of the lesson.

Ukuleles can be a favorite musical activity for elementary musicians. It can make some musicians feel successful because they can strum a chord and sing simultaneously. It can make other elementary musicians feel happy because when you strum on the open strings, the chord of C Major with an added 6th is a very pleasant sound. Plus, the ukulele does not play loudly or "pop" high notes, so those with sensitive ears usually like the sound of the ukulele.

Coming back from a break can feel like a reset for both students and teachers. I love having a few low-prep, high-impact activities ready to go—especially ones that reinforce musical concepts while giving students a calm, focused way to ease back into learning. That’s where today’s Countdown to 2026 activity comes in: Color by Note – Classroom Instruments Edition.

This Color by Note activity is a student favorite because it feels like art time, but it’s quietly doing important musical work. Students color pictures of familiar classroom instruments—like xylophones, drums, egg shakers, cymbals, and wood blocks—by matching each color to a specific rhythm value. Quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes, whole notes, and their corresponding rests are all included, making this a great review or reinforcement tool for early rhythmic literacy.