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.
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#8 Coding Your Own Game (Yes—You Can Do This!)
I know what you’re thinking: Coding a game? In elementary music?!
Stay with me—because if you have the free educator version of Canva (https://www.canva.com/education/), this is far more doable than it sounds.
In fact, the four games shared earlier in this series were all created inside Canva. They work beautifully as station activities, early finisher tasks, or quick retrieval practice—and once you see how this works, you may want to try building one yourself.
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In the States, many of us return around 7-10 days before the federal holiday that honors the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There are numerous songs and activities that can be utilized in the elementary classroom on the first day we return. These are wonderful ways to create cross-curricular connections with what the students are learning in their classrooms, as well as honoring Dr. King’s life and work. This post includes how a music curriculum like MusicFirst Elementary (MFE) can assist with this and how to add additional resources and activities to the lessons.
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Get ready to swirl, twirl, and fly into winter joy!
A brand-new scarf play-along to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker “Trepak” is here—and your students are going to like tracing vibrant pathways in the air to this high-energy classic. Grab the free manipulatives, press play, and bring a burst of movement magic to your classroom.
Plus—Countdown to 2026 begins soon!
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Join in the fun with this exciting play-along for the song, "Puppy for Hanukkah" written by Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes. Gather your instruments, including C, E, F, and G boomwhackers, tambourines, rhythm sticks, and maracas and shakers, and get ready to play!
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Recently, I came across a discussion in one of the elementary music education groups about whether it's acceptable for students to perform with a vocal accompaniment track instead of an instrumental one. The response ultimately depends on the teacher, as each educational context is distinct, and instructors should choose what best supports their students.
One effective compromise is to lower the volume of the lyrics on the accompaniment track. A couple of decades ago, achieving this would have required expensive equipment and technical expertise. However, nowadays, it's possible to accomplish this easily with a free, web-based tool, and I opted for moises.ai.
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Ready for a Brain Break in December? 🎉
Looking for a quick, festive activity to engage your students before winter break? Try this fun scarf movement activity inspired by Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker! It’s the perfect way to get your class moving and grooving while keeping things festive and focused. Download the free manipulatives and get ready for some holiday fun! 🎶✨
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It's #teachertip and #techtiptuesday and this one comes again from Katie Argyle's Ultimate Free Music Tech Resources Guide 2025-2026! Today, we’re focusing on assessment—specifically for younger students, those without devices, or those who may require accommodations. Plickers is an excellent tool for quickly and easily collecting data, all while keeping your students engaged. Let’s dive in!
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Ready to bring some holiday fun into your music classroom? Boomwhackers are already a go-to favorite for active and engaging music-making, but this play-along activity takes things to a whole new level of seasonal cheer. Whether you’re looking for a fresh idea to energize your students or a perfect way to wrap up the month, this activity will help you end your classes before winter break on the right boomwhacker note.
Our featured song? None other than the hilariously iconic "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", written by Theodor Geisel with music by Albert Hague. While the original version was famously sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, we’re taking a modern twist with Pentatonix’s electrifying acappella cover from their album The Best of Pentatonix Christmas. Uploaded to YouTube on December 18, 2019, this performance captures all the sass and swagger of the original, perfect for a Boomwhacker-based jam session.
So grab your Boomwhackers, the manipulatives, use the tempo settings in the YouTube play-along or the Soundslice Notation Play-Along, channel your inner Whoville musician, and prepare to turn your classroom into a festive soundscape of Grinchy grooves. Because who can be a Boomwhacker Grinch when your students are laughing, learning, and loving music? Let's dive in!
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How can I turn my students' instruments into MIDI Controllers, and why would I want to do that? Let's begin with the first question.
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Tired of hunting for quick ways to trim audio, fix a video, or merge PDFs before class starts? This post rounds up 123apps.com, a set of free, no-login-needed tools for audio, video, PDFs, and file conversions that are perfect for busy music educators.
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Need a Quick and Easy Non-Tech Music Activity for a Sub?
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What happens when gratitude, epic pop hits, and body percussion collide?
A rhythm and body percussion play-along your students won’t stop talking about!
Snag your free, fall-themed music manipulatives and Color-by-Note pages now — before they’re gone! 🎶🍁
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Let’s be honest — planning for a sub in the music room isn’t easy. Most of the time, our substitute teacher walks in feeling a little nervous about teaching music. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a music sub on speed dial, you’ll want lessons that are simple, tech-friendly (or not!), and still keep students reviewing and engaging with music.
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Veterans Day, on November 11, honors those who served in the U.S. Armed Services. This day allows the nation to express gratitude for their sacrifices. Each military branch has its unique song, and an amazing recording of all six songs was found on YouTube without attribution. If anyone knows the performers, please share.
The play-along includes body percussion for younger elementary students, with actions like tapping knees and clapping. Older students can use non-pitched instruments for reading and performing the notated rhythm patterns. Teaching tips include discussing Veterans Day, practicing rhythm patterns, and using a "wheel of names" for demonstrations. The manipulatives are available for free on my Buy Me a Coffee Channel. Enjoy the play-along video for Veterans Day!
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This is the 5th blog post highlighting a tool from Katie's The Ultimate Free Tech Resources Guide 2025-2026. This week, we are exploring moises.ai, a free+ tool found in the AI Stem Splitters Category.
You can create a free Moises account to explore many of its features, making it a great tool for the classroom. Here are five practical ways to use it in your teaching.
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Recently, I was asked about my favorite “Hello” songs to welcome our youngest students to music class. These simple songs set a positive tone for the day, help students feel included, and make transitions smoother. Below are a few of my go-to favorites that always bring smiles and participation.
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The musical Wicked, which debuted 21 years ago and continues to run at the Gershwin Theater, is now celebrated with the release of its film adaptation, Wicked Part 1. To mark this occasion, a rhythm play-along medley featuring three songs from the musical is introduced, performed on piano.
The medley includes Stephen Schwartz’s:
"Defying Gravity" performed by Master Keyz
"Popular" performed by Sheet Music Boss
"One Short Day" performed by Brennan Wieland
Rhythms for the play-along include:
Quarter notes, eighth notes, dotted rhythms, half notes, syncopation, dynamics, and accents.
Free manipulatives are available on the Buy Me a Coffee channel to assist with practice. Helpful tips for teaching include using manipulatives, adjusting video tempo, and splitting the class into groups for larger classes. Most importantly, the emphasis is on having fun while engaging with the music.
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