More Moving and Grooving!

Hi everyone! This is Kate from Kate's Kodaly Classroom. This past weekend was the Colorado Music Educator's Association Conference in Colorado Springs, CO. It was great to see so many wonderful presenters (like our very own, Amy Abbott!) and spend time with colleagues making music and sharing ideas. It is so easy to feel isolated as a music teacher, which is why I am so grateful for opportunities to collaborate and for all the online communities that have popped up to keep us connected and supporting each other!

I am going to piggy-back on Karla's movement post, and add a few more ideas for you to try! I am a HUGE fan of movement activities. The more I learn and research, the more I am convinced that giving our kids chances to move leads to higher engagement, increased learning and many more smiles in your classroom.

One resource I have been using recently and loving is Lynn Kleiner's "Kids Can Listen, Kids Can Move."

I have put my "Kodály Twist" on a few of her activities and my kids love them! Here is a highlight...

Hungarian Dance No. 6 with Queen Caroline

Queen Caroline is one of my absolute favorites! Like many of you, I use this chant to teach beat, rhythm, high/low, inner hearing, quarter and paired eighth...it's a gold mine!

Given my love for Queen Caroline, I was so excited to find a listening and movement lesson to connect to it in my classroom. I have adapted the story from the book, to go something like this...

"Queen Caroline was throwing a birthday party at her castle for all the most important people in the land. She told her servants that they needed to be very proper and always bow or curtsy when they met a guest at the party. To prepare for her party she had the servants practice walking around the ballroom with their heads held high, bowing and curtsying to each other. What Queen Caroline didn't know is that when she would look away, her servants would dance and make silly faces to one another." 

I then play the recording of Brahm's Hungarian Dance, No. 6 (click here to hear the piece on YouTube) and let them listen for when they think the servants are serious or silly. There is a clear contrast between the a and b motives in timbre and tempo. They then get to act out the story walking around. You can also add another level, saying that if the queen (you) catches them being silly when she turns back around, they have to sit in "the dungeon" or sit out. It is fun, fast, and a good listening example for same/different and fast/slow for your Kindergartners or 1st graders. Plus, my kids BEG to play it, so it is a nice carrot to have on a wild or crazy day! 

There are many other great ideas for your younger students in this resource that you can tie into your folksongs, so I encourage you to check it out if you are looking for ways to meld listening and movement!

It is always fun when you can make a connection to your classroom literature in a movement or listening activity, but I also try to find ways to include opportunities for movement in day-to-day activities. Here are a few more ideas of ways to get your kids up and moving...

Movement with Flashcards

Flashcards are such a quick way to practice concepts, but let's be honest- they can get boring. I am always trying to keep my kids engaged and IMPROVING when we use flashcards, so one activity I came up with was "Music Walk." For this activity, I give every kid a flashcard with the concept that we are practicing (rhythm works best in this activity). Then I play something fun for them to walk and dance around to (ABC by Jackson Five is always a hit) and let them move throughout the classroom. When you pause the music, they have to partner with the person closest to them and read the rhythm on their card. Their partner reads their card, and then they switch cards giving each kid a new flashcard. The music starts again and they repeat the activity. It gets a little noisy, but I have found that my kids get more practice this way than when we read as a whole class. I also will often participate with them and strategically partner myself with kids I know need a little extra help.

Body Scales and other Simple Games

I sometimes find that as teachers, our tool box gets so full that some of our simplest (but still effective) treasures get buried at the bottom. I keep a list by my desk reminding of all the basic ways to prepare and practice to draw from when I am lesson planning, and I find it really helpful!

Things like body scales (having your kids move to show the contour of the pitch), walking the rhythm, chair dictation, etc. are great ways to give your kids a chance to wiggle and move while getting in some extra practice or preparation for what you are working on.

Using Movement Canons to help with Part Work

I am new to my school this year, and one thing my students need a lot of help with is part work. So, for my last tidbit, I thought I would tie into some of Sue's post and share some strategies for improving part singing through the use of movement. When teaching rounds, partner songs, ostinati, and harmony, I have found that movement is an awesome way to help your kids improve their part singing. Here's an example...

My 2nd graders are pretty strong singers, but were struggling with rounds. In particular, I found that the 2nd group would often come in on the wrong pitch, matching the group that had already started. For example, in "Are You Sleeping," my students would start the round on mi instead of do. There are many strategies you can use to address this (maybe I'll get to that in a later post...), but one strategy I've found very effective is including movement. Movement helps kids visualize how the pieces fit together so well!  You can break it down like this...

Step 1: Divide your class into two circles. Have both circles sing at the same time, walking around the circle and stopping at the end of the song.

Step 2: Repeat, but this time in a round. Being in the circle formation will help them hear their part, and the movement cues them to start from the beginning. I would recommend you join the 2nd group to start.

Step 3: As a challenge, you can repeat the round in concentric circles. I have used movement like this for programs before... it looks and sounds beautiful!

Adding movement like this, or even simple layered actions, gives your singers a visual representation of the harmony and keeps the active and engaged.

I hope you are having a great week and that you will find some of these ideas helpful! Happy moving and grooving!

6

Get up and Get Moving!

Winter greetings to everyone!  My post today is inspired by the very cold weather we have been having in Ohio and how that has impacted my teaching this week!  I know some may say that the weather in Ohio is not really that cold but this week we have had temperatures in the single digits with wind chills below zero everyday!  A friend posted on facebook the temperature in Anchorage, Alaska - 36 degrees, the temperature in Canal Winchester, Ohio - 3 degrees!  Crazy!!

So with the very cold temperatures that means 2 hour delays for school, inside recess and no playing outside!  I find the students to be very antsy and needing to get their bodies moving!  I’m sharing 3 activities that I have used with my students this week for the sole purpose of getting them up and moving.

One the students favorites is to do Jim Along Josie.  I actually started using this in kindergarten with them because I needed a very short movement activity and they LOVED it!  I play Jill Trinka’s recording off her cd titled ‘My Little Rooster’, Jim Along Josie is track 1.  

The first time I play it, the students must listen and tell me all the different motions are that she sings about (walking, skipping, flying like an eagle, jumping like a kangaroo and spinning).  After listing them all, we get up and move the way she says.  This recording is less than a minute long so it is short and sweet but serves the purpose very well!  The first motion is to ‘jim along’, I tell the kids that I don’t know what it means to ‘jim along’ and that we have to come up with our own motion during that time of the song. 

Inspired by Sue and her video’s, I’m posting a short clip of my first graders doing ‘Jim Along Josie’!

Another activity my students really enjoy and gets them up and moving is called ‘The Freeze’.  I must admit that I have had this recording for a very long time and I think it was originally on a cassette tape that I transferred to a cd.  I honestly don’t remember when I got it AND who it is!!!  If someone knows, please please please tell me!!!

The way I do the games is the music is playing and the students can move freely around the room.  When the music stops, everyone must freeze in the position that is held up by a student.  Since my students know this very well, I choose a student to hold up the cards.  I have used many different ‘picture cards’ over the years but my favorite are ones I found on line!  Get the movement cards FREE at Artie Almeida's Website  http://www.artiealmeida.com/resources/Statues.pdf 

Shout out to Katie Wynkoop for spending a good chunk of time on a Saturday afternoon locating the download on the web for me - thanks friend!

Here are my first graders playing 'The Freeze'

Finally, I'm sharing one of the students favorite games of all time -  I call it ‘Statues’.  Very simple - when the music is playing the students can move freely about the room, when the music stops they must freeze like a statue.  Now, statues don’t talk or giggle but they can blink and breathe.  If you move when you are to be frozen you are called out.  This is their favorite part, I give 2 students ‘jobs’ to do; one to start and stop the music (using the pause button on the remote controll for the cd player) and another to call people out (sitting at the front of the class watching - I can also call folks out too).  These are the most sought after jobs of all!  They are much harder than I am when calling each other out!

The music used in this video is from Les Gustafson-Zook’s Skip to My Lou Songs of the Pioneers.  Les has been to my school several times as an artist in residence and he is GREAT with the kids!  He is an award winning autoharp player but plays all kinds of folk instruments.  He does a great job teaching the kids song and how music was used in the past and sings all folks songs performed on traditional instruments in his sessions.  I use his cd for many different things in class. You can find it at 

http://gustafsonzook.com

Lastly - check out my own blog at CMajorLearning.com.  It is brand new and I would love to hear from all of you!

Have a great week everyone - get up and get moving and - STAY WARM!!!!

9

Two peeks at part work!

Hi everyone, this is Sue!

There was a time BK (before Kodaly) that I thought that ‘part work’ only meant singing from a choral score in 2 parts or more.  The simplest practice of part work is echo singing and going on to keeping a beat while singing a simple song.

The first example is of second graders preparing tikatika with the song “Chattanooga Choo, Choo,” (follow link for score of the song)  In this video of my second graders the children are making trains of any length (some by themselves!) and put the rhythm in their feet while singing the song then switching to part work in the B section as they stop and clap a simple steady beat pattern with a child or children around them as they sing the melody.   The children are practicing part work also in the sense that they are going from the rhythm in their feet to the beat in their hands.

 Link to Chattanooga Choo Choo

Video of Students playing the game-

The second example is of part work in grade 4.  They are reading and performing a 2 part rhythmic score with the boys on one part and the girls on the other.  This means they must be independent since it is unlikely that they are seated next to someone on their same part.

Other Pedagogy used in this score

• The two parts are in different colors so students are able to track it easily
• On the alto part, the notes are upside down as they occur in much of staff reading
• The last measure of the alto part has a titi broken into single eighth notes with the soprano part replicating the measure exactly.  I tell the kids “Same rhythm, different font”

Teaching process (over 3 lessons)

1. Class reads and claps soprano part
2. Class reads and claps alto part
3. Class reads/claps one part while Teacher does the other the vice versa
4. Class claps in 2 parts ½ room on each part-students grouped with like parts
5. “Mixed Nuts”  students perform like the video, in parts but in mixed groups.  (suggestions for grouping can be by gender, birthday etc)

Have fun!

4

Welcome to three more bloggers!

We are excited to introduce three more bloggers to the Kodály Corner! Meet Chrystine from Sydney, Australia, Jamie from Chicago, and Tanya from Denver!

1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Chrystine and I live in Sydney, Australia. I am originally from Canada, but have been living down under since 2003. In 2002, my best friend Kiersten and I left Canada for what was meant to be a 2 year trip around the world. After backpacking through 21 countries, I was offered a fantastic music teaching position here in Australia and Kiersten fell in love with an Aussie boy and got married. Ten years later we both call Sydney home and live only a short twenty minutes away from each other!

2.) Where and what do you teach? I teach K-4 music at a private school in Sydney, Australia. I run two choirs, one for upper primary and one for lower. 

3.) How long have you been teaching? I started teaching in 2000, and in my 13 years of teaching experience I have taught drama, PE and music.

4.) What is your Kodály experience? I was fortunate enough to have studied Kodály in university. Having weekly classes in Kodály really shaped my music teaching career. I’ve been using the Kodály method in my classroom for over ten years now, and I couldn’t imagine teaching any other way. The methodology of active music making is logical and fun for all my students. 

5.) What is your favorite teaching memory? I don’t have a singular teaching experience that stands out as a favorite. However, it is indescribable – the joy I feel each and every time I witness my students performing something musical I have taught them. Seeing my students perform with confidence, musical skill and pure joy is a feeling like no other. I’m so blessed to be a music teacher!

 1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Jamie Parker, and I live in the suburbs of Chicago. I became interested in the Kodály philosophy of teaching music when I was an undergrad at Illinois Wesleyan University. Initially, I had come to the university to study music education with an instrumental emphasis (I play clarinet). That all changed the moment I entered Mary Eggleston’s elementary classroom during my foundations of teaching course. I became enthralled with the Kodály method of teaching, and I knew it was the right path for me. I became even more engaged when I student taught with Nancy Fuemmeler—she even had me read Choksy’s Kodály Method before putting me in front of the kids! She encouraged me to study further, and I cannot thank her enough for mentoring me!

I love teaching elementary-aged students. Their little minds can soak up so much information! It is their right to have a great music education, and I feel privileged to be in the classroom everyday.

I’ve been married to my husband, Andrew, for about 3 ½ years. We live at home with our three dogs (Otis, Lulu, and Percy), cat (Yammi—the sweet potato), two frogs, and about a million tadpoles that I hope to get rid of soon.

2.) Where and what do you teach?  I teach kindergarten-fourth grade general music and fourth grade choir in Troy School District 30c in Joliet, IL.

3.) How long have you been teaching?  This is my sixth year teaching.

4.) Where did you do your Kodály levels?  Capital University in Columbus, Ohio

5.) Which Kodály-inspired teacher has been the most inspiring to you?  If I had to pick just one, I would say Bruce Swank. Bruce was my level II methods teacher and musicianship teacher at Capital. While the three weeks I spent with him were among the toughest in my life (I’m sure many of you can relate), Bruce opened my eyes to all that can be accomplished in the classroom. His encouragement and support has been unbelievable, and I am blessed to have had him as a teacher. Thanks, Bruce!

6.) What is your favorite Kodály levels memory?  I will never forget marching and clapping an ostinato while singing a 333 around my apartment with my roommate, Katie. She would make fun of me every time I would say, “OK. Just one more time.”

7.) What is your favorite teaching memory?  A few years ago, I was presenting two-beat meter using the song Bounce High, Bounce Low. Once we had everything on the board, one student yelled out, “That’s real music! I can read music.” The words of this little 6-year old remind me that music literacy is powerful, and we can accomplish so much in our classrooms. 

1.)  Tell us a little bit about yourself: I am Tanya LeJeune. I live in Denver with my family of four. My husband, Craig, is the art teacher at the same elementary school and yes, we met at school. We have a son who is in 3^rd grade at our school and a 4 year old daughter who will be starting kindergarten next fall. They are both musical and keep us entertained with their made up songs and dances. I’m looking forward to next year when all four of us will be in the same building.

2.) Where and what do you teach?  I teach music 1^st – 6^th grade at an elementary school in a suburb outside of Denver. Some years I also teach kindergarten, depending on enrollment. I wish I taught kindergarten every year, they really need to have music in their school day.

3.) How long have you been teaching?  This is my 18^th year teaching, (15^th year at my current school!)

4.) Where did you do your Kodály levels?  I am a part of the first group of teachers to complete levels certification at Colorado State University. I also hold my Masters of Music Education from Colorado State University.

5.) Which Kodály-inspired teacher has been the most inspiring to you?  I have had several excellent Kodály teachers. I started my teaching career in New Mexico and felt aimless and clueless teaching elementary music during my first years. My undergrad general music courses provided little more than a sampling of various approaches and I was going to be the next greatest high school choir director, so what did it matter? (Was I in for a reality check!) Then I saw Jill Trinka present at a state music educators’ conference in New Mexico. Jill’s was the first Kodály session I ever attended. I was very inspired by the songs, games, and dances she taught us, and the teaching techniques she described. HERE was quality music I could get excited about and a teaching philosophy that mirrored my personal beliefs about music education! Jo Kirk was my level 1 teacher and her energy and passion for pedagogy was contagious. I owe so much to Jo for her insights on quality, research-based music instruction. I have to say that Jill Trinka lit my Kodály fire and Jo Kirk fanned the flames!

6.) What is your favorite Kodály levels memory?  I loved the late nights in the dorm practicing solfege with my classmates, many of whom are still close friends today.  I especially loved singing and solfeging the Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos pieces we were assigned. When, besides solfege class, do you get that opportunity?

7.) What is your favorite teaching memory?  I can’t choose just one! There are so many wonderful small moments that happen during the school year. I love when the younger students tell me about how they played Lucy Locket at their birthday party or when I hear the “too cool for school” 6^th graders exclaim breathlessly “That was fun!” after singing and dancing I’se the By. I also love those times when kids surprise themselves with their musical skills, like when they sing in canon for the first time or discover they can sight-sing a melody.

Please stay tuned as we introduce more bloggers, and as Sue Leithold-Bowcock posts a blog entry this week. Have a great day!

2

Even More Stories and Songs!

I'm so excited to write my first post for our new collaborative blog!!!  I hope you all find it as fun and inspiring!  I know with all the other amazing teachers that will be soon be blogging I will gain a wealth of knowledge from their ideas and I hope you do too!

I'm piggy backing on Aileen and Lindsay's theme of Stories and Songs.  Song tales and books that either have a song or music connection, in the music room provide such a rich learning experience for our students.  First of all, they provide us an opportunity to sing to and for our children.  They provides an opportunity for our students to relax and enjoy a story.  The song tales are often very rich in language and vocabulary and provide a great opportunity for cross curricular learning.  And they inspire imagination!  I'm going to share three that I'm currently 

One of my favorite song tales is "The Tailor and the Mouse", adapted my John Feierabend and illustrated my John McGann:

Here's the song that I sing with my students:

2.         The tailor thought the mouse was ill, Hi diddle umkum feedle

            Because he took an awful chill, Hi diddle umkum feedle

3.         The tailor thought the mouse would die, Hi diddle umkum feedle

            And so he baked him in a pie, Hi diddle umkum feedle

4.         He cut the pie, the mouse ran out, Hi diddle umkum feedle

            The mouse was in a terrible out, Hi diddle umkum feedle

5.         He gave the mouse some catnip tea, Hi diddle umkum feedle

            Until a healthy mouse was he, Hi diddle umkum feedle

This song is great for teaching ti-tika, and I isolate that rhythm in the chorus (that way I avoid the anacrusis that my 3rd graders haven't yet studied).  Additionally, there's a great line dance that they perform with it:

Formation: two straight lines, with partners across from each other.

Action:  

1.  On the verse, the head couple sashays down the set for the first 8 counts and then back up for the second 8 counts.

2.  On the chorus, the sets "peel the banana" or "cast off", with the head couple meeting at the foot of the set.  They head couple makes a bridge and all other couples proceed under the bridge and up to the top of the set.  Play continues to the end of the song.

With this particular book, I have them learn the song and dance and then introduce the book as a closing activity in a separate lesson.

One of my all time favorite illustrators and authors is Eric Carle.  "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and "Polar Bear, Polar Bear" can be used the same way with first grade classes:

I sing the song to them, with the following melody:

I use this for so-mi by isolating the first phrase, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear".  Every time they have a new verse start I have them use body signs for so-mi preparation.  That is, they put their hands on the head for "so" and their hands on their shoulders for "mi."  During the next lesson (and assuming that they've been doing many other so-mi preparation activities) they write the so-mi patterns on melody boxes:

I'm not sure if anyone else uses melody boxes, they might actually be an "Original Abbott Idea", but I really like using them because it helps them get the idea that they can't "stack the notes."  Or, in other words, it helps them write the melodic line horizontally.  Since I started using them I haven't had problems with students putting so and mi on top of each other, and thus forming an unintentional chord.   (By the way, the cute polar bear erasers can be found at Oriental Trading).

After writing a few different songs on the melody boxes, they easily transfer the patterns to a 2-3 line staff:

And to a 5-line staff.

(You can find these staves and more activities in my "so-mi" bundle at my TpT store.)

Finally, I'm going to be using this one with my 5th graders in a couple weeks (and yes, it might be a little "young" but they're going to be reading the melody and the rhythm and figuring out the chordal progression so hopefully that will provide a nice challenge for them: they've been reading ti for a little while now and we're about to present tim-ka):

A few years ago, when I was ROCKE president, I asked Susan Brumfield to present at our state conference.  We found this little gem in the exhibit hall and it goes perfectly to the tune of "Clementine":

Like I mentioned above, I've got to create a way for the 5th graders to "buy into it", so we'll be singing Clementine before we read this.  Additionally, in the Colorado state standards, 5th graders need to be able to read I, IV and V chords.  We'll derive the chords as a class and make a simple accompaniment that they can easily play using tone-chimes and/or Orff instruments.  From there we'll be playing a Cupid's Arrow game to reinforce tim-ka.

I hope you're enjoying this collaborative blog as much as I am!  Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to visit again soon to meet more of the contributors and to get some more ideas!

4

Welcome to three more bloggers!

We are very excited to introduce you to three more Kodály Corner bloggers! So we can get to know them better, we asked them the following questions:

1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself
2.) Where and what do you teach?
3.) How long have you been teaching?
4.) Where did you do your Kodály levels?
5.) Which Kodály-inspired teacher has been the most inspiring to you?
6.) What is your favorite Kodály levels memory?
7.) What is your favorite teaching memory?

Welcome to Karla, Sue, and Kate!

1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Karla Cherwinski. I was born and raised in central Ohio and teach in the district where I grew up - this was not my plan but is how life worked itself out and I wouldn’t change a thing!  My family includes my husband, Jim, a self employed musician, stay at home dad and Kodály teacher by osmosis; my son, Nicholas, a 12 year old trombone player, Minecraft gamer and serious thinker for his age; and my daughter, Stella, a 10 year old piano player, artist - especially anything with duck tape and friend to all.  We are all animal lovers and have a red doberman named Ruby, a cat who adopted us many years ago named Cali and 3 fish named The Doctor, Stella and Spock.  We all enjoy the great outdoors and can be found camping, hiking, canoeing, fishing taking pictures or just reading a good book under one of the many trees in our yard! 

2.) Where and what do you teach?  I teach at Indian Trail Elementary in Canal Winchester, Ohio - General music for K, 1 and 2nd grade but have taught K-6 general music earlier in my career.  I also teach Level III Methodology and Materials in the graduate program at Colorado State University.  

3.) How long have you been teaching? This is my 21st year!

4.) Where did you do your Kodály levels? I was fortunate to be introduced to the Kodály philosophy by Dr. Sandra Mathias as an undergrad and have never known any other way to teach.  I studied at Kodály Institute at Capital and Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary.

5.) Which Kodály-inspired teacher has been the most inspiring to you? Dr. Sandy Mathias - my first Kodaly/Orff/Dalcroze experience were all with her! I remember the very first time - My first year theory class was on the stage in Mees Hall at Capital University.  Dr. Mathais said - ok take off your shoes and echo me.  We all looked at her like she was CRAZY!!!  But we did it and I’ve never been the same since!

6.) What is your favorite Kodály levels memory?  I think the best is making such good friends and learning and growing as a professional.  I have many other memories - but most are not whatI would call fond…. you know….hours analyzing songs, writing and rewriting music on retrievals, practicing and practicing……you get the idea!

7.) What is your favorite teaching memory?  There are many over the years - like knowing that one of my students was just going to be a music teacher one day and now she IS!  Seeing the joy and love of teaching music in just a few students over my 20 years keeps me going every day!  I also LOVE when I take my 2nd grade students (close to 300!!!) to see the Nutcracker Ballet at the Ohio Theater each year.  Seeing the look on their faces as they walk into the theater is truly amazing!  Let alone the fact that they being introduced to an art form and music that many would never otherwise get the opportunity to see!

1.)  Tell us a little bit about yourself: My name is Sue Leithold-Bowcock. I have a BA Music Education and a Masters of Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. I have presented workshops and conference sessions for teachers in the Kodaly Approach including at the local, regional and national level.  I am a former OAKE Board member and KCM chapter president. I have taught Kodaly Level III at St. Thomas and most recently, Level II Pedagogy and Folksong at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. 

2.) Where and what do you teach? I teach grade 1-5 classroom and choral music in District #761 in Owatonna, Minnesota. As the department chair, I have facilitated the development of a Kodaly inspired elementary music curriculum, assessments for that curriculum and have and mentored several district teachers in the Kodaly Approach. 

3.) How long have you been teaching? Since 1982

4.) Where did you do your Kodály levels? I  received my Kodaly Certificate at the University of St. Thomas in 1992

5.) Which Kodály-inspired teacher has been the most inspiring to you? Lamar Robertson-  Lamar was my Level I solfege teacher and Level II Pedagogy teacher.  He literally wrote the book on teaching Kodaly in North America.  Lamar was able to help his kids achieve music literacy without a classroom and for his learning tools it was a tuning fork and a piece of chalk!

6.) What is your favorite Kodály levels memory? There are many profound moments but one of my favorites is more silly than profound.  Alan Spurgeon and I were in Level I together and we would lie about what instructor Ann Kay wrote on our folksong assignments.  Alan “It says ‘this is by far the best work in the class’”  Sue “Mine says ‘this is even better than Alan’s, in fact the world of music would be incomplete without your presence gracing it”

7.) What is your favorite teaching memory? So many, but here’s one-

My second month of teaching in 1982, I broke up a small scuffle between 2 kindergartners on the playground.  Peter was saying “John is a liar, he said he can read but he can’t even write is name on his paper.” I responded “that’s true John” but John said “I can too read!  I just don’t know how yet!”

This was an epiphany about teaching kids to sing.   All kids (and adults) can sing, some just don’t “know how yet” and it is our calling to teach them.

1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself: Hi! I’m Kate Klotz, and I live in Boulder, CO.  I consider myself a Coloradoan, even though life has taken me from New York to Colorado to Washington State and finally back to beautiful, CO.  I am married to my husband and best friend, Nathan, who I have known since the 5th grade.  He has done a wonderful job of taking on the duties that come with being married to a music teacher- riser moving, glue gunning, and everything in between.

I sort of stumbled into teaching elementary music (and I am so thankful I did!)  Like many, I intended to be a high-school choral director. However, it was only a few weeks into my first job as an elementary teacher that I realized I was 100% hooked. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else.  I feel so lucky that I fell into a district of amazing Kodaly teachers and had a Levels program closeby at Colorado State to help me learn the ropes!

2.) Where and what do you teach? I currently teach in the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, CO. I teach K-5 general music and choir at my school, and I also direct the training choirs for the Boulder Children’s Chorale.  Prior to teaching in Boulder, I taught elementary general and middle school choir in Spokane, WA, and elementary music in Longmont, CO.

3.) How long have you been teaching? I am still a newbie...I am in my sixth year teaching.  :)

4.) Where did you do your Kodály levels? I completed all three of my Kodaly levels at Colorado State University as part of their Master’s program.  My instructors were all fabulous, as you will see on this blog!  Aileen Miracle, Sue Leithold-Bowcock, and Karla Cherwinski...I thank my lucky stars for you!

Taking my levels was truly life-changing for me. They empowered me as a teacher, inspired me as a musician, and uncovered a passion that has only continued to grow for helping children learn and love music.

5.) Which Kodály-inspired teacher has been the most inspiring to you? I am amazed by so many Kodaly teachers each and every day. While I can’t pick just one teacher who has inspired me, I will give credit to yet another one of our blog contributors, Amy Abbott, who first exposed me to the Kodaly approach at a district sharing. I can’t imagine teaching without my Kodaly training, and I am so grateful that you opened my eyes to it!

6.) What is your favorite Kodály levels memory? Again, how to decide?! I would have to say that Kati Viragh saying “Is that the best you can do?!” in solfege in her wonderful accent will forever be etched in my mind.  I loved solfege.

7.) What is your favorite teaching memory? I love the little, day-to-day victories and smiles that we experience in our jobs.  However, one of my very favorite memories is when I was leaving my school in Washington State to move back to Colorado, my 5th grade students prepared and sang “Colorado Trail” a cappella for me on the last day of school as a surprise.  I taught in a low-income building where many of my students lived in very challenging circumstances and had little exposure to the arts. In my first year in the building, I had to practically beg to get students to sing. After pouring my heart into teaching them to sing and love music, I remember feeling humbled as I realized that, in the end, they inspired me to love music more.

Welcome to Karla, Sue, and Kate! We are very excited to have them on board. Amy Abbott will soon post about children's literature, and we will soon introduce more bloggers. Stay tuned!

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