Musical Transitions
Several years ago when I was teaching Kindergarten, I had an idea in the night. I used to keep a notebook next to my bed to jot down these ideas... I need to start doing that again! It was an idea that I quickly implemented and loved. For some reason I fell away from it but I plan on reinstating it this year. What might it be? Musical transitions! Now you may have heard about singing chants to transition from one subject to the next. I love to do that too but this is different. The musical transitions I am referring to are designed for literacy stations or centers. In the classroom music helps manage volume. If you play soft background music, the children learn to keep their voices low. Being able to hear the music helps them self regulate their volume. (You have to explicitly teach this of course!) It is also soothing and peaceful. Couple these two notions with transitioning from center to center and you h...