We sing all day. We sing on the calendar, we sing in reading, we sing for math, we sing for science, we sing to line up, we sing to sit down, we sing when we’re excited, and we sing just for fun.

Most people when they walk past my room probably think, “Is that the music class?”

I really want to sing because it works. Plain and simple. If you use a song to teach a concept, children tend to remember it.

Dr. Jean states that “…there are some activities you can do to make their brains more alert and to help improve learning.” Who wouldn’t want that? He also talks about how there are several quick and easy ways to jump-start your students’ brains. Some examples are touching the elbow, crossing the midline, and touching the toes.

An article by Hap Palmer states, “Why not work with children’s natural desire to be active and active…” I couldn’t agree more. Children love to move, jump, drop, swing, clap and sing. Why not use that to help them learn?

Palmer also states, “Make the music and movement sessions a collaboration with the kids.” In my classroom I can choose two songs and they can choose two songs every day. By doing this, I can focus on the skills and songs that I know I need to focus on for the day and they can take ownership and choose the songs they love.

Another musician that I frequently use in my classroom is Jack Hartmann. Hartmann’s music is skill-based and downright fun. His site states that, “These nursery rhyme activity songs are based on curriculum research and enhance important skills children need to learn to be successful in school.” Yes, sing to succeed! That is powerful.

Hartmann’s songs are also a big hit because there is a wide variety of styles, from “cool for kids, reggae, hip-hop, Latin, rap, pop, country, or rock.” This is great for learning about tempo and style. We use the different styles of music to create a large vocabulary of “descriptive words”.

Many teachers complain that the calendar is long, boring and they don’t want to do it anymore. I agree, if it’s long and boring, why do it?

My calendar is fast, fun, easy to follow, and full of music! I also use a lot of silly songs to keep them on track. For example, when they are hanging the link of the day, they sing “I have a chain, what color is it?” or when they put the straw by units, tens, hundreds, they sing: “I have a straw, where do I put it?” They are just little melodies to get the kids who got distracted back on track.

I hope you choose to put a little music in your day. I think you’ll find that you and your students will have fun, the kids will retain their skills, and behavior problems will decrease, all with the singing!