Vocal Exploration is one of the first musical experiences in Kindergarten. The goal of these activities are to allow students opportunities to use their voices in many different ways, many of which they may or may not have experienced before. Over time, this affords students the experiential vocabulary to draw upon when it comes time to differentiate between labeling different ways of using their voices, including but not limited to singing voice. These activities are used to help students explore those different ways to use their voices, work toward accessing their singing voices, and eventually on to matching pitch.

Movement in Kindergarten is essential! Not only is it used to get the jitters out, but is an opportunity to build musical vocabulary through movement exploration. Like any other element in the music room, it’s important to carefully sequence movement experiences so that students feel comfortable and confident (and excited!) to move in ways they may not have been asked to do so before. Movement can be an activity or learning objective in and of itself, but like many other Kindergarten concepts can be used to reinforce learning of other musical skills.

Echo Singing, in addition to vocal exploration, is one of the many ways that we get students ready to use their singing voices. Singing voice can be a challenging skill to master for many students because there can be a disconnect between what it means to hear singing voices, hear our own singing voice, as well as access the vocal mechanism that allows us to produce a singing voice. In addition to the actual act of singing, knowing when it’s “my turn” versus “your turn” to sing can be a challenging task for students as well.

Steady Beat, like the other concepts explored in this series, is a foundational concept for all music making. It is unique, as it is often what we think of first when we think of “Kindergarten music.” Remember that exploring steady beat should be experienced based, where students work with pulse as well as the overall flow of music. Consider ways to keep and show the steady beat in creative ways that also take into account musicality and musicianship, such as using spider fingers or other visual prompts that encourage flow through space and time.

Closing Activities are an important part of routine for both students and teachers in Kindergarten music. We want to leave students with a positive, music making experience as they leave the music room. Included in these closing activities are often opportunities for reviewing the learning objectives for the day, as well as the actual nuts and bolts of managing students through the transition of leaving the music room and rejoining their teacher. You as the teacher can decide whether the students need something higher or lower energy at the end of class to make that transition successful. In this episode of Teaching Music Tomorrow, Anne shares the book, “The Old Black Fly” and Victoria shares the game “Zapatitos Blancos.”