Pumpkin Time!

October is a fun month in music class!  We get to sing lots of pumpkin songs!  One of our all-time favorites is Pass The Pumpkin.  Through the years, we've added various instrumentation to the song, played the passing game, and generally had great fun with it! 

The student pointer

Kindergarten and First Graders are using the song this year to reinforce quarter and eight note patterns.  Students take turns using the display on the SmartBoard as a pointing page while we sing.  This is a quick way for me to assess each student in their tracking skills.  They are also trying their hand at a simple bourdon on the xylophone to accompany the singing game.  Again, a quick assessment of steady beat and mallet proficiency.
While we sing the song, we play the passing game and rotate around to each of the instruments as well as a chance to be the "pointing person."
This week, we've added xylophone, rainstick, and gong to the piece.  Perhaps we will come up with some new instrument choices next week!

We have LOTS of choices for the pumpkin to use in our passing game!