Daily Routine

In previous years, I struggled to include daily rhythm, singing and Solfege exercises into my lessons. I would have them planned, but I usually got caught up in the main focus of the lesson and we would manage to skip that part of my plans.  This year I decided to implement a Daily Routine that would cover rhythm, singing, Solfege and history.  I start each class (usually) with this routine and it typically takes around five minutes to accomplish (listening days take longer then this). I have seen great improvement with my students ability to read rhythm and Solfege due to the daily repetition and exposure.

Song of the Month (SOM)-  Each month I choose a song that I teach the entire school (K-4). I tend to pick a seasonal song and I keep it simple, so my younger students can still sing it.  It is fun hearing different grades of students singing the same songs. 

Rhythm of the Week (ROW)-Each week I pick three rhythm exercises cards for my students in grades 2-4. In kindergarten and first grade we do daily rhythm e no exercises.  This year my kindergarteners started reading Ta and Ta-rest rhythms during fourth quarter. 

Solfege of the Week (SOW)-Each week I pick three Solfege exercise cards for my students in grades 2-4. Kindergarten and first graders do Solfege echo exercises daily. 

Composer of the Month (COM)-Each mon we study a new composer and every two months we study a new musical time period. We answer twelve questions about the composer and listen to their music. Extra activities or projects are varied based on the composer.
(Here is a post I wrote specifically on our Composer of the Month.