Make it a Musical March

Last year, we blogged about the importance of music in education, and offered some ideas for using it to enhance your classroom or home. March is Music in Our Schools Month, sponsored by MENC (The National Association for Music Education). This year’s theme is “Music Lasts a Lifetime.”

Been looking for a way to work music into your lesson plans? This is your perfect opportunity! You’ll be amazed at the impact music has on children, and the benefits for all ages. Here are some excellent places to get started:

MENC’s site for Music in Our Schools Month – This is the go-to resource for using music in the classroom. Packed with information, ideas, and activities, this site will help you determine how best to handle your music-based lessons.

Need an activity to get your students thinking musically? Try this free download! You will need both the activity pages and the two audio tracks to complete the exercise.

Name That Instrument

Music Track 8

Music Track 9

Looking for more in-depth resources, lesson plans, and activities? Check out Lorenz Educational Press’s complete library of music materials for the classroom. It doesn’t matter if you’re a music teacher or not – you’ll find something that you can use!

Here’s something you may not be aware of – our parent company, the Lorenz Corporation, has been publishing music for 120 years. Do you have any students that sing or play instruments? Are you a music teacher looking for specific materials? Check out their website for more information and a ton of music products.

No matter how you go about it, March is a great time to bring music into your classroom or home. Your students will love it, and you’ll love what it does for them. How do you plan on celebrating Music in Our Schools Month? Share your ideas and stories in the comments section below!

Another Way to Celebrate the 100th Day

Last week, we wrote about 100^th day of school celebrations – specifically, celebrations of the fact that the year is half finished. Today, we’re going to take a different approach to getting our triple-digit party on. Rather than viewing the glass as half empty, let’s see it as half full.

We’re ONLY Halfway There!

The school year is half finished. That’s well and good, but you’ve got work to do yet. A half is just that – half. This implies that there is another half remaining, and you and your students intend to make full use of each and every day.

That isn’t to say that you can’t or shouldn’t celebrate – four and a half months of hard work and achievement is to be commended. There’s time for a quick pat on the back, a small celebration. That celebration, however, should be learning-based fun. Did you know that the 100^th day of school started out as a math-themed celebration? Students would practice counting to 100 and solve math problems using numbers in the hundreds, among other things. This is how a proper 100^th day should be conducted. You should recognize the progress of the school year thus far by practicing learned skills.

The greatest element of the party is this, however: you still have half a school year to go, filled with even more education and entertainment! You’re only halfway done. The motivation is education itself, the knowledge waiting to be unlocked and unleashed upon your students’ minds. This should excite the teacher as much as it excites the student. 100 days are over – bring on the next 100 and all that they have to offer. Roll on, learning!

Click here for some fun and education-based 100^th day activities courtesy of Education World®. And check out our very own 100 Series of books for lessons and activities to help you get through the next 100 days of school and beyond!

97, 98, 99...Celebrate!

Around this time of year, a very special holiday is celebrated. The Chinese New Year, though certainly special, is not quite the right one. Valentine’s Day is another important one – but that’s not it, either. This one’s huge. It might be difficult to believe, but the 100^th day of school is upon us. And that means it’s time to party! Schools all over the nation are celebrating in fun and unique ways. Activities are being organized. Games are being played. Snacks are being devoured.

What’s the big deal - why do we celebrate 100 days of school? Our next couple of posts will explore two answers to this question. The first answer…

We’re Halfway There!

Depending on your school schedule, this time of year is pretty close to being the midpoint. Both teachers and students have made it through four-plus months of trials and tribulations, good and bad, hard work and fun. Through it all, a bright light looms down a now-shorter tunnel, and at its end waits a sunny summer paradise. The end is within reach – what’s not to celebrate?

The 100^th day celebration, then, is the beginning of a countdown to the school year’s completion. It’s a motivational tool, a way of reminding students that their hard work is leading them somewhere great. It’s also a way to reenergize the young mind, to open it for fresh helpings of education and fun. In essence, this big party is a setup for the next four and a half months. All these things, by the way, apply to teachers as well.

Consider this your official invitation to join in the celebration. You have half the school year behind you, and this party will provide the spark, the energy to get the second half kicked off with a bang. Keep up the great work. Roll on, summer!

Stay tuned to Bridging the Gaps in Education for a second reason to celebrate the 100^th day of school. Planning a celebration of your own? Click here for some fun ideas.

How do you feel about finishing the first 100 days? Sound off in the comments section below!