Musically Minded Blog

Summer is in full swing and we hope that means you will find your way to a campfire at some point throughout the season. That is unless you live in a state with a “high” risk for fires like us here in Washington this summer. We’ve created a song book filled with 11 Campfire Songs…

All through December we are sharing the story of the Nutcracker in our music classes. It’s the second week in and parents are already telling us their children are coming home talking about what they are learning. Of course, many are sending their parents out for a nutcracker of their own. Wouldn’t you? This week…

This month we are learning all about the Nutcracker. We will be listening/dancing/creating as we immerse ourselves in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet. This week we started reading the story and are using Susan Jeffer’s version. We chose her retelling because of it’s limited text which as we know keeps the attention of our listeners much…

The Fourth of July holiday is said to be the official kick off to summer. In preparation, we have compiled a songbook filled with 10 Campfire Songs Your Kids Should Know. Growing up in a family where we sang all the time, I thought everyone sang around the campfire like us. As a teacher, I…

My favorite time of year is summer. Playing in the water with my girls and exploring the ocean beaches is always a summer treat. Growing up in Montana, I didn’t get to visit the ocean often which meant seeing a starfish attached to a pier was something I had to wait 30 years for. My…

Our bugs and blooms theme is in full swing but in order to get this started right we had to go on a bug hunt this week. Using the traditional song “Going on a Bear Hunt” as our inspiration, the children echoed their way through this buggy adventure. All sorts of different bugs were found…