15 days left of the ANNUAL camp sale!

There are only 15 days left of the ANNUAL Camp and Practice Incentive SALE!  Just a quick reminder to take advantage of the lower prices while you can!

If you're thinking about running a music camp this summer, here are numerous camps available:

1.  Our newest and quickly becoming popular...

FUN-LYMPICS!
An olympic-style camp that encourages healthy competition and loads of music theory games!

You can read more about Fun-Lympics HERE.





2.  Our MOST popular camp...

ROADTRIP USA!
Explore regions of the United States and different styles of music.  This camp is full of fun activities, games and movements.

You can read more about RoadTrip USA HERE and HERE.  There are also Road Signs available.



3. It's a jungle out there and this camp will help you celebrate that!

JUNGLE JAM
This is our largest camp and is LOADED with games and activities.  It also includes a trading post, a look at the composer, John Cage and nine amazing jungle animals that may just remind you of a few musicians!

You can read more about Jungle Jam HERE.



4.  Looking at a trip to the city?  Look no further...

BEYOND CITY LIMITS
This camp is full of city-related activities and games and makes use of things on a LARGE scale.  There are several crafts and a group art project.

You can read more about Beyond City Limits HERE and HERE.





5.  How about a trip around the world?  

WORLD ADVENTURE
This camp is a compilation of games, activities, science projects and crafts designed to celebrate the diversity of our world!  With eh help of the this resource you can explore 33 countries in 6 continents!

You can read more about World Adventure HERE.




6.  How about a mystery?

MYSTERY ON MUSICIANS' ISLAND
This camp includes games, activities and crafts all with a fun, island theme! Add to that a mystery that needs to be solved and you have the makings of a camp your students will be talking about for a long time!

You can read more about Mystery on Musicians' Island HERE and HERE.




7. And if composers and composing interest you and your students...

MEET THE COMPOSERS
Meet the Composers provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce your students as well as children who may have minimal or no musical knowledge to some amazing composers and the art of composing!

You can read more about Meet the Composers HERE.



That's 7 great options for your summer!  We have more camps in the works  that you'll hear about over the next few months but these are all great options for this summer!  

REMEMBER - there are only 15 days left to get any of these camps ON SALE!

FUN-LYMPICS!!!!!

You've been asking and we've been working hard to deliver!  2020 marks the next Olympic games and we've put together our own musical version - FUN-LYMPICS!

We've created both a practice incentive AND an outdoor summer camp.  You can purchase them separately or as a bundle.  We've put together the practice incentive, MUSICIANS IN TRAINING as a prelude to the camp with the idea that you and your students will train and "practice" the events all year and then "compete" during the summer FUN-LYMPICS! event.

By training and practicing, we mean that students will work on Note Identification, Rhythm, Intervallic Recognition, Musical Terminology, Notation, Accidentals and Creativity in Playing.  By working on these concepts for 10 or so months during lessons, they "qualify" for the FUN-LYMPICS competition during the summer.

The summer camp is designed to be an outdoor camp although many of the events can be done inside if necessary.  BUT, if you live in an area that's too hot during the summer or if you don't have the outdoor space necessary, the practice incentive, MUSICIANS IN TRAINING can also work perfectly as a summer camp - INDOORS!

Here's a look at each one:

MUSICIANS IN TRAINING:
If your students are anything like ours, they love playing music games!  This practice incentive is designed to have your students work as individuals and in teams to not only accumulate practice points, but to build their musicianship through Knowledge, Skill, Focus, Endurance and Creativity.

There are 8 sports that form the foundation for the "events" and we've included beautiful graphics for each of them.  Students compete in areas such as golf, gymnastics, track and field, swimming, etc. all with a musical twist.  There are 29 competitive events (translated as 29 games for your studio!), many that will take 5 minutes or less to complete and some that will be done over several weeks.

The incentive also includes a workbook that has your students practicing music notation in a fun way. Purchase of this incentive allows you to make unlimited copies!   We've also included a large bundle of flashcards - grand staff cards, 5 levels of rhythm cards, interval cards, terminology cards - symbols and definition cards - accidental cards, and musical alphabet cards for use with the events and for just general use in your studio or classroom!

We want to encourage you and your students to give back so we have also provided information regarding the Special Olympics and how this incentive can benefit others!

FUN-LYMPICS!
The big event!  We've put an athletic twist on our musical twist!  Dizzy, anyone?  This camp has students working to learn and "perfect" their abilities during the first few days of camp so that they are ready to "officially" compete on the last day of camp - a great day to invite parents and friends to come see the FUN-LYMPICS!

Each day of camp they practice all of the events - which also secretly practices their musical knowledge - trying to hone their skills as individuals and as a team.  The events include relays, water games, races, and more!  There are also a couple of crafts that will be used on the last day of camp at the FUN-LYMPICS! competition.

Fun-lympics follows the same eight sports as MUSICIANS IN TRAINING with 27 events.  We show you how to set up everything (the events, general decor and signage) and run each event and how to set up your FUN-LYMPICS! competition on the last day.  We even give you ideas for an Awards Ceremony!

So to summarize...If you purchase the bundle of both MUSICIANS IN TRAINING and FUN-LYMPICS, you will receive 56 games to use with the program and/or in your studio anytime, a practice incentive with a music notation workbook, loads of flashcard sets AND the possibility of two camps!  WOW!!!!

Both MUSICIANS IN TRAINING and FUN-LYMPICS! are now available for sale by clicking on the Birds of a Feather Tab OR the Camp and Resources Tab above OR click on the links below:

Musicians in Training

Fun-lympics

Fun-lympics/Musicians in Training Bundle
 

And just because we want to get you as excited as we are, we're including them both in the current SALE which runs now through the end of April!

Happy competing!  

It's a Jungle out there!!!

...At least in the music teaching world!  Our Jungle Jam camp (and bundle) is becoming the one of the most popular camps we've done.

It's exciting to see other teachers who have the vision to not only run a camp this summer, but to chose one of my personal favorites!

We spent many months on this camp and the practice incentive.  In fact the practice incentive, In the Heart of the Jungle was inspired by the game of Labyrinth.  I had changed up that game a bit and used it as a game to teach musical terminology.  (You can see a post about that here.)  It quickly became a studio favorite and I mean it was a favorite for a couple of years!

I thought it would be fun to try to make a practice incentive around a labyrinth so after many months of planning and building graphics we produced, In the Heart of the Jungle and ultimately, the companion camp, Jungle Jam.

I have to admit I have a soft spot for the camp, RoadTrip USA! (which has been the most popular camp) because it was the very first camp I put together.  I didn't know what I was doing and I can remember sitting at my dining room table searching the internet and trying to find ideas and anything that might spark interest in my students. It took me SO LONG to put it together, but I loved the outcome and so did my students!

Now, many years and many camps later, I feel like the ideas are flowing endlessly! And I find it so much fun!  Jungle Jam took us over a year to put together but I couldn't be more thrilled about it.  I love the Trading Post and all of the activities we put together to highlight each of the shops.

I also love the nine animals we included and the personality traits we gave them. There's loads of games that highlight these and it was exciting to spend a week watching our students learn through play!

As with all of our camps, we include crafts that work with the theme and tons of games that you can use during the summer and all year with your students.  For all of you who have purchased Jungle Jam, I hope you and your students have an AMAZING summer!

For those of you are still trying to figure out what you want to do, consider running a camp!  It's an absolute favorite in my studio and parents always plan other camps around our music camps!  It's a nice feeling that parents value the quality education we're giving their children!

Don't forget that all of our camps and camp/practice incentives are ON SALE now through the end of April.  Take advantage and stock up!  If you would like a bit more information about Jungle Jam, click here.  If you would like to go ahead a purchase the camp and/or practice incentive bundle, click on the Camps tab above!

Also, just a quick reminder that our FUN-LYMPICS camp and Musicians In Training practice incentive will be up for sale by next month!

What's New? WEDNESDAY

I'm starting a new weekly segment - What's New? WEDNESDAY!  On Wednesdays I will be highlighting a new resource we've put together at Birds of a Feather.  It could be a new game, new camp, new teaching tool, practice incentive, interactive book, etc. We want you to know about them as soon as they are available!

So....First up...

CAN YOU REACH 100?  (Djembe Edition)
This fantastic puzzle is a fast, fun way for your studio to mark progress toward a 100 of ANYTHING!  Have you challenged your students to learn 100 pieces?  Maybe 100 days of practice?  Maybe you want to work on rhythm so you ask your students to complete 100 rhythm exercises!  Whatever you decide, we have a very exciting way to do it!  Instead of just checking a box, have your students build a puzzle together!

This djembe is a 100-piece puzzle that students work together to complete.  Each time one of your students completes a challenge requirement, they can draw a puzzle piece to add.  My students had a great time working together on this and really looked forward to participating.

We've included two puzzles of the same image- one is muted with lines showing where each puzzle piece should be added and the other is a full color version that you cut into pieces.  Those pieces can be placed in a bowl, bag or bucket so that students can reach in and grab one at a time.  Each puzzle is four printed pages that are attached together.

This photo shows our start as we began to fill in pieces.  The goal for my studio was to complete 100 performance ready pieces within one month. Everyone in my studio participated and worked hard to practice those pieces!  And...we were successful!

So if you're planning a 100 challenge, consider this fun way to track it!  CAN YOU REACH 100? Djembe Edition would work great over the summer to keep your students practicing and to give them goals to work toward!


CAN YOU REACH 100? Djembe Edition is available under the Birds of a Feather tab above!  It's also included as part of IN THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE practice incentive - another fantastic teaching tool!

To purchase and download CAN YOU REACH 100? Djembe Edition, click on the Lulu link below.

Download immediately.

Enjoy!

Want to Take a Trip to the City?

They're HERE!  Tonic Tower and Beyond City Limits are now available in the shop!  Here's a peek inside each one:

Tonic Tower 
Tonic Tower is a studio practice incentive that centers around a large skyscraper.  Students "climb" the tower, visiting eight different shops on the way to the top.

The shops are self-contained and unique so that activities for each one is entirely different from the others.  Shops can be used in any order you wish - use all or choose a few - allowing you complete flexibility to adjust the incentive to fit your studio's needs!

The eight Tonic Tower shops include:
      Flip Your Lid! (hat shop)
      Pear Phones and Tablets
      Scoops Ice Cream Shoppe
      All that Ticks & Tocks (clock shop)
      Laser Adventure (laser tag)
      Tonic Music Academy
      Gone to the Dogs (pet daycare)
      Sweet Expectations Candy Shop

All the information, directions and printed material for each shop is included.  If you spend at least four weeks in each shop, this practice incentive can last 24 weeks or more of lessons.

We also included ideas/printed material for decorating your studio/classroom and your students notebooks as well as ideas for your recital.

Here's a few of the items you can expect to find in this incentive:
   * Tonic Tower printable
   * Elevator Panel for your students to track practicing
   * A fun, interactive flip book about composer, John Williams
   * A Create-a-Game kit to help your students create games for your studio
   * Game boards and activities for various shops
   * Two self-contained games for use during the year
   * ...AND SO MUCH MORE!



 

Our students really enjoyed the changes each month and looked forward to all the activities.  We planned a "hidden" shop at the top to build up anticipation.  This was a very motivating incentive and we think your students will love it as much as ours did!












Beyond City Limits

Beyond City Limits is the camp we put together to tie into our year long practice incentive.  This camp invites your students to explore life in the big city.  They participate in games, activities and arts and crafts that focus on six city "regions" with special activities in each.

   *City Center - a fun group graffiti music & art project
   *Municipal Park - group games
   *Grand Central Station - jumbo EVERYTHING
   *Shopping District - games/activities based on shops
   *Arts & Museums District - arts and crafts
   *City Station - Drumming project

As with many of our camps, Beyond City Limits is designed to fill at least 15 hours of fun.

Here's some of what's included:

   * Metropolitan Transit Map
   * Metro Passes
   * City Region Signs
   * Graffiti Music Art Project
   * Five Shop Games
   * Five Jumbo Games
   * Four Craft Activities
   * And LOTS MORE!

So take your kids on a fun journey through the city with a week of fabulous games, activities and art projects. We've also included a guide for running this camp to try and make it as easy as possible!







You can find both Tonic Tower and Beyond City Limits by clicking on either the camp tab or the Birds of a Feather tab above!  The best news???  They're both ON SALE right now!!

Camp Series

Up first in our camp posts...

ROADTRIP USA!    
This exciting trip around the United States features a look into music styles and the flair of various regions in this great country.  Each day of the 5-day camp features a different region with games, activities, movement and fun - from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, to the Wild West, New York City and the islands of Hawaii!

The camp plan outlines all of the games, activities, movements and decor ideas for each day.  It also recommends music choices to help enhance all of your fun!

To add to the excitement, we also have musical road signs available if you'd like to include them in your camp decor!

So pack your bags and take a trip with RoadTrip USA!  Make sure you've filled up your tank with gas and have a spare tire as you travel from the open plains to carnivals and towering skyscrapers on this fun musical adventure!

Oh, and be sure to obey the rules of the road...

To see previous posts about RoadTrip USA, check out HERE
and HERE!

To purchase RoadTrip USA!, simply click on the Camp tab above and select the camp and the road signs or go HERE!
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MARCH MADNESS SALE!

SUMMER MUSIC CAMPS!!  It's that time of year again!  And we want to help make it easier for you!

For the entire month of March, all of our camp plans are ON SALE!!  And, the bundled Camp/Practice Incentives are ON SALE as well.  Stock up now and SAVE.

Here's a look at what we offer:

RoadTrip USA!
A musical tour of the USA!  This super fun camp includes a "trip" to our nation's capital, NY city, New Orleans, the Wild West & Hawaii. An exciting way to spend five days this summer.

There are also Road Trip signs available.  This camp has been by far our most popular!

World Adventure!  Visit 6 continents (it's too cold to visit Antarctica!) and many of their countries. This camp plan is loaded with games, activities, science projects and crafts all centered around the flavor of the area you visit.

Lots of research went into this camp and many of the games are inspired by games children play all over the world.  We also included several "inventions"  in our activities.

Mystery on Musicians' Island! Take your students on a mystery filled adventure.  This camp plan is loaded with games and activities with an island flair.  Many of our students say this was their favorite camp.

Marooned on Musicians' Island is the practice incentive based on the island  This incentive can be used during the year as a prelude to the camp or after the camp as you start up the new year.

Jungle Jam
Take your students to the jungle!  This camp plan (461 pages!) is packed with 34 games and activities, a trading post, 9 jungle animals and a jumbo size grid game board that uses your campers as game pieces.

This is by far our largest camp plan and one we are VERY proud to present to you.

Deep in the Heart of the Jungle is the companion practice incentive.  This incentive features puzzles, mazes, cyphers and a labyrinth game board.  Our students say this was their favorite incentive so far!

Meet the Composers!
This smaller camp plan provides a wonderful opportunity to introduce elementry students who may have minimal or no musical knowledge to some amazing composers and the art of composing!  

Designed to be taught in 4-one and a half hour classes, these plans provide the complete format to not only introduce students to some amazing composers, but also to give them the opportunity to create their own compositions through a few basic composing techniques.




And coming soon...

Beyond City Limits
A super-exciting trip to the city!  This camp plan visits areas of the city where students experience games, crafts, bucket drumming and a group graffiti musical art project.

This camp plan is almost finished and will be available within the next couple of weeks - just in time to take advantage of the March savings!

Tonic Tower is the companion practice incentive that centers around a large city skyscraper.  This incentive has students visiting several "stores" in the skyscraper.  It includes a fun elevator panel, game boards, and activities that change monthly in order to add a fresh twist to all that practicing!












Take advantage of the reduced pricing and enjoy the smiles and learning your students will do this summer!  Just click on the Tab above label "Camps"!



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JUNGLE JAM and Deep in the Heart of the Jungle!!

It's here, folks!!!!  The long-awaited Jungle Jam camp is now available!  We've gone deep into the heart of the jungle to bring you this AMAZING camp plan!  It took us months to put it together and I'm so proud of how it turned out.  My students experienced it last summer and they're still talking about it!

Jungle Jam is packed (and I mean PACKED) with loads of musical games, activities and crafts all centered around nine jungle animals and an exciting trading post.

And if that's not enough, we've provided all the information you need to make a really cool grid-style game board that uses your students as game pieces.  This was HUGELY popular with our campers!

Let's break it down...Jungle Jam is 471 pages!  Yes, you read that right! 471 pages that include everything you need to run a full week of camp in whatever way you would like.  Using the entire camp will give you 15+ hours of material but just using parts of it for shorter camps allows you to chose what will work best for you and your campers.

If you've purchased or seen our Musicians are Like...Jungle Edition you know that we chose nine jungle animals specifically for their characteristics.  We compared those same characteristics to musicians and how we can use those to build our musicianship.

We've taken that to a whole new level with this camp.  These same animals take center stage and there are 27 games and activities that have them in mind.

In addition, we have created a really exciting trading post with seven shops.  Campers visit each shop and work through seven additional games and activities trying to earn much needed jungle supplies.

Working through the trading post alone would make a fun camp!

Here's a look at one of our shops - Moe's Meats.
It has a rhythm activity that involves a variety of meats just like at the local meat market.

Have you ever played games using a jumbo grid-style game board?  We have four just such games and here's a look at one called, Sloth Stack.  These games were so popular, we had to play them over again.

These photos show you outdoor activities, but almost all of the camp can be done indoors as well.  In fact, we've included a game index that helps you see what game matches up to what animal, whether it can be played outdoors or indoors, etc.  A great resource we hope will help make your planning easier.

In addition to the camp, we have created a year-long practice incentive called, Deep in the Heart of the Jungle.
This practice was the catalyst for the camp and includes a labyrinth-style game board that features a jungle river.  Students work their way through the river stopping at nine jungle areas.

Along the way, they collect the nine jungle animal collector cards and parts of a cypher to solve a coded message.

This incentive is packed with puzzles, mazes, and cyphers.   Even the animals have some messages for students to de-code.  This was by far one our most popular practice incentives and kept our students working hard.

Jungle Jam, Deep in the Heart of the Jungle and Musicians Are Like...Jungle Edition are all now available to purchase.   Simply click on the BIRDS OF A FEATHER tab above.  Right now there is a discount if you order Jungle Jam and Deep in the Heart of the Jungle as a bundle.  That bundle will also include all but one item of the Musicians are Like...Jungle Edition packet.  If you purchase the bundle, we are happy to send you the extra item FREE!

Also....stay tuned because Tonic Tower - a city skyscraper-themed practice incentive and Beyond City Limits - a fun, city-themed camp will be available within the next couple of weeks!

Planning to Run a Camp This Summer?

C O M I N G   S O O N ! ! ! !

A Jungle-Themed Practice Incentive Program -
DEEP IN THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE!

This incentive program is designed to keep your students practicing, but also celebrates the characteristics of a musician.  Puzzles, Cyphers, Mazes and a super-exciting Labyrinth are all part of this year-long program!

Continue your year-long practice incentive with this jungle-themed camp or just run the camp! Based around nine jungle animals, a trading post and a student-sized grid for games, this camp will have your students excited about all things MUSIC!


Both the Practice Incentive and the Camp will be available THIS MONTH!







And if that's not enough....Watch for TONIC TOWER and BEYOND CITY LIMITS - a city-themed practice incentive and camp COMING IN MARCH!

Ready for a World Adventure?

If so, you now have everything you need!!

It's been about 2 years in the making and is now available for sale in my store!  World Adventure! is a compilation of over 50 games, activities, science projects & crafts designed to celebrate the diversity of our world!  With the help of this resource, you can explore 33 countries in 6 continents.  It is structured by continent and each game or activity relates back to the country it was inspired by.  You can run World Adventure! as a camp or simply use it as a resource within your classroom or studio as you explore world music.  

World Adventure! has all the information you need for each activity including a supply list and detailed instructions.  It also includes many resources you can print out and information you need to make individual pieces.  If you'd like to run this as a camp, I've provided detailed information as to how I ran mine with a printable passport and stickers for each country!  In addition, there is a word wall of unique world instruments that you can easily print out!

I ran this camp twice last summer and my students told me it was one of the best camps...EVER!  They often ask me during lessons if we can play a game or do an activity we did at World Adventure! last summer.

World Adventure! is available as an instant download.    

If you are planning a camp this summer, any of these 3 resources would make a great choice!  I hope whatever you do, that your summer plans are falling into place.!

Summer Break Ideas

In addition to planning summer camps, the studio recital coming up in June, and my end-of-year evaluations, I'm working on putting together ideas for summer lessons.  There is a lot of planning for us to do, isn't there?  I teach during July, but take August off for vacation and for planning for the new year, so I want my students to be as motivated as possible during the "lazy days of summer". 

So, I thought I would take a quick survey to see what the rest of you might have done or plan to do this summer.  Would you please share?

Do you put together packets for your students?  If so, would you share what those packets include? 
  
Do you plan an incentive program over the summer?  If so, what type of incentive have you found works the best? 

Do you purchase additional music for your students to work on over the summer?  If so, would you share what repetoire you find works the best for independent learning?

I thought I would compile the information here on my blog so that everyone has a list in one place.  Just post what you are doing and I'll put together the information for all to see!

Thank you!