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!  

Spring Sale!!!

The SALE on the Piano Flip Book is NOW CLOSED!

Welcome Spring!!!  Thoughts of flowers, birds, and warmer weather are happening today!  To celebrate, we're increasing our sale!   In addition to all of our camps, practice incentives and camp bundles that are currently on SALE through the end of April, we're putting the very popular Piano Flip Book on SALE .

The Piano Flip Book is on SALE TODAY ONLY!!!  20% OFF !!!  Just click on the Birds of a Feather tab above and scroll down!

You can find more information about the Piano Flip Book here.

Enjoy the day and the sale!

Accidentals Happen!

Looking for a fun way to review accidentals with your students?   Figuring out which "black" key to play can seem very confusing at first.  This exciting game not only helps students to recognize flats, sharps and naturals, but also to locate them on the keyboard.

Accidentals Happen is a board game that challenges students to name accidentals, play accidentals and name enharmonics.

We've included the game board, game cards, spinner, keyboard and full instructions to put together and play the game.

The "accidental's happen" theme is reinforced with fun caution spots on the game board that have your students issuing challenges to other players!

For added fun, we found these cute pots in a craft store.  We painted them to simulate orange caution cones and marked them with note values to make game pieces.







This game has been very effective with our students to solidify and find the correct notes in their music.  You can find Accidentals Happen! by clicking the Birds of a Feather tab above or click on the Lulu button below.  Because it's new, we've put it ON SALE!

We hope you find it helpful with your own students!

TRIPLETS!

We know you love a value and we've started a new series that will do just that for you!

TRIPLETS - Note Value Edition is a bundle of three games and a large set of note AND rest value flashcards.  Each game uses only the flashcards you want to use with a student so they are perfectly tailored to your students skill level.  In addition, there are some specialty cards unique to each game.  The highlight, however, is the flashcards.  Who knew flashcards could be SO MUCH FUN?!

The three games included are "Give & Take", "Rows & Columns" and "8 to Win".  All three games are completely different, but still help to build the same concept - identifying/learning note and rest values.

We tried to tailor the games so they would fit any age level and I'm happy to report, they did just that!

I played one of the games with one of my five-year-old students and with one of my older teens.  Both of them loved it!  How often can you use one or one set of games for EVERYONE in your studio?H

Not to mention that this file contains a "boat-load" of flashcards that you can use in numerous other ways.  Have your students build measures based on a time signature.  You build the measures with missing notes and have them identify them.  Use the pack of flashcards for your summer camps for all kinds of games!




Here's a quick look at each game:

 GIVE OR TAKE

 8 TO WIN

 ROWS & COLUMNS

Another nice perk?   Three games fit in one pouch for easy quick storage! If you need to review note or rest values with any of your students, just pull out this one bag and you have three options for games and all the flashcards you could possibly need!

You can find TRIPLETS - Note Value Edition for sale by clicking on the Birds of a Feather Tab above or click the Lulu button below. AND...we're putting it on sale for the rest of the month!!!!  Happy October!



And watch for more editions already in the works!

What's New? Wednesday

Today, we have an exciting, interactive flip book for you and it's all about...JOHN WILLIAMS!

We wanted to introduce our students to this amazing composer & entertainer and wanted them to see another way that we interact with music in our world. It's all about the movies and the John Williams Flip Book walks your students through the process!

Each page flips up revealing a new activity from listening, to watching a movie or learning about the leitmotif!

Students learn about John Williams' life with this fun flip biography.  There is also a page with an accordion book showcasing his movies.  We've included a word bank for a listening activity and of course, no movie is complete without some popcorn!

Students are encouraged to watch a movie with music by John Williams and describe/discuss how the music affected the movie. We've also included a page to highlight all of his awards!


If you're wishing you could do just a little something different this summer, consider highlighting music in film and using this John Williams Flip Book to showcase some of your student's favorite movies!

Our students we're pretty excited that watching a movie was a part of lessons!  Why not highlight a different movie each day for a week and have your students discuss parts that were more exciting, scary, sad...just because of the music played?  Play parts of the movie without the sound, then replay it with the sound so they can see the difference.  Have them work in groups to research music in film.

Better yet, get your students working together to create their own "film" and add music to it that fits.  I once taught a middle school class at a local christian school and had the kids create a commercial, adding music to try to "sell" their product.  It's eye-opening and helps students appreciate the work it takes to make this happen and helps them "view" music in a whole new way.

So this summer, why don't you consider a movie theme?  You can purchase the John Williams Flip Book by clicking the Birds of a Feather tab above and scrolling down or directly from the Lulu link below!  Your students will love this change of pace and who doesn't love a good movie?

Download immediately.

Oh...and don't forget the popcorn!

In Honor of Memorial Day & A Giveaway!!!

My dad was a Navy veteran and even though I spent much of my childhood missing him, I'm proud of the work he did serving our great country.  He recently passed away so this Memorial Day has an even greater meaning to me.

In honor of Memorial Day and all of our veterans, we wanted to offer a GIVEAWAY of our popular Piano Flip Book and put it on SALE!  We will be doing a drawing for TWO Piano Flip Books!

If you would like to participate in the giveaway, there are two ways to get your name in the random drawing from now through May 31, 2018.  First, put a comment below letting us know what Memorial Day means to you and second, start following our Birds of a Feather Facebook page here.  If you do both, you will have two chances to win!

A fantastic way to teach your students about the piano!  The drawing will take place on May 28th.  We will post TWO winners on Tuesday, May 29th!

We will also be putting the Piano Flip Book on SALE through May 31st.  Get 20% off!  This one time purchase allows you a complete studio license!  

You can find more about the flip book here.  


Happy Memorial Day!

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!!

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!

Sale Extended!

The sale of the Piano Flip Book has been so popular, we've decided to extend it!  We'd love to see ALL your students enjoy learning about how the piano works.  Our students have been LOVING it!

Here's some of what we're hearing:

J (parent) - "The Piano Flip Book is a great way to get kids engaged in learning about the piano."
B (elementary student) - "This was so much fun!  I loved learning about how my piano works!"
C (Teen) - "The Piano Flip Book is cool!"
D (Teen) - "This is a fun way to earn about the piano!"
M (Teen) - "This Piano Flip Book is so much fun!"
S (elementary student) - "The Piano Flip Book is awesome!  I really love it!"
C (elementary student) - "This is really great!  I love doing this!"

Why not incorporate this fun activity in your studio or classroom?  We're extending the sale on the Piano Flip Book through the entire month of February so take advantage of the savings and get your copy now!

Just like on the Birds of a Feather tab above or see more information on the flip book here.

SALE TODAY ONLY!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

In honor of the day and of YOU, we're putting our Piano FLIP book ON SALE for today ONLY!  $5.00 OFF!  See a preview HERE.

We're flipping over YOU!!!

Musicians are Like...

It's great to see the excitement the Piano Flip Book is creating not only in our studio, but with music teachers everywhere!

Here's a look at the artwork from one of our high school students!  Have I mentioned the Piano Flip Book is popular with ALL our students - both elementary AND middle school/high school students?

A total win for your studio or classroom!

Bringing you quality resources is important to us.  We also "test" our resources by using them with our students first so that we only bring to you what students love!

In addition to the Piano Flip Book, we would like to introduce another new product - the Musicians are Like... series!  This series helps students identify characteristics of good musicians by relating them to animal skills, talents and behaviors.  We all love animals and often there is a great connection between us.  When used with your students, this series will help that connection and help you reinforce all those musician skills!

Our first series....The Jungle Edition!  And here's a look at what's included.

Nine Jungle Animal Collector Cards.  When printed and cut apart, they fit perfectly into baseball card-sized plastic sleeves so students can organize and view their collection.  Use them as rewards, encouragement, examples of goals to work on or simply for instructional enrichment.

Jungle Animal Coloring Pages!   There are five pages - nine animals along with one cover sheet.  In addition to an outline picture of each animal (suitable for coloring), each page includes information about the featured animal and ways students can relate the animal's trait to their own musicianship.  These coloring pages can be used as part of individual or group lessons, camps, or as a separate unit on positive characteristics of musicians.

Nine Jungle Animal Valentines!  Just in time for Valentine's Day, each valentine features a different jungle animal reinforcing your jungle theme and making it easy for you since all you need to do is print them and cut them apart.

Jungle Animal Birthday Postcards!  These postcards are unique, fun and simple for you to help your students celebrate!  Print them out, address them and they're ready to mail!

And unique to our jungle edition...Jungle Animal Stickers/Buttons!  One sheet features the nine individual animals and the trait each represents in a way your students can wear with pride.  You can print a sheet on adhesive sheets to use as stickers or print them on regular cardstock, cut them out and place in plastic button pins.  These are perfect for rewards, encouragement or to acknowledge the jungle animal trait your students most exemplify.

You can purchase the Musicians are Like...Jungle Edition by clicking on the Birds of a Feather tab above.  The one time purchase allows you to use the kit with your entire studio as many times as you want!  Keep in mind that we have several other editions in the works so you will soon see more options to choose from!

Also....DEEP IN THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE practice incentive and JUNGLE JAM camp plans will be released within the next couple of weeks!  This kit is a perfect complement to both of those!

Enjoy!!

The PIANO FLIP BOOK!

Teach your students about the piano!  Not only how to play it, but how it works.  We created this exciting, fun and interactive flip book that does just that!

I have been using the Piano Flip Book with my students over the last few months and they LOVE it! We've been taking a few minutes each week to work on it and for many it has become the highlight of the lesson!

With a few supplies you probably already have on hand, your students will be cutting, pasting, coloring and best of all...LEARNING all about the piano...it's history and anatomy, how the action works, the topography and how to care for this amazing instrument.

Here's a little look at some of what's inside:

A bit of history...

A piano flip book inside a piano flip book!

A full 88 keyboard pull out with activities on each octave!

The best part?  The purchase of the Piano Flip Book allows you to make as many copies as you want for your studio, classroom or home!  The gift that keeps on giving!

This activity can be used each week like I've been doing in my independent teaching studio or it can be part of a camp, group lesson, classroom or homeschool project.

Click on the BIRDS OF A FEATHER tab above or go directly to THIS link to find it!  Enjoy!