Rachel Aupperle, Fisher Grade School,  Fisher, IL  raupperle@gmail.com  (217-897-3311)

Information from Rachel………

The Heart of Illinois Orff Chapter will be holding its Honor's Day festival on May 22 at ISU's Center for the Performing Arts.  The festival features over 200 students from the central Illinois region.  The clinicians are teachers from area schools in the Bloomington, Champaign, and Peoria area.  There will be an performance at 1:30pm, featuring students performing on barred instruments, recorders, drumming, singing, and movement.  Although it is too late to register your students for this year's festival, it would bea great idea to check out the performance so that you can see what thefestival is all about.

Put that busy energy to good use and enjoy the weather.  Spring is sprung and summer is just around the corner.  If your classes are anything like mine, I'm sure your kids are squirming and wiggling all day.  The best solution to that is movement in the classroom.   If you do not have a very large music room or you are struggling with "music-a-la-cart" why not ake your classes outside.  That way you and your students can enjoy the fresh air as well as share the joy of dancing.  A good suggestion for dance is from "Chimes of Dunkirk" by the Amidons'.   With students in grades 3 and higher, you might want to try the "Heel and Toe" Polka.  For younger grades, try "Alabama Gal." Depending on your level of dancers, you may want to substitute a two hand turn, instead of right and left turns with their partner.  One way to teach kids to sashay down the alley is to have them envision their longways  set as a slide.  The top group slides down the slide or alley.  You can use two visuals with a slide and the word top at the top and bottom.  Place these signs respectively at the top and bottom of your sets.  To teach casting off, have your students pretend to peel a banana.  The sides move away from one another.  The one big thing to keep in mind is that you never want to get out of order.  It's like playing follow the leader.

Our fall JEM Session will be an introduction to Kodaly presented by Melissa Miller.