We have been focusing on growing and changing as a theme this spring in the ECSE classrooms we serve in Minneapolis & Rockford. In some of the smaller classrooms, singable books paired with an instrument is the perfect combination to work on gross motor imitation goals with secondary gains of acquiring pre-reading and pre-writing skills of tracking left to right, top to bottom, and front to back. There is also opportunity to incorporate color identification and talk about changing seasons. So we’re introducing one of our favorite new-to-Toneworks books today: Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson.

Since on of our goals for teachers is to equip them to use music effectively in the classroom, we like to choose familiar or simple melodies for any singable book. For Tap the Magic Tree, Lyndie uses the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle. Use the actions described on the page: tap, rub, etc. on the drum. Depending on your clients or students, you may use one paddle drum that you hold, or each student may have a frame drum in front of them. So grab a paddle drum or a bunch of frame drums and get ready to have some fun!

Let us know how it goes 🙂

Andrea & Lyndie