Kindergarten Acapella

    Many kindergartens that I have taught at had CD players in the classrooms or one portable CD player that could be moved from classroom to classroom. When I first started teaching these kinds of classes, I thought this was a life saver. A few minutes per lesson, I won’t be having to talk or sing or whatever, and then we’ll have actual music! What fun!

CDs and iPods are great for kids classes when they work, but when they don't...

    And it can work really well, until it doesn’t. One day, the old CD player gives out or the CD your school has been using for years goes kaput or you forgot to charge your iPod and suddenly you’re up there with no musical backup. After one such occasion, I burned an addition CD to take with me, which also self-destructed. I also tried bringing kids songs on my MP3 player and either bringing a portable speaker or using one at the school, but the amount of joy the songs brought the children was minimal compared to the amount of preparation time at home and in class. It was then that I decided to just go acapella. Here are the benefits I've seen since making this decision.

Less Touching

    In these trying new pandemic times, the less stuff you have to touch, the better. If singing behind a mask or face shield means you’re not touching the CD player or finding the jack for your device, the kids will likely still have a great time while you have a slightly safer one.

Saves Time

    Setting the CD player or MP3 player up and clicking through the songs takes time, and I'd rather spend that time teaching. These classes are short and any thirty seconds that you can be engaging with the children instead of fighting technology is thirty seconds more they could be enjoying the class. Before class, prep time with technology can mean charging the MP3 player and preparing a well sorted playlist. These are necessary to ensure that isn't going to leap to something unexpected or suddenly die in class, but it takes time and focus you could be using for other things.

Pacing

    I only realized this when I started doing all the songs on my own, but being able to change and adapt the pace of a song to the situation helps ensure that the kids are actually paying attention and not just following a memorized pattern. For instance, during Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, I like to pause at points when the kids are just racing through. I think this draws more attention to the words which gives them a better chance of actually remembering them. It also throws off the kids who are just rushing through it all and makes them pay a little more attention. Pre-recorded music can’t always accomplish the same task. This also gives me the freedom to slow things down when I’m having a hard time physically or speed things up when I’m just squeezing in one last song as a treat.

Teaching without musical backup might not be the right choice for everyone, but I found it to be significantly more rewarding than the alternative. I found just five minutes a month to refresh my memory on kids songs from my childhood or learn new ones from the internet is plenty to keep me prepared and a lot less tedious than re-burning CDs or tending to my iPod.