Submitted by Kristin Lukow, Nebraska

Idea posted December 4, 2002

We sing the body scale every day at the beginning of class. As the year progresses, we sing it with variety. Loudly, softly, echo patterns...

From day one, my kinders sing the body scale and continue it through 3rd grade. We switch to hand signs in 4th grade. I work extensively with hand sings in 5th and 6th.

The body scale... going down:

Do - Hands in the air
Ti - Hands on your head
La - Hands on your shoulders
Sol - Hands on your collar bones
Fa - Hands on your waist
Mi - Hands on your hips
Re - Hands on your thighs
Do - Hands on your knees

NOW!!! We all have Forte Piano from Music K-8 (Music K-8, Vol. 13, No. 1). Teaching is such a joy with these Plank Road people!