Room on the Broom (part 1 of 2)

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

I discovered this book about 7 years ago.  I turned it into a musical puppet play almost instantly and have been having fun with it every Halloween ever since.

Meet the characters

The Witch

The Cat

The Dog

The Frog

The Bird

The Dragon

Process (I use this process Grade 1 and 2)

1. Read the book and sing the Room on the Broom song with your group!

 

I adapt the text as I'm reading to the children to include my own version of the "room on the broom" tune.

Storyline

Throughout the story, the witch has some challenges and meets animals that help her with them.  After helping the witch, each animal asks if there is room on the broom for them.   

Instead of asking the question, we sing the question (D dorian mode)!

Is there any room for me?

Is there any room for me?

On the broom, on the broom,

Is there any room for me?

The witch says, "Yes!" everytime and eventually, the broom is overloaded carrying a witch, a cat, a dog, a frog and a bird. 

The broom is not strong enough and breaks in half.  The animals fall into the bog and the witch has a rumble with the dragon.  

The dragon stalks her, catches her and is about to eat her when the animals come to her rescue.  

The witch rewards them by casting a spell on the broom and transforming it into a modern 5-seater broom that can accommodate all of them.

A modern witch's 5-seater broom!

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2!

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How Music Teachers Clean the Uncleanable!

I have a Verilux cleaning wand exactly like the one above.

Cleaning and sanitizing is a constant task in a music studio...well...it is in my studio!

There are things that are relatively easy to clean and most of those things (floors, walls, washrooms) are cleaned daily by the cleaning company I hire.  Everything else is on me though.

There are many things in a music studio that are just not so easy to clean and (until recently) next to impossible to disinfect or sanitize.  A couple of years ago I discovered the Verilux UV-C lightwand and it has made this task so much easier!

Now...I just wave my magic wand...and things get cleaner.:)

Believe it or not, this UV-C wand kills germs, viruses and bacteria (think dustmites, influenza, MRSA and E.Coli) on things that can not be washed or are just really difficult to clean frequently. 

I use it to sanitize things like: 

• jingle bells
• those lovely organic looking shakers and scrapers from other countries
• cloth/yarn mallets
• drum skins
• my piano keyboards (huge bonus during cold/flu season)
• computer keyboard
• cushions
• scarves
• buttons on accordians, autoharp
• strings and board of my melody harps
• fingerboards on guitars, violins, cello, bows, banjo, ukuleles
• quick cleaning of previously handled (but not soiled) instruments in between groups (like egg shakers, sticks, sandblocks)

If you are a travelling teacher, music therapist or space is at a premium, I recommend a smaller portable wand that can easily be packed for travel.  I recently learned air pilots and stewards travel with them to clean pillows and mattresses in hotels.

UV-C light has been proven to be a chemical-free method for sanitizing surfaces.  This same light source is apparently used in some hospitals to treat surgical equipment before surgery.

The parents at my studio sometimes ask how I manage to keep everything clean...this is definitely one of the tools I use.

Having your own magic wand is a very cool thing!


  
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