Schools and Instruction Books

"About The Author
Linda Swears is a music specialist at the Albert Einstein Academy in Wilmington, Delaware.
She has been a music educator for fourteen years, and her outstanding children's choirs have performed on television, radio, and at many professional conferences.

Mrs. Swears has served as a state and division level chairperson for the Music Educators National Conference and is a frequent clinician and workshop leader in the areas of "the child voice" and "children's choirs".

She is a published composer of choral music for children and the author of the children's book, Discovering the Guitar."
[from the book of the back jacket]

"Here is a complete guide to building a successful elementary school chorus, including specific suggestions for organizing the choral program...over 250 activities for teaching children the fundamentals of good choral singing...and TESTED TIPS AND TECHNIQUES for planning and conducting rehearsals and concerts."
[from the book of the front jacket]

When I landed a job teaching music, I found myself in the middle of an elemenary school chorus, grades 1 through 6. In college, we were taught how to teach middle school/high school students. I had no idea what would be appropriate for elementary students. Thank goodness I found this little gem of a book. A complete, concise guide with so much help and information! Everything from voice ranges to vocal warm ups to diction and much, much more!

This book is a very practical tool for the beginner elementary school choral director. Most choral books are geared toward the high-school or college choir. This gives you acurate information on childrens voices appropriate steps for training and a way to keep your students singing the coorect way while you and they are having fun.

I was afraid my 10 year old would find this book either embarrassing or over her head; neither was the case. She's poured through it alone and with her girlfriends. It covers not only social phenomena but body changes that are easy to grasp but not puerile.

I gave this book to my 11-year-old niece. She loves how straight forward the information is, especially on sensitive subjects like sexuality, menstruation, and body image. She says it makes her feel more confident, less confused, and less alone. And those are all good things, especially at her age. I appreciate the very positive tone and that it has been reviewed by so many experts.

My 12 year old daughter spotted it as we were shopping for books for her to take to sleep-away camp. She chose WHAT'S WITH MY BODY by herself. When we got it, I was delighted to see that Selene Yeager was the author. Knowing the research and integrity she put into her other books, I felt confident that the tone and information would be just right for my daughter and I was not disappointed.

The chapters on body image, stress and mood swings are a gift, let me tell you. These are challenging years for a girl and ones that I would not repeat for any amount of money. It breaks my heart to see my child struggle with body image issues and mood swings and even doubts about herself socially. Yikes, it takes you back...

The advice Ms Yeager offers in the book speaks directly to my daughter and she hasn't put the book down since she bought it. She's literally reading and re-reading chapters every night. She told me that she likes knowing that other kids have the same questions she does. And I like knowing that the information was written by someone who cares enough to give her responsible advice.

Thank you for writing this book. I think that every YMCA in the country should adopt the book as part of a course on "Your changing Body" for the 10-14 year old crowd. I also hope that the school library market embraces this book too. I know what's out there. This is the best book I've seen to date.

A very good book for all ages who want to play an instrument. If only I would follow their advise. Maybe.... reads easy and flows well. I recommend it. Thumbs up, a must own for your library.

What a wonderful book for young students (and older students!) I teach private trumpet lessons to students ranging in age from 10 to 18 and they all enjoyed looking at it while waiting for their lesson to begin. Lots of great tips and like the title suggests a "Survival Guide".

BRAVO !!

This book is filled with practical easy to read information about what it means to learn music. As a music teacher, I find this book to be a great tool for parents and students. It teaches the basic aspects of what is involved in learning a musical instrument. It is also written on a level that schoolage students can understand. I found it to be simple to read, yet very informative and enjoyable. I am going to recomend it to my students - especially the Jr. High students who seem to have lost motivation. I may even assign them chapters to read and intergrate it into my lessons.

I would recommend this book to anyone preparing to become a Sunday School Teacher or to those who want to enhance and sharpen thier skills and methods of teaching.

This is a great book of teacher helps that is useful for today's teachers who are on the go, and don't want to spend hours of training at the church. You can use these individual lessons as take home work for teachers. We bought 12 copies and circulated them around among our 50 teachers. It was great!

Wow! If you are an elementary music teacher, buy this book as soon as you find it. Read it and start applying it to your classroom as soon as you get the opportunity. It has songs, games and methods to teaching children where they will learn how to read music in a fun way. I have met one of the authors and have attended classes where he presented.

You can't go wrong buying this book. : )

Thanks,
David

Buy this now!!!!!!!!! Also get the yearly plans. Clear methods, laid out in order of teaching and how to incorparte all different areas of music including reading, writing, singing, playing, part work, improvisation, inner hearing, and memory. You children will read and sing and appreciate music. Full of games for teaching, strategies, and songs.

Book was basically in new condition and was received very soon after ordering. Book provided great info for my research.

This is a wonderful book, and the story behind it is even more wonderful. The period of time covered in this book were the glory days for the muralist movement. And huge numbers were painted in the Chicago Public Schools. Over the years, they were neglected; they were covered over; they decayed.

In 1984, Flora Doody went to Lane Tech High School to start a Resource Program for students with disabilities. She saw and loved the murals there, but knew that, with all the other problems in the school, restoration was not a priority. Ten years later, however, she began the Mural Preservation Project at the school. She knew the director of the Chicago Conservation Center and they became involved.

And then they decided to investigate early 20th century murals in other Chicago public schools. They found treasures.

A fascinating book, you will learn the history of murals, American social history, and the story of some very dedicated preservationists and educators.

I'm going to be homeschooling my three kids and we're starting next year with a world tour theme in Kindergarten. My search for multicultural resources led me to this book but I resisted buying it because the price is so much steeper than for others out there. I kept coming back to it though, hoping there would be a new review to tell me more. Finally I bit the bullet and bought it because I wanted richer art experiences for my kids than what I found in other sources. Specifically, I had already purchased Global Art: Activities, Projects and Inventions from Around the World and I found it lacking in pictures, historical/cultural linkage of the art, and authenticity of materials. It felt much more crafty than artistic to me, although there were quite a few good ideas in it and I do think it was worth the price. I also have Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning). I do like it but its scope is fairly limited in terms of time (mostly Renaissance to modern) and culture (mostly Western). That said, this book has far exceeded my expectations.

I have a big problem with the abundance of arts and crafts in schools while true arts programs are being dumped left and right. A morsel of the latter is worth buckets of the former, in my opinion. I think arts and crafts have a use and they're fun for kids (albeit short-lived fun without as much pride in craftsmanship that can come from creating original art). This book, however, is not about arts and crafts. In contrast, it is full of history and culture. The author instructs educators about art from a wide variety of cultures and gives them the tools they need to help kids create similar art. Sometimes the medium is altered because the original material is not practical or is unavailable. Solid gold is out of my budget and I don't have any whale bones lying around!

Because these activities are so visually interesting and based on history, I think they would actually appeal to kids from K-12. As the author points out, kids of different ages will obviously get varying results based on skill level. The author gives instructions for modifications to make activities manageable for younger kids. As a special note to homeschoolers, I should say that because most of us have more one on one time to spend with our kids during these activities, many of the modifications might not be necessary. They just might need more direct guidance.

I'm thrilled that this book pulls true art forms from all over the globe and then presents projects based on that art. Below is an outline of the projects included.

West Africa - tie-dying cloth, traditional dashikis, papier mache masks and sculptures
Ghana - Adinkra designs on paper and cloth
Nigeria - Adire Eleko cloth designs and Counter-Repousse (metal work)
Egypt - plaster hieroglyphic tablet, jewelry/clay beads, tapestry
Israel - paper and tile mosaics
Iran - Persian miniature paintings
France/Spain - prehistoric cave paintings (impressive - they make a whole caves system from cardboard!)
Cro-Magnons in Europe - stone engravings
Ancient Greece - sculpture
Great Britain - stained glass (originated in Middle East but famous in cathedrals)
Sweden - cookie stamps (she even includes a recipe)
Poland - Wycinanki (paper cutouts)
Ukraine - Pysanky (decorated eggs)
Belarus - straw designs
Germany - flower arts (pressed, woodcut)
China - calligraphy, paper making, woodblock prints
Japan - haiku and sumi-e ink paintings, accordion books, fish banners, fish prints, decorated paper
Burma - lacquer work
India - marble inlays
Indonesia - Javanese shadow plays, batik fabrics
SE Asia and Taiwan - kites
Central/Northern Asia - felt rugs and balls
Hawaii - canoes
South Pacific - Tapa (decorated barkcloth) including Fiji for stenciled designs and Tahiti for fern designs
Tonga - design tablets
Micronesia - gift-giving bowls
Australia - Aboriginal bark paintings, didgeridoos, carved Emu eggs
Mexico - Huichol Indian yarn painting, Amate paper cutouts and paintings, clay figures and suns
Central America - Cuna Indian Molas (cotton panels), gold/silver sculpture
Peru - embroidery
Caribbean - maracas
Puerto Rico - seed necklaces
Haiti - steel designs
United States - Pueblo Indian pottery, Navajo weaving and sand painting, Plains Indian Buffalo Robes, Headdresses, shirts and vests, Woodland Indian quillwork and beadwork, Inuit stone sculpture and printmaking, early American applehead dolls, scrimshaw (carving in whale bone and ivory), and weathervanes

I am extremely impressed with these activities which are firmly rooted in the history of the cultures from which they originate. They would add so much to school art programs as a supplement to history. This is a book I know we will use for years. The kids won't be ready for the Javanese shadow plays for quite some time but until then, I'll be looking forward to the experience! I can't recommend this book highly enough. With this book and the Dick Blick art supply catalog, I know my kids have an incredible wealth of art activities ahead of them.

As a side note, a few other resources that I love for our homeschooling program are

Art in Story: Teaching Art History to Elementary School Children Second Edition

30,000 Years of Art

Artistic Pursuits, Book One: An Introduction to the Visual Arts and the rest of the program that takes kids from Kindergarten through high school.

I've done many of these projects with children, and they are both educational (the book gives some cultural and historical references on the projects) and a cut above some of the really simplistic projects found in a lot of books. I go back to it again and again! I'd highly recommend it.

For those working in the schools and who value the joyful impact of art with children, this book has it all! It is a power-packed manual for professional teachers, aides and anyone needing more guidance to open the creative doors for themsleves and children. You will find the source's guides in the back of the book worth the price alone. The clarity in the text is especially to be appreciated; no "gobbeldy-gook and no nonsense" here! The presentation of ways to incorporate art into total curriculum is one to open our eyes and to value its potential for carrying any other subject matter. Full of ideas for projects with morsels of philosophy about the arts tucked in, it allows teachers to open their own minds and rid themselves of their own "art blocks." I would say no teacher should be without this book. Good for you Marlene Gharbo Linderman! At last a book for us all who love and cherish art in schools.

This is an extremely fun and informative book. It is easily understood, and great for an Art teacher, as well as teachers of other subjects who wish to incorporate more art into their classrooms. It would also be helpful to parents or homeschooling families.

This is a wonderful resource for both kids and adults in my opinion. Very easy to follow techniques and it's not clogged up with needless text. A wonderful gift for the artist in yourself, or for someone you love!

My art students (K-8th) love this book. If they have free time left over, they are allowed to pick a book out of the art rack and use it. This book is the number one desire of my kids in class. They make drawing cartoons so easy with the stp-by-step instructions, it's perfect.

This book revolutionized the way that I taught math in my classroom. I was a more informed instructor, and it allowed me to group, scaffold, and individualize my instruction. The year that I implemented these techniques into my fifth grade class, we made an average of two years growth in one year! Highly recommend this one!

Excellent resource for those wishing to guide students from informal understanding of solving word problems to problem solving. The authors' examples of the various problem types coupled with explanations and strategically placed video clips (CD included) guide even the most novice CGI instructor to a clear understanding of the problems and expected student strategies, classroom environment and expectations needed to implement this teaching strategy.