(Schott). Jane Frazee has made a major contribution to music education in the USA through her practical teaching and through her published works. In this latest book, new considerations are offered regarding the unique contribution of music to the lives of all students. You will discover how music learning relates to all learning, and you will find a curriculum model that inspires you and your students to make music, to make up music, and to make sense of music.

(Schott). Collaborative work by experienced Orff practitioners 12 projects, tried out by students Insights and ideas shared by authors

Approaching creativity as a form of spiritual practice, artist Benton breaks the creative process down into its most basic components and offers a fresh perspective on developing one's creative skills.

(Schott). This book is intended for those who want detailed, practical assistance in how and why to use Orff techniques and materials in the classroom. Goals are outlined and the best ways to achieve them are explored, but the principal focus is on the arrangement of the curriculum in a logical sequence. Such a structure provides a reasonable progression from simple to more complex objectives not only from day to day but from year to year. Structured learning need not be the enemy of improvisation but rather the best way to provide students with the tools they need to improvise. The book contains an introduction to the development of Orff-Schulwerk and a discussion of the distinguishing features of this approach. Chapter Two introduces the activities children use in their music-making. The teaching procedure that structures those activities is taken up in Chapter Three while Chapter Four explains the vocabulary and accompaniment theory essential to the Orff teacher. Part Two applies these elements in a sequential curriculum designed for Grades One through Five. Especially important in each chapter is the inclusion of supporting activities designed to aid in teaching the various skills and concepts.

An innovative, creative approach to help you break free from the fear and uncertainty that stand in the way of genuine happiness. When you look at your life, do you feel it’s working just the way it is? Or do you feel overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, and uneasy? So many of us are stuck in a pattern of living reactively rather than proactively, and feel exhausted and uncreative as a result. Fortunately, there is another way. It requires stepping off the fast track, and no longer going through your days on “autopilot.” It requires slowing down and tuning in to the present moment and seeing things as they really are. Mindfulness-based self-expression (MBSE), offers a way off the fast track. Drawing on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), MBSE fuses art exploration—including drawing, mark-making, and creative self-expression—with meditations, gentle yoga, breathwork, and body scans. These daily practices are designed to help you cultivate a mindset of awareness, patience, trust, acceptance, and vulnerability. This unique workbook invites you to draw, tear, mark, play, and take risks. There is no plan, no goal, and no preconceived idea to follow. The process is simply communicating to yourself who you are in this moment, following the thread one mark at a time. The book also serves as a journal for recording your curiosity, vulnerability, and creativity. When completed, it becomes an artistic expression of life as you celebrate the profound gift that is now. Tapping into our creative self-expression empowers us to be who we are in the world, to come into deeper contact with our authentic selves, and build the self-confidence needed to take risks. The Artful Path to Mindfulness will help you find your own creative heart, and use it as a tool for living a joyful and fulfilling life.

Miscellaneous Percussion Music - Mixed Levels

Developed for the younger set (4-6 year olds) and targeting one of the most critical developmental periods for children, Art Lab for Little Kids is the perfect book for both parents and teachers who are seeking enriching and unique experiences to offer this age group.

“All it takes to become an artist is to start doing art.” –from On Becoming an Artist On Becoming an Artist is loaded with good news. Backed by her landmark scientific work on mindfulness and artistic nature, bestselling author and Harvard psychologist Ellen J. Langer shows us that creativity is not a rare gift that only some special few are born with, but rather an integral part of everyone’s makeup. All of us can express our creative impulses– authentically and uniquely–and, in the process, enrich our lives. Why then do so many of us merely dream of someday painting, someday writing, someday making music? Why do we think the same old thoughts, harbor the same old prejudices, stay stuck in the same old mud? Who taught us to think “inside the box”? No one is more qualified to answer these questions than Dr. Langer, who has explored their every facet for years. She describes dozens of fascinating experiments–her own and those of her colleagues–that are designed to study mindfulness and its relation to human creativity, and she shares the profound implications of the results–for our well-being, health, and happiness. Langer reveals myriad insights, among them: We think we should already know what only firsthand experience can teach us. . . . In learning the ways that all roses are alike, we risk becoming blind to their differences. . . . If we are mindfully creative, the circumstances of the moment will tell us what to do. . . . Those of us who are less evaluatively inclined experience less guilt, less regret, less blame, and tend to like ourselves more. . . . Uncertainty gives us the freedom to discover meaning. . . . Finally, what we think we’re sure of may not even exist. With the skill of a gifted logician, Langer demonstrates exactly how we undervalue ourselves and undermine our creativity. By example, she persuades us to have faith in our creative works, not because someone else approves of them but because they’re a true expression of ourselves. Her high-spirited, challenging book sparkles with wit and intelligence and inspires in us an infectious enthusiasm for our creations, our world, and ourselves. It can be of lifelong value to everyone who reads it.

"A brilliant concept, creatively executed, with beauty, kindness, and fun for all." - Peter, counselor. Children will delight in this mindful journey. BREATHE: venture into the imagination with a story that gently teaches soothing skills like breathing, counting, noticing the five senses. ART: after the story, art activities extend and deepen the experience. CALM: mindful story and art, together, help children make deeper connections with themselves and the present moment to feel more calm, relaxed and confident. "I so love your book...the idea, the concept, especially the intro explaining how to use." "The combination of art and mindfulness is a powerful tool." "...simple and easy to understand. I hope you create a series of books." Children are dealing with more stress than ever in schools, online, and in society. The authors have witnessed children increasingly struggle with big feelings over the past decade in their professional lives as a Marriage and Family Therapist/Art Therapist (Jocelyn) and Behavior Intervention public school teacher (Heather). Inattention, outbursts, anger, difficulty with peers, prejudice, poverty, inequity... the list goes on and on. They found themselves asking, as parents and professionals: "How can we help children manage feelings in creative ways?" Combining mindfulness and art is their response. "Colorful Place" helps parents, teachers, and therapists support children in developing tools for managing uncomfortable feelings. Heather and Jocelyn completed Jon Kabat Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR) course together, mindfulness for educators training and are committed to making the world a calmer place for children.

Mindful Artfulness is author Ben Robinson's charming companion volume to his, Artful Mindfulness (2016). The Foreword by Ted Chapin and the Preface Cartoon by Charles Schneider, set up the rare insight into film, theatre, circus and the day-to-day gigs of the traveling Master Magician author. Readers feel the performer's deep insight. Montauk Actors Group leader Gary Swanson remarked, "In this book, Ben Robinson is in the same room with you." From the Krieger-Flosso family "knighting" the author, to a Gummo Marx unpublished letter, Mindful Artfulness is revealing. Reviews and retrospectives of the artful antics of Le Cirque Invisible, and the resurrection of Harry Watson Jr.'s hobo clown Musty Suffer, Mindful Artfulness explores pop culture from the 1800's to today. In depth profiles: the hilarious, spiritually-truthful comedian Bill Hicks, actor John Cazale (Fredo in The Godfather), England's celebrity magician Paul Daniels, and the Marx Brothers stand center stage. The author's true tales, previously published reviews of books, films, theatre and circus thrive with energy. Mindful Artfulness concludes Ben Robinson's trilogy regarding wonder, mindfulness and artfulness.