A Year of MMG: Blue Jello Cards

Teaching is hard work, but every once in awhile, you get the rare gift of a material so well-designed, it teaches itself.  This is why I love the Blue Jello cards.

It's important to know them yourself first, so that you can be confident and have fun while teaching them to your students.  This and other videos can help, or you can use the keys included in the packet (one with photos of hand signs, the other with the symbols found on the cards.)  You should be able to sign and speak at the same time, following a steady beat.  And, like many games, it's good to know how to play upside down, so your students can see right-side up.

The fun part comes when you introduce these cards to your students.  The less said, the better: just explain that you're going to play a rhythm game, and they can join in whenever they're ready.  They will be eager to follow along almost immediately.  I have seen the most wiggly boys (and girls) get calm and focused almost immediately when Blue Jello is in front of them, and the more experienced students are just as interested in going over them yet again.

Go as far as time allows you -- ideally, all the way through the stack.  Even if they drop out and just watch you, as long as they're interested, keep going.  Often they need to watch several times before their fine motor control catches up with their brains.

That's it, really!  Just signing and saying the words is a game in itself.  But here are a few options to liven things up, once you're a blue jello aficianado:

• Make a snake with the cards, using as many as you want.
• Clap or tap the rhythm instead of signing.  Use your hands or a rhythm instrument.
• Go more slowly for very young students, pausing first to examine the card ("Oh, my!  How many jellos are on this card?" or "What's this new symbol?  Can you help me find it in the key?")  Be sure not to overload them; stop while they are still begging for more.
• Take turns.  "You do all the jellos and I'll do the blues."  For more advanced students, switch off with every beat, so they have to pay close and constant attention.
• Have a student play a blue jello card on her instrument, choosing notes as she goes.  This is a great introduction to composition.  She can start using just one note and branch out as she feels comfortable.
• Play bingo: lay the cards out in a grid and clap or sign one pattern.  The student claps or signs back to you, then looks for the pattern on the cards.  He places a magic note on the card to mark it, then claps or signs one pattern to you.  You play together, not against one another, and you're both happy to get bingo.
• Apply it: count Blue Jello rhythms as a preview for their next sight-reading piece.  You will find it a thousand times easier -- for example, "one-ee-and-a, two-ee-and, three-and four" versus "huckleberryberrygoose jello blue" -- as well as lots more fun!

Next week I'll talk about the Grand Staff cards and Staff Slates.  This is a great way to introduce note reading.  Stay tuned!