Yes. I do almost the exact same thing.

We have thousands of dollars worth of xylophones, rhythm instruments and recorders
;-) But you're right - there's not enough time. It's a shame. After a few years of trying to do everything... I've decided to focus on singing only. They will always have that "instrument" with them.

So, in class we prepare songs for the weekly Mass, prepare for one BIG (Christmas program and Easter program) performance per semester and then a couple smaller events (one song for talent show, Veterans Day). Anything more than this, I would find impossible in my situation.

Sorry for the length of this, but you did ask a bit of a complex question, Henry.

Anyway, here goes: I taught music in Catholic Schools for about seven years, but I had been teaching music to the children of my adult choir members before that for 3 or so years.
My idealistic program had four parts:
1. Liturgical Year/Sacred Music/Gregorian Chant - teaching an understanding of the beautiful rhythm of the seasons of the Church Year; preparing for school liturgies, concerts, Christmas Pageant, etc.
2. Theory and Sight Singing
3. History of Music
4. Choirs

I spent quite a lot of time trying to create a comprehensive program for Catholic kids that focused on the liturgy and the formation of liturgical musicians. It was far too ambitious as I only had the kids once a week - and there were 500 kids in the school (and I only worked three days.) But I did manage to give all the classes K-8 a bit of each program area. However, I was always, always trying to figure out how to include everything I thought they needed to know to be competent musicians oriented to serving the church.

I used the Kodaly method a lot, combined with elements from other teaching philosophies -- but I found what worked the best was using my own experience with trying to learn music.

I spent a lot of time teaching how to read music and some basic theory, but it was a challenge because I only had them once a week -- and they always forgot what I had taught them from one week to the next. So to get them to learn the whole ball of wax, I bought some nice, but moderately priced handbells for kids. I had two or three sets so that I could give each child a handbell in a class of 25.

Then I would write a rather simple song on big pieces of poster board and tape it to the blackboard. Each kid had a handbell and after teaching them how to read notes, I would keep the beat with a pointer on the blackboard (usually 4/4) of the song and then cue them to start playing. Each child had to play their bell at the right time in accordance to the rhythm. This was the best way I could come up with that actually forced all of the kids to learn the simplest music reading skills. And the kids loved doing it.

After we played through the song once successfully, everyone had to give their bell to the person on the right - so now everyone had a different bell/pitch - and we'd do the song again. I kept it fun, we laughed a lot, they were incredibly into it and there were no discipline issues.

I also played a lot of very good games with all my classes as well. There is an excellent book with games in it that teach everything from rhythm, to audiation to singing intervals, etc. I will look for the book and give you the name if you're interested.

I also taught all the classes how to chant the ordinary of the mass. I used modern notation, but recently I taught my high school girls choir to read neumes and sing the propers.

I was really into what I was doing, so I also had several choirs; an honors choir for grades 5, 6, 7, 8 - a Young Voices Choir for grades 1, 2 ,3 and 4; a handbell choir and for a while I had an all boys choir, but I didn't have enough time to develop the boys choir.
I picked kids in each choir whose job it was to help me run the choir and do a lot of the tasks that they could hande, like filing.

My choirs were really good because I always picked very high quality music for them. Often I would have my honors choir sing things that my adult choirs were doing. I have a philosophy of practicing a cappella, and this helped my kids choir immensely.

For the annual Christmas Pageant, I wrote my own scripts on some type of historic theme that I was able to weave the Nativity into. They were always, always sacred and I was able to teach a lot of theology and history as we rehearsed for the pageant. Themes were, quite frankly, designed to keep ME interested in what I was doing, but once I came up with a concept, I gave the 8th Grade every chance to help embellish and add to the script. Usually it was something like, "A Medieval Festival of Lights/Celebrating the Birth of Our Little King." I convinced the principal to let the 8th grade dress in period costumes because it was one of the only ways I could think of to get them excited about it. I combined a bit of theatre and a little plot that I wove music around. I usually went way overboard - but it was great fun and the Christmas Pageants became a pretty big deal with the parents. The best thing about going all out to do a really high quality Pageant was how happy it made the parents to see their kids doing something that took skill to pull off. Yes, it was exhausting and my husband and kids always got involved. But I found that the families really treasured these moments and suddenly, the overworked, frantic parents were caught up in the spirit of Christmas.

Obviously there's a lot more that I could share with you, but trust your instincts and do a lot of research on things that interest you within a reasonable curriculum.

I guess I should mention that there are National Standards for Teaching Music. Check that out here: http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/national-standards-for-music-education/"> http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/national-standards-for-music-education/

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help.

Wow. That is so nice. Thank you, Wendi.

I must confess that my zealous commitment to teaching music is derived from bitter resentment about how abysmal my music instruction was in Catholic grade school. I didn't hear Gregorian Chant until I was 19, had left the Church, run away from home and was living in an Ashram that was basically Hindu - although the daily routine and structure was monastic. I was cleaning houses in DC as one of my jobs -- and the owners said I could listen to their "albums." I found one that intrigued me, with monks on the front standing under an arch in a gorgeous monastery. When I heard them chant, it literally pierced my soul. But the more I listened to it, the more confused and angry I became. Why had this been denied me? This beautiful, ethereal music was my heritage and someone, somewhere had decided for me that I didn't need to hear it. (Yeah, I'm still bitter about it, I guess.) As a grade school kid, I ran the "folk group" that played for school masses, played piano, taught myself guitar, learned to sing harmony at age 10, etc.

Anyway, at some point I decided that I wasn't going to let that happen to any children who crossed my path. I think if I had been taken seriously as a liturgical musician when I was a child and been given the opportunity to have a proper choir school education, I might not have been so rebellious as a teenager. Who knows? Anyway, I've been honored to help a lot of kids find their niche as up and coming church musicians. Payback!

tomboysuze-
I would love to know the title of the book that you reference!

I shall find it! This may take a while as I have to now move my entire music library from my office in the basement of the church to the choir loft due to an out of control mold problem.
Never fear. I will persevere. (Marajoy - remind me if you don't hear from me in a week or so.)

tomboysuze...you just described my childhood...articulated my anger at being deprived of my musical heritage (except that I was into my late 20s before I discovered chant and into my 30's before the wonders of polyphony were revealed to me)...and explained my motivation for returning to school at my venerable age to get a degree in music education. I so want to be a teacher like you when I grow up. And I can say with no irony whatsoever, that I'm doing it for the children. Mine and countless others who deserve the entirety of their heritage as Catholics.