Montessori-Inspired Activities for Casey at the Bat

April is National Poetry Month. It’s also the start of the Major League Baseball season. So it’s a perfect time to study the famous “Casey at the Bat” poem. Today, I’m sharing Montessori-inspired activities that work well for any study of “Casey at the Bat,” including a study of the Maestro Classics’ Casey at the Bat title. You could focus both on the baseball theme and the poetry of “Casey at the Bat.”

Disclosure: Previously, I received the complete set of Maestro Classics CDs. I’ve also received a number of the downloadable MP3/PDF titles. (This post also contains affiliate links.)

I have a Montessori-inspired music appreciation series with activities to go with the wonderful Maestro Classics albums. I love Maestro Classics as a way for families (or classes) to enjoy classical music together through stories and high-quality music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Normally, the Casey at the Bat CD is $16.98 (or less from 3rd party sellers) and the MP3/PDF is $9.49 Casey at the Bat can also be purchased as part of a Maestro Classics collection. 

Here’s the information about Casey at the Bat from the Maestro Classics site:

“Casey at the Bat story and music CD or MP3 download
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Music by Stephen Simon

“When the Mudville Nine are almost certain to lose the game, Mighty Casey takes his turn at bat, and the fans hold their breath as each pitch is thrown.

“The upbeat, jazzy music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra is highlighted by cheering crowds, vendors hawking their wares, the cheers of spectators and the sounds of the ball being hit, which bring the story to life.

“A 24-page activity book, included with the CD, contains the complete Ernst Lawrence Thayer poem, amazing facts about baseball, sheeet music, as well as games and puzzles. MP3 download from Maestro Classics website includes a PDF of the activity booklet.

“Album also includes a Suzuki tango play-along, “In a Cabin in a Wood” song, and Flight of the Rabbit, as story in music in less than 3 minutes.”

In the homeschool music curriculum guides at Maestro Classics, you’ll find a number of ideas for a unit study of “Casey at the Bat.” Just look for curriculum guides under the Education tab at the top of the site! I’ll share some Montessori-inspired activities here for a baseball unit study that fits well with a study of “Casey at the Bat” for preschoolers, including some activities for early elementary as well.

Featured Instruments Activity

For any of the Maestro Classics titles, I always like having a featured instruments layout similar to the activity in my Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: Carnival of the Animals post. It isn’t essential, but it helps children become familiar with the instruments of the orchestra.

Marching on the Line

Track 3 of the Casey at the Bat CD or MP3 has “The Casey March,” which would be fun as music to use while marching on the line. I have a post with an “Outdoor Line Hunt and Montessori Walking on the Line.” You could have preschoolers march to “The Casey March” on an indoor or outdoor line.

Baseball Lacing Activity

This baseball lacing activity was very simple to prepare using the free lacing cards for a baseball theme from Making Learning Fun. I recommend printing the lacing cards on cardstock and laminating them for durability. I used an inexpensive bamboo paper plate holder as the tray. Younger children might enjoy working on a lacing activity while they’re listening to Casey at the Bat. 

Casey at the Bat Maze

For this activity, I printed out the maze from the PDF guide that came with the MP3. I added a small piece of cotton from a cotton ball that I rolled into a “baseball” to be picked up with tweezers and moved through the maze as a fine-motor activity as well as a maze activity. I used a medium-size tray from Montessori Services for the activity.

There are baseball beads that can be ordered to use with this activity if you prefer. Baseball beads would be fun for bead stringing as well. They would also be great for a hands-on baseball math activity, such as the “add the baseballs” activity in part 3 of the free baseball pack from 3 Dinosaurs.

Word Family Activity for Baseball

This activity used the free word family activity for baseball from Making Learning Fun. You’ll find a variety of short- and long-vowel word families to choose from. I printed the baseball glove onto a brown paper bag rather than construction paper as a recycling project and to give the glove a weathered look.

 Baseball Players Position Craft

 This activity uses another free printable from Making Learning Fun: the baseball players position activity. I really like this activity as a way for preschoolers and children in early elementary to become familiar with the positions on a baseball team. Understanding the positions will make the “Casey at the Bat” poem more understandable as well. This is also a great activity for preschoolers to practice their cutting and pasting skills. Note: I used a large plastic tray from Montessori Services for the activity.

Other Free Printables for Casey at the Bat

I’m not listing all the free printables here that would work for Casey at the Bat, but I want to feature a few very helpful resources.

• In this post, I used three of the baseball-theme printables from Making Learning Fun. There are many more baseball-theme printables for math, literacy, and art at Making Learning Fun.
• 3 Dinosaurs has a baseball pack with activities in a number of curriculum areas.
• This Reading Mama has a free baseball-themed printable pack.
• A Teaching Mommy has a free baseball preschool unit.
• You’ll also find free baseball printables for a variety of levels at Teachers Pay Teachers.
• If you’re looking for free poetry printables, you can find those as well at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: More Maestro Classics Activity Posts

You’ll find Montessori-inspired Peter and the Wolf activities here: Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: Peter and the Wolf.

You’ll find Montessori-inspired Swan Lake activities here: Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: Swan Lake.

You’ll find Montessori-inspired Tortoise and Hare activities here: Montessori-Inspired Activities for The Tortoise and the Hare.

You’ll find Montessori-Inspired Carnival of the Animals activities here: Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: Carnival of the Animals

 You’ll find Montessori-inspired Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel activities here: Montessori-Inspired Activities for Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.

You’ll find Montessori-inspired activities for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice here: Montessori-Inspired Music Appreciation: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

 

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