"Classroom resources that are teachable by the teacher, and reachable by the student."
Our Mission
Playground Music and Books is dedicated to providing quality and well-crafted Orff-Schulwerk based resources for the K-8 general music classroom, with the intent of giving students a rich and meaningful learning experience. All products are field-tested for effectiveness and grade-level appropriateness, correlate to the National Music Standards (NAfME), and are aligned with current instructional trends.
Our Vision
To provide unique resources and tools that help every student succeed though meaningful musical experiences, and to help the music classroom be a vibrant place of exploration, literacy, creativity, beauty, self-expression, and musical play.
Meet The Composer
Awarded Elementary Music Educator of The Year for 2013 by Hillsborough County School District, Jeff Henson is a K-12 music educator who has taught elementary music since 1998. He completed his Orff-Schulwerk levels certifications under the instruction of Marilyn Copeland Davidson, Bob de Frece, and Carol King. He received his Masters level certification under the instruction of Jane Frazee. In 2025, Mr. Henson has directed numerous state and district honors ensembles, including the All-Virginia Orff Ensemble at the 2025 Virginia Music Educators Association state music conference, the Honors Orff Ensemble for the Hillsborough County Elementary Fine Arts Festival, the Pasco County honors Orff ensemble and choirs, and the Pinellas County honors Orff Ensemble and World Drumming Ensemble. He has presented conference sessions for Florida Music Educators Association State Conference and presented numerous district and state workshops on elementary music pedagogy, Orff-Schulwerk pedagogy, Recorder, and World Drumming. From 1998 to 2019, Mr. Henson served on various sub-committees for the Hillsborough County Elementary Music Education Council, including serving as President of the Council. He has served on the panel of music educators for the FMEA Summer Institute and has been a model lesson writer for the State of Florida and Hillsborough County Public Schools. Mr. Henson has worked as a percussion instructor with middle and high school band programs including writing and arranging for drum lines and front line percussion. He is a professional drummer and percussionist who plays regularly with the Jazz Directions quartet, The Cypress Creek Jazz Band which can be heard on all streaming services, and as percussion accompanist with the Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestras (TMYO) and Lumina Youth Choirs. Jeff has performed with The Florida Orchestra, The Sarasota Orchestra, The Spanish Lyric Theater, the Jazz Cellar Underground Orchestra, professional and local musical theater productions, big bands, R&B bands, and latin bands and has performed on the Excelcia Music Wind Band new music recordings. He has composed and arranged several single title works for Orff instruments and percussion that can be found on The Orff Room on the Teachers Pay Teachers website and is the author of the books, “Great Big House! and Other Folk Songs”, “Rhymes, Rhythms, and Beyond!”, “Instrument Magic”, and “Sing and Play The Orff Way!”, published by Playground Music Press.
