An opening routine is a set of procedures that students do at the beginning of class to get prepped and ready for new instruction. They can either be simple or they can be elaborate. If you have an elaborate opening routine I suggest writing it down and displaying it somewhere in your room for students to see.
A classroom snowball fight is a novel experience to have with your students before the holiday break. You can practice many skills during a snowball fight to reinforce and review previously learned content. And honestly, it’s just a fun way to spend a few minutes during class.Â
Are you giving a test soon? Do you need to briefly check to see if students understand a concept you just taught? Do we just need a break from rehearsals? (I won't tell anyone if you do). Then its a good time to play a review game and make learning fun again! I'm going to… Continue reading My Students’ Favorite Review Game in Music Class
This isn't an exhaustive list of quotes about music, but these are truly my favorite quotes about music. "I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music." - Billy Joel "Music is the shorthand of… Continue reading My Favorite Quotes About Music
Field trips can be stressful. You have to coordinate budgets, calendars, and all the people so that the day goes well. As the lead adult in the room you also have to select and coordinate all the other adults helping you chaperone your groups. You know you need to give your chaperons certain things so that the day runs smooth and you want prepared chaperones that your students enjoy, so what do you do?
I have three weeks until I go back to school for inservice and four weeks until I see students again (yikes!). So I’m starting to think about my own classroom setup and what I need to put up on the walls. If you are a new teacher and don’t know what you need then I recommend that you keep reading to gather some ideas.Â
Scales. The dreaded musical building block of the beginning band. You and I know how important scales are to being a great musician, but our students don’t. If you’re like me and you love scales (I seriously love playing scales) then you might struggle to also get students to practice the scale.
Whether you are looking for your first job or a new job a great resume and cover letter is a must! Your resume is either your very first, or one of your first impressions with your new school, so it has to be good in order to get that interview to make a better impression. That means you need all the correct information in the correct order and formatted in a visually pleasing manner. I’ve gone through the wringer writing my own resume and now I have friends who come to me to help them write resumes because they know mine is really good. I’m going to share all the advice that I have to offer in this post and hopefully your resume will look amazing after reading this blog post.
There are so may ways that Canva can be used by music teachers, or teachers in general. These are just a few of my favorite ways to use Canva in my job and I'm sure that you or I will find even more ways too!
"The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse" was recently gifted to me by the mother of a close friend. She is the type of woman who radiates warmth and positivity and who makes you feel like you are being wrapped up in a soft, fuzzy blanket the entire time you are in her presence. She wrote a darling note in this book and I'll be honest, I almost cried when I read it. I held back the tears welling in my eyes because I was at said close friend's house kicking off the summer and I didn't want to be emotional.Â
Displaced Pedagogy 